Welcome to the San Diego Chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

Our chapter covers the San Diego region and is one of the most active chapters in the country. Members come from a variety of backgrounds and range in experience from those new to children’s writing or illustrating to authors and illustrators with numerous published titles.

We meet the second Saturday of the month from September through May at theUniversity of San Diego’s Hahn School of Nursing Room 106 from 2:00-4:00 p.m.  maps/location

Monthly meetings feature a speaker on writing/illustrating and have time for chapter business, member announcements and networking. Some of our speakers are local; others are brought in from out of town. Every meeting is planned to further the development of our members' careers. Suggestions of topics and speakers are always welcome. For more information on this year’s program see meetings

Meetings are open to both SCBWI members and nonmembers. Cost: $7 for SCBWI members, $9 for nonmembers 

Season Tickets offer discounted admission to all meetings and include a subscription to our Chapter newsletter, The Sand Castle Legends. newsletter

In addition to our monthly chapter meetings, we host workshops and conferences and help link members together into critique groups

The San Diego Chapter also sponsors two classes:

Inside Children’s Books is a two-unit course offered through the University of San Diego’s Extended Studies office. The class meets in Room 108 of the Hahn School of Nursing from 12:30-4:00 p.m. the second Saturday of the month from September through May. In a small group setting, students learn about the children’s book industry while developing and preparing their own work for submission to publishers. As part of the class, students participate in the monthly chapter meetings to hear the latest in the field and to network with authors and illustrators of children’s literature. Cost is USD's tuition charge plus the price of a San Diego SCBWI Season Ticket.

How to Write, Illustrate and Sell Children’s Books is a three-hour one-time class offered through the Learning Annex approximately every other month. The class provides an overview of the industry including types of children’s books, key elements of successful stories, publishers, the current market and how to query and submit your work. Cost, dates and locations can be found at Learning Annex

Our Chapter is run entirely by our wonderful volunteers

Greeters: click greeters to sign up to welcome participants at one of our monthly meetings.

If you have any questions not answered by this site, please email us at chapter@sandiego-scbwi.org or see contact  We welcome comments, questions and suggestions, as well as volunteers!

We look forward to seeing you at our next meeting.