Middle Grade with agent Carter Hasegawa, (Opening Pages) fall 2025
September 17th, 2025 - October 17th, 2025
with Emily M. Bailey
Non-members may register on August 4th at 08:00 (EDT).
You'll submit your pages at the group start, then spend the next weeks critiquing peer stories. Carter will submit his notes near the critique deadline. After critiques are complete, we host a 2-hour group debrief, in which each writer gets 15 minutes of individual time with Carter to dig into feedback, brainstorm next steps, and discuss any writing questions.
Our goal with these events is to help writers become stronger storytellers. That said, each opening pages event we offer also comes with a submission opportunity.
<p>You may take one middle grade workshop per season. Fall season includes workshops with 'fall' in the title. If there is space in a workshop 1 month prior to it starting, you may register for a second workshop.<br></p>
Notes
Who this workshop is for: <p>This workshop is best suited to writers who are querying, preparing to query, or for agented writers who are looking for a high level educational event. <br></p>
Focus: Adult - Short Fiction - Literary, upmarket or general
Group size: 7 writers
Submissions: <p>There will be one submission of your first 3750 words of prose, or 2500 words of verse (approximately 15 pages) at the workshop start. Participants should also plan to share their pitch/short summary with their pages. Your pitch is not included in the word count and will not be critiqued.</p><p><span style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: 700;">Changes and Withdrawals Policy: </span></p><ul><li>2 months or more ahead of a workshop start: you will be credited the full amount of the workshop, less a $20 change fee.</li><li>Under 2 months to 14 days ahead of a workshop start: If we are able to replace you, you will be credited for the full workshop price less a $20 change fee. If we can't replace you, you will receive a credit for 50% of the workshop cost. </li><li>Withdrawals within 14 days of a workshop start: If we can replace you, you will receive a credit for 50% of the workshop price. If we cannot replace you, you will not receive a credit. Your fee will go towards our workshops and scholarships. </li></ul>
Fee
Members: $135; Non-members: $158
About Emily M. Bailey
Carter Hasegawa has been in the children’s book world for nearly 20 years—as a book seller for various indies across the US, as an editor at Candlewick Press, and now, as a literary agent. Why kids’ books? It began in the late-90s with Andrew Clement’s Frindle, became a solid go-to genre with Jerry Spinelli’s Maniac Magee, and finally, it became a wished-for career with Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief. “The thing I’ve always loved about children’s literature,” he says, “is that beyond the sheer range of incredible stories, it’s always served as a sort of testing ground for me: of new ideas, of new experiences, of new viewpoints, of emotional extremes.”
Carter is incredibly proud of the work he did while at Candlewick, but he’s especially looking forward to finding and developing new talent – authors, author-illustrators, illustrators – and having a hand in crafting some of the best books out there.
When asked what he’s looking for in a book, he compares it to a particular scene from the movie version of The NeverEnding Story: “The main character, Bastian, is so drawn to a book he finds at a used bookstore that he steals away with it and hides out in his school’s attic and begins to read. In that moment, all that matters is the book. To hold it, turn its pages, fall into its story . . . it’s magic.”
In addition to the already-mentioned titles, some of his favorite books include Watercress, My Papi Has a Motorcycle, Big, Tar Beach, Wednesday Wars, Ender’s Game, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Notorious Benedict Arnold, and SO MANY others. Carter is also an active mentor/speaker for SCBWI, The Writing Barn, Inked Voices, and more.