The internet is full of online writing workshops and sifting through them to find high-quality classes for writing children’s literature can be quite time-consuming. I’ve tried to bring focus to this search by organizing a sortable table of online writing workshops for picture books through young adult, including nonfiction and self-publishing. Some classes are also for writers of adult literature.
Please note that a listing here does not mean that class, teacher, or organization has my personal endorsement. Always be sure to research the organization and instructors before signing up for any online writing workshops. I welcome updates and corrections! Please send me a note through my Contact page.
For a list of things to consider when choosing an online class, please see my guest post on Dear Editor.
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| Class Description | Young Adult | Middle Grade | Picture Book | Non Fiction | Illustration | Self Publishing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anastasia Suen @AnastasiaSuen Anastasia Suen is the author of 245 books for children and adults, a literacy advocate, and a freelance developmental editor. Anastasia Suen conducts online writing workshops for Picture Book Stories, Rhyming Picture Books, and Chapter book and middle grade novels. | Middle Grade | Picture Book | ||||
| Art of Arc: How to Analyze Your Picture Book Manuscript @alayne_kay Award-Winning children’s author Alayne Kay Christian presents a course which will deepen your understanding of picture books written with a classic arc and introduce you to many other picture books structures. It includes 217 pages with ten lessons, seventeen supplements, and eighteen worksheets. Plus bonus materials and resources. | Picture Book | |||||
| Australian Writers Center Australia Various online courses, including Picture Books, Middle Grade and Young Adult, as well as many courses which are not specific to children’s literature. | Young Adult | Middle Grade | Picture Book | |||
| Before You Hit Send @angelajames Join Angela James, an eleven-year veteran of the editing profession and current editorial director of Harlequin’s Carina Press for a three-week self-editing workshop. This is a work-at-your-own-pace workshop, so participants don’t need to be available at a certain time of day. | Young Adult | Middle Grade | ||||
| Blue Elephant Storyshaping (UK) Natascha Biebow, picture book author and Regional Advisor for the British Isles chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators offers a six-week structured coaching experience, with individualized and group feedback on your picture books. | Picture Book | |||||
| The Children’s Book Academy @ChildrensBookAc Headed by literary agent Mira Reisberg, these are uniquely innovative courses that include videos, interviews, lessons, demonstrations, and activities that will help you write and/or illustrate extraordinary literature for children and young adults. | Young Adult | Middle Grade | Picture Book | |||
| Commonwealth Education Trust Writing for Young Readers: Opening the Treasure Chest, with authors/instructors David Hill and Maria Hill. This five-week program features a combination of video lectures, online readings, peer reviews, and guest appearances from world-renowned children’s authors. | Young Adult | Middle Grade | ||||
| Creative Writing Ink (Ireland) CWI offers a series of online creative writing courses, where you can improve your writing skills through one-to-one exercises, lectures and critique. All courses are carried out through one to one email correspondence and all you need is internet access. | Young Adult | Middle Grade | ||||
| Curtis Brown Creative (UK) The Curtis Brown Creative Online Writing for Children Course offers a three-month course for those writing Middle Grade or Young Adult novels. The course is led by bestselling children’s authors and will feature input from Curtis Brown’s teams of literary agents. We ask applicants to submit a sample of their work-in-progress with their application, and we offer places to those whose work we think is the best. Each group is limited to 15 participants, selected on the basis of ability as demonstrated in applications. Please note: the extract submitted must come from the novel you’re planning to work on during the course. | Young Adult | Middle Grade | ||||
| Darcy Pattison @FictionNotes Writing teacher Darcy Pattison, known for her Novel Revision Retreat, will explain writing concepts, tips, strategies. The on-demand format allows you to fit the courses into your busy schedule. You access the videos any time day or night. | Young Adult | Middle Grade | ||||
| Dean Wesley Smith A variety of workshops, such as: Genre Structure, Plot, Cliffhangers, Pacing, World Building, and Promotion. Each 6 week workshop is limited to around twelve people. (Workshops require about four hours per week to complete.) Not specific to children’s and YA. | Young Adult | Middle Grade | ||||
| Essentials of Fiction Writing: Joyce Sweeney Step by step instructions—everything from book planning to marketing in this comprehensive, easy-to-understand 10-week course. Not specific to children’s and YA. | Young Adult | Middle Grade | Picture Book | |||
| Gotham Writers Workshop: Children’s Literature Workshops @gothamwriters The Gotham Writer’s Workshop offers courses for picture books, EZ readers, chapter books, middle grade, and young adult. These courses teach such craft elements as character, plot, point of view, description, dialogue, setting, voice, and theme. You will also learn how and where to market your work. | Young Adult | Middle Grade | Picture Book | |||
| Institute for Writers Are you interested in fiction? Nonfiction? Picture books? Young adult? Or are you looking for an adult readership? The Institute for Writers can help. | Young Adult | Middle Grade | Picture Book | |||
| James Patterson Teaches Writing @masterclass James Patterson, the author of 19 consecutive No. 1 New York Times Best Sellers, reveals his tricks of the trade. In this course, he guides you through every part of the book writing process. Not specific to children’s and YA. | Young Adult | Middle Grade | ||||
| Jane Friedman Online Classes @JaneFriedman Benefit from 20 years of Jane’s experience in writing, publishing, and digital media. Formerly publisher and editorial director at Writer’s Digest and digital editor for the Virginia Quarterly Review, Jane currently teaches digital media and publishing at the University of Virginia and is a columnist for Publishers Weekly. | Young Adult | Middle Grade | Picture Book | Nonfiction | ||
| Jessica Brody: Writing Mastery Productivity Hacks for Writers How to Develop Blockbuster Ideas that Sell Fiction for Young Writers | Young Adult | Middle Grade | ||||
| Just Write For Kids: Emma Walton Hamilton @ewhamilton An 8 week course in writing picture books from bestselling, award winning author Emma Walton Hamilton. Learn the fundamentals of writing picture books, including: finding ideas; developing characters, mapping a plot and identifying themes; engaging narrative, effective dialogue, successful beginnings, middles and endings; anthropomorphism; verse vs. prose and word play; editing and more. | Picture Book | |||||
| Kristen Lamb @KristenLambTX Classes to help you better your writing prowess. Not specific to children’s and YA. | Young Adult | Middle Grade | Self Publishing | |||
| Lawson Writer’s Academy @MargieLawson Margie Lawson’s Lawson Writer’s Academy offers online classes for writers of all genres. Not all courses are specific to children’s and YA. | Young Adult | Middle Grade | ||||
| Lit Reactor @LitReactor With LitReactor, you study what you want, when you want, at your own pace. Veteran authors and industry professionals host a wide range of classes in an online environment that’s interactive and flexible. Not all workshops are specific to children’s and YA. | Young Adult | |||||
| The Loft @loftliterary Offerings include novel writing, fiction, poetry, nonfiction, sci-fi, mystery, publishing & career, multigenre, and many more. Not all courses are specific to children’s and YA. | Young Adult | Middle Grade | ||||
| The Lyrical Language Lab: Punching up Prose with Poetry @ReneeMLaTulippe The Lyrical Language Lab teaches children’s writers the poetic techniques that will make their writing more powerful and infuse their manuscripts with poetry, music and magic. | Young Adult | Middle Grade | Picture Book | |||
| Making Picture Book Magic: Susanna Leonard Hill @SusannaLHill Making Picture Book Magic is a 4 week course that will teach you how to write a picture book around the edges of your busy life for a price you can afford, in a fun, friendly atmosphere. The course starts each month on the first of the month. Course is limited to 5-7 people each month. | Picture Book | |||||
| Media Bistro @Mediabistro Multi-session workshops and master classes with agents, editors and outstanding authors. Not all workshops are specific to children’s and YA. | Young Adult | |||||
| Odyssey Writing Workshops Charitable Trust Since 1996, the Odyssey Writing Workshop has become one of the most highly respected workshops for writers of fantasy, science fiction, and horror in the world. Odyssey offers only three online courses per year to ensure high quality. Working with students during class meetings and in between classes, instructors, the very best in the field, are able to foster illuminating discussions and provide personalized, in-depth advice. | Young Adult | Middle Grade | ||||
| Oregon Coast Children’s Book Writers Workshop: Publish a Picture Book! This intensive online writing course is one-on-one between you and your instructor. The starting time and pace are completely up to you. This course explores the craft of writing and deals with the issue of marketing. | Picture Book | |||||
| Oxford University (UK) @OxfordConted This online course is taught by author and SCBWI British Isles’ member Benjamin Scott. You will find your own voice and your own niche in writing for young adults, in sub-genres from realism to the supernatural. Become confident in writing convincing dialogue and gripping narrative, and in creating situations and characters with which young adults can identify. | Young Adult | |||||
| Pennwriters Pennwriters is a multi-genre writing organization offering a variety of online writing classes. Courses are not specific to children’s and YA. | Young Adult | Middle Grade | ||||
| Red Dirt Jessie Creative Writing Academy (for young writers) Named for instructor Anna Myer’s first published novel, “Red Dirt Jessie Writing Academy” is an online creative writing course designed for students ages twelve to eighteen. Anna is a published author of nineteen novels for young people. Students enrolled in her program will complete weekly writing exercises as well as four major writing assignments each semester, approximately one per month. | FOR YOUNG WRITERS Young Adult | FOR YOUNG WRITERS Middle Grade | ||||
| The School of Visual Storytelling @SVSLearn The School of Visual Storytelling teaches, empowers, and inspires artists who love to tell stories through their art. Each course is taught by WORKING professionals, giving contemporary advice and direction as to what’s relevant in the field right now. | Illustration | |||||
| Skipjack Publishing @SkipjackPublish SkipJack Publishing is an award-winning, best-selling independent publishing company, sharing their secrets and guiding you step-by-step to propel yourself—and your books—to publishing success. | Self Publishing | |||||
| Southern Tier Authors of Romance (STAR) Online writing workshops from highly-respected, successful authors. Workshops last four weeks, consist of a mix of lectures, exercises and discussions, and are conducted via a private listserv. All writers are welcome. Not specific to children’s and YA. | Young Adult | |||||
| UCSanDiego Extension Writer’s Program: Writing for the Middle Grade/YA Reader In this course, we will consider how a plot works, what makes a compelling character, and what drives a reader forward. Students will participate in an online critique group and have an opportunity to get their first five pages reviewed. | Young Adult | Middle Grade | ||||
| WANA International Social Media, Writing Craft and Writing Business classes. Not specific to children’s and YA. | Young Adult | Middle Grade | ||||
| WOW: Women On Writing @womenonwriting WOW offers a four-week program with Margo L. Dill for anyone interested in writing a children’s chapter book or novel for middle-grade, tween, or young adult. At the end of four weeks, students have the option to renew their registration and continue in the class. | Young Adult | Middle Grade | Self Publishing | |||
| Writers.com @writerscom Offering online writing classes since 1995. Classes take place either on an educational web site or via e-mail lists. Courses offer extensive communication and interaction between students and instructors. Not all classes are specific to children’s and YA. | Young Adult | Middle Grade | Nonfiction | |||
| Writer’s Digest Shop Webinars and Tutorials on writing and the business of writing. Not all workshops are specific to children’s and YA. | Young Adult | Middle Grade | Picture Book | Nonfiction | ||
| Writer’s Digest University Writer’s Digest University is the only program of web-based writing instruction developed by Writer’s Digest—the organization that literally “wrote the book” on writing and getting published. Not all courses are specific to children’s and YA. | Young Adult | Middle Grade | Nonfiction | |||
| Writers Helping Writers Webinars and online writing workshops from the duo who brought you The Bookshelf Muse and The Emotional Thesaurus, Becca Puglisi and Angela Ackerman. | Young Adult | Middle Grade | ||||
| The Writers’ Workshop: From Here To Publication (UK) This six-week course is designed for beginners who would like to see whether they can write successfully for children. | Young Adult | Middle Grade | Picture Book | |||
| Writing Classes for Kids As the name implies, this site offers online writing workshops for children, but also offers six-week writing courses and mentoring for adult writers. | Young Adult | Middle Grade | Picture Book | |||
| Writing 4Success Writing 4Success offers two e-courses which run continuously from February through to November each year—Spotlight on Characters, and Spotlight on Plotting. You can sign up whenever you like, and enroll in two courses simultaneously or one at a time. Courses are not specific to children’s and YA. | Young Adult | Middle Grade | ||||
| Writing Rhyme to WOW! Angie Karcher, founder of RhyPiBoMo (Rhyming Picture Book Month), offers a four week course, M-F with daily 45 minute lessons, writing prompts, rhyme journaling, creating tools you will use, webinars and critique groups. Each class begins on the first Monday of the month and the weekly webinars are on Thursdays at 8:00 p.m. Central Standard Time. | Picture Book | |||||
| YARWA—Young Adult Romance Writers of America @YA_RWA The Young Adult chapter of the Romance Writers of America celebrates all things YA, including online writing workshops and classes. | Young Adult |