Registration Questions

Can I register by phone, fax, or mail rather than online?
No. All conference registrations must be done online.

What membership is required (SCBWI International vs. SCBWI Western Washington Regional Programming, etc.) in order to register for the conference?
You do not have to be a member of SCBWI or pay for regional programming in order to attend the conference. However, you must be a member of SCBWI International in order to take advantage of consultations or the juried art portfolio displays. You must be a PAL-level member of SCBWI to participate in the published attendee celebration, the published attendee art portfolio display, or the published pro think tank. All SCBWI International members also receive a $20 discount on conference tuition.

How do I know if I’m an SCBWI member?
You are only an SCBWI member if you have paid the $70/$85 fee to the SCBWI International office in Los Angeles, CA (Paying for a passport to SCBWI Western Washington’s Professional Series Meetings does not make you a member.). You can confirm your SCBWI membership status at www.scbwi.org; sign in and click Membership Renewal to view your current expiration date, and/or to renew your membership.

How do I know if I’m a PAL member?
You can verify that you are a PAL member before you register by logging in to www.scbwi.org and viewing your profile. If you are listed as a Full or Associate member, you will need to update your profile to include your most recent qualifying publication. You can update your profile once a publication date has been assigned, even if your book has not yet been released. If your publisher does not appear in the drop-down menus, you’ll need to apply for PAL member status at SCBWI PAL Membership Inquiry Form. Please note: You do not have to be a PAL member unless you’re signing up for the Published Pro Think Tank, the Published Attendee Portfolio Display, or the Published Attendee Celebration.

I’ve gotten to the payment area and there is a box for a discount code.
Should I have a one?
Most likely, the answer is no. The discount code is for faculty and advisory committee members. Please leave it blank and proceed with payment.

How do I know if I’m registered?
You’ll know you’ve successfully completed conference registration after you click on the “Finish” button and are brought to a confirmation page that contains important next steps. You will also receive a confirmation email almost immediately following completion of registration. If neither of these two things happened, you will have to go back and re-register. The most common cause for this is forgetting to click on the “Finish” button as the last step in the process.

What if I didn’t get a confirmation email?
You are likely not registered, but please check your spam/junk folder in case it got stuck there. You should have received a confirmation email with a confirmation number almost immediately following completion of registration.

Can I pay for and attend only one day of the conference?
Unfortunately it is not possible to pay for one day of the conference. It’s your call, of course, if you attend just one day. But you will be required to pay the full conference tuition in order to attend any of the conference sessions.

Can I get a refund?
Refunds will be given (minus a $25 processing fee) to those who cancel their conference registration on or before March 19, 2012. Cancellation and refund policies for additional opportunities vary, but manuscript and art sample consultations are nonrefundable for any reason.

How do I view, cancel, or modify my registration?
Follow the instructions sent as part of your emailed registration confirmation to view, cancel, or modify registration.

What if I change my mind about which breakout sessions I want to attend?
Don’t stress. Your choices help us assign breakout sessions to rooms that will accommodate the expected number of attendees. If you change your mind about your breakout session choices on or before the conference, it’s not a problem. If you’d like your selections updated, simply follow the instructions in your confirmation email to modify your registration.

Can I register for more than one consultation?
You may sign up for a maximum of one art consultation (art sample, dummy, or graphic novel) and one manuscript consultation. If you register for more than one type of art consultation, we will arbitrarily cancel the extras. There are no refunds for consultations.

Can I just sign up for Additional Opportunities and not the conference?
You must be a registered conference attendee in order to take advantage of any of the Additional Opportunities other than the Published Pros Think Tank.

Do I need to select Published Attendee Celebration if I’d like to attend but don’t have any books to display?
No. All conference attendees are invited to attend and enjoy the Published Attendee Celebration. Only those wishing to display and sell books must register.

When does registration close?
Conference registration will close when the conference sells out. Do not delay if you wish to attend!

Do I have to register in advance, or will there be onsite registration on the day of the event?
You must register online in advance. There will not be onsite registration as we anticipate the conference will sell out well in advance of the conference.

Additional Opportunities Questions

How do I format my submission for First Pages?
Click here for manuscript formatting information.

How do I send a first page, or materials for a consultation, or do most anything else after registering?
Please read these Important Next Steps, which may also be found online (once you register and enter your confirmation code).

How do the First Pages Panels work?
You choose the complimentary session (or sessions) that you would like to attend. When you complete registration, you will receive detailed instructions about how and where to send your one-page writing sample. The designated AdCom host of each session will read through the qualifying submissions IN RANDOM ORDER as quickly as they can. After each, the agent and editor will have a chance to comment. Not all submissions will be read, but you will, at the very least, learn what the hosts (and others like them) are looking for in a submission. You may register for more than one session, but you must send a different manuscript for each session.

Did you receive my manuscript for consultation, first page, etc.?
We receive a huge quantity of registration materials and our volunteers cannot check for your specific package. If you wish to know if we received your materials, please purchase delivery confirmation from USPS (WITHOUT signature required!) and/or include a self addressed, stamped postcard.

Does my manuscript/dummy/first page need to be received by you by the due date or post-marked by the due date?
All items due for Additional Opportunities must be received by the due dates. No exceptions.

Food & Beverage Questions

Will there be breakfast on Sunday?
No, only coffee and a light snack will be served on Sunday morning.

If I have special dietary needs, will food be available for me?
Please be sure to report common dietary restrictions (vegetarian, vegan, and/or gluten-free) in your online registration as you will be given marked meal tickets when you check in at the conference. We will provide food and beverage options from each of those categories for those who requested them during online registration. That said, we can’t guarantee that the food provided will meet your particular food needs. Please consider bringing additional items if you have very specific needs or if this is of great concern to you.