Wrap Up and Awards

Wrap Up and Awards

Post an amazing keynote from Brian Selznick, we come to the conclusion of this year's conference. Announced by Sarah Diamond,  the Associate Director, Digital Content and Awards for SCBWI, we ended the 2026 Virtual Summer Conference with the award ceremony. 

Congratulations to Pamela Agboga, Carla Colagrosso, Deepa Jain, Tamara MC, Tamera Norwood, Susie Rios, Lily Rong, and Kala Willette on being awarded the General Conference Scholarship Winners, through the generosity of Penguin Random House.

Congratulations to Yassaman Emami, and Czacarri Muli on being awarded the Student Illustrator Scholarship Award!  

Congratulations to Tasha Brision, and Huong Nguyen on being awarded the BIPOC Scholarship Award!

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Congratulations to Susanne Gervay on being awarded the Stephen Mooser Member of the Year!

"Count your age by friends, not years. Count your life by smiles, not tears." - John Lennon 

"SCBWI is about incredible friendships across the global. It travels with me. I help people and they help me, and I get the world of creativity through this org and I'm very grateful for this accolade. It is an accolade cause it is a big part of my life."

sgervay.com

2026 Portfolio Showcase Award Winners

2 Bronze Award winners will receive:

- One phone/virtual meeting with an art director or agent who will provide guidance and feedback on your portfolio.
- One image from the winner’s portfolio will be showcased in the SCBWI booth at the 2027 Bologna Children’s Book Fair.*

Congratulations to Emmeline Forrestal and Rita Tu on the winning the Bronze Award!

1 Silver Award winner will receive:

-Two phone/virtual meetings with art directors/agents who will provide guidance and feedback on your portfolio,
-A one year renewal of your SCBWI membership, and
-One image from your portfolio will be showcased in the SCBWI booth at the 2027 Bologna Children’s Book Fair.*

Congratulations to Czacarri Muli on winning the Silver Award!

1 Gold Award winner will receive:

-Free admission to the next Virtual Summer Conference,
-Two phone/virtual meetings with art directors/agents who will provide guidance and feedback on your portfolio,
-A one year renewal of your SCBWI membership, and
-Two images from your portfolio will be showcased in the SCBWI booth at the 2027 Bologna Children’s Book Fair.*

Congratulations to Kristen Uroda on winning the Gold Award!

Portfolio Showcase 2026!

Portfolio Showcase 2026!

With over 100 portfolios submitted, the Industry Night was buzzing. This being my third year attending, each year the quality of work has grown and grown! Such beautiful art by amazingly talented artist! Publishing professionals came together to review all of the work and it was fun to be a fly on the wall! They were rave reviews!

Early that day, the artist dropped off their portfolio to be judged, to be announced tomorrow, so stay tuned BUT this year SCBWI has introduced a new feature... 

Award-Winning Writing Showcase Winners— in the flesh!

Having been digital in the past, this year, SCBWI wanted to move to a more tactical way to experience writer's work. Each winner had a spread with all their information, loglines, writing samples, etc. It was available for attendees to browse and is a great way to showcase our writers, not only illustrators. 

We are looking forward to a weekend of fun, connection and growth! Follow along all weekend with our awesome Team Blog!

Can't make it to the In-Person Winter Conference in New York City, join us online at the Virtual Winter Conference featuring inspirational talks, industry panels and deep-dive Creative Labs, taking place in February of 2026. Videos of all sessions are available to watch for approximately 30 days after the event.