Pennsylvania: West

About Us

Welcome to the Pennsylvania West Region of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. We sponsor many professional activities each year to help our members in their professional development as writers and illustrators for children.

• Visit our regional Events page for the latest information.
• Connect with us on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram
• Critique Groups – If you’re looking for a critique group, we have several in the area. Please see this page for where our groups are located, if there are seats available, and who to contact to join.

Workshops

Our workshops include opportunities for manuscript reviews by peers and visiting editors. Check our events page often!

Fall Conferences

Our fall conferences include an evening of networking with visiting editors and agents followed by a full day of sessions and pre-scheduled reviews.

Meet the Regional Team

Elizabeth Pagel-Hogan, Regional Advisor

Elizabeth Pagel-Hogan is the Regional Advisor for SCBWI Pennsylvania: West. She is an award-winning children’s author from Pittsburgh, PA. She is the author of So You Want to Be President of the United States (Capstone, 2019), Medical Mishaps (Capstone, 2020) and Gadget Disasters (Capstone, 2020). She has written fiction books for Heinemann Literacy Project and KPS Storybook Development. She’s written textbook chapters and online biographies. Elizabeth also writes fiction, non-fiction, crafts and recipes for magazines including Highlights for Children, and Muse.

She was named a “Promising Writer to Watch” at the 2015 PA: West SCBWI conference. She was the 2016-2017 Pen Parents Fellow and won an SCBWI Merit Award in 2020.

Sarah Maynard, Assistant Regional Advisor

After living in New York, Vermont, Virginia, Texas and Maryland, Sarah now lives in Pittsburgh, PA with her husband, their four kids, a dog, a cat and books in every room. While in Maryland, Sarah was the Event Coordinator on the MD/DE/WV SCBWI Regional Committee and she is excited to share what she learned there in WPA. When she’s not reading or writing, Sarah loves hitting the water on her stand up paddle board, practicing her ukulele, trying out a new recipe in the kitchen, or finding zen on her yoga mat.

Julianna Zito, Regional Illustrator Coordinator

Julianna is from the North Hills of Pittsburgh. She grew up as an 80’s child with all the quirky imagination and bright colors that represent that era. She graduated from Deer Lakes High School and was determined to move beyond her country girl roots. She has lived all over – Santa Cruz, CA, St. Louis, MO, Philadelphia, PA and even Honolulu, HI. She is now settled down in the northern suburbs of Pittsburgh with her husband, two kids, chihuahua, and cat. Her background is full of variety both wonderful and traumatic – all of which inspire her to make people laugh – especially children.

Stephanie Keyes, Webinars/Online Learning

Stephanie Keyes is the author of the YA Fantasy series, The Star Child, as well as several other titles for the young adult market. Her most recent release, The Spellbinder’s Sonata, a tale where Beauty and the Beast meets The Phantom of the Opera, officially released on October 26th, 2018.

Mrs. Keyes is a 2018 International Book Award Finalist and a 2018 Reader’s Favorite Award Finalist. In addition, she’s in-demand as a public speaker and has appeared throughout the US and in the UK.

Stephanie also writes romance as Gemma McKay.

Michelle Vattula, New Members & Critique Groups

Michelle Vattula is a children’s picture book writer. She received her B.S. in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology from Miami University of Ohio and her M.S. in Speech-Language Pathology from Northeastern University in Boston. She has always loved language and creative writing which helped her start her career path to writing children’s books. Her debut picture book, The Stalking Seagulls, will be released in 2019 by MacLaren-Cochrane Publishing. Her second picture book, Dance With Me, will also be released by MCP, date is TBD. Michelle is an active member of the Western Pennsylvania Chapter of the SCBWI and is thrilled to be the new member coordinator for the WPA SCBWI.

Joy Givens, Events Coordinator

Joy Givens writes “fresh, fantastic, fierce” fiction, mostly for children and young adults. Her most recent projects include several pieces of award-winning short fiction, most recently published in WOW! Women on Writing, Five Minutes at Hotel Stormcove (2019) from Atthis Arts, and the anthologies Beach Life (2017) and Beach Fun (2018) from Cat & Mouse Press.

Joy resides in Pittsburgh with her husband, their two pint-sized superhero sons, and an impossibly lovable dog. When not writing, tutoring high school students, or freelance editing, she enjoys most genres of music, cooking for loved ones, volunteering in her church, and curling up with good books and good coffee.

Amy Wagner, Summer Brain Food Coordinator

Amy Wagner writes young adult contemporary fantasy. She is an active member of SCBWI and Pennwriters. She is thrilled to coordinate the Summer Brain Food Program for SCBWI and the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. Amy has attended the 2016 Rutgers One-on-One Plus Conference and is a PitchWars 2018 Alumni with her novel, A GOOD STORY IS HARD TO FIND.

Thomas Wright, Conference Coordinator

Thomas Wright has been a member of SCBWI since 2009. With a passion for children’s literature, he primarily writes MG and YA in both the contemporary and fantasy genres. He was an attendee to the 2018 Rutgers University Council on Children’s Literature. This year he is acting as Event Coordinator for SCBWI-Fall West Conference.

Dana DiSante, Assistant Conference Coordinator

Dana DiSante is the author of two children’s picture books about Penny the Pink Nose Poodle and is currently the Events & Features editor for CAPITOL STANDARD magazine. This year she is acting as the Assistant Conference Coordinator for the SCBWI-PA West Fall Conference.

Sabrina Fedel, Assistant Conference Coordinator

Sabrina Fedel is an award winning writer from Pittsburgh. Her debut novel, Leaving Kent State, brings to life the tragedy of the 1970 Kent State shootings, and her poetry and prose have appeared in various journals including The Pedestal Magazine and Lunch Ticket.

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