Explore every episode of the podcast 12 x 12 Picture Book Podcast

Are you in the submission trenches?

Co-Founders of The Complete Picture Book Submissions System Emma Walton Hamilton and Julie Hedlund share their submission expertise to help you write better query letters!

What you'll discover:

• Tips for submitting your manuscript to agents or editors
• A template for writing your pitch
• The person who reads your query first (It may not be who you think it is...)
• The difference between a pitch and a synopsis
• Who should be the focus of your pitch
• The job of the pitch
• Why the voice of your pitch is so important

Get Emma and Julie's free submissions training here: picturebooksubmissions.com/free-training

Come be part of the community! Join the 12 x 12 Picture Book Writing Challenge in 2026. Register by February 15, 2026 here: 12x12challenge.com/membership/

Subscribe, like, and share the podcast with your fellow kidlit writers!

Join the fun as Julie Hedlund interviews our first-ever podcast guest: agent Adria Goetz of KT Literary! 

What you'll discover:

• How Adria became an agent
• What editors are looking for (and NOT looking for) in today's market
• The importance of market entry points and hooks
• The top 3 booksellers in the United States
• How to make your work stand out in a tough market
• Why Adria keeps coming back to 12 x 12 as a Featured Agent
• What it's like getting submissions in your inbox
• How agents view submissions with AI components
• Picture books Adria loves right now

Books mentioned in this episode: 

• The Princess and the Grain of Rice by Tina Cho and Honee Jang
• Millie Fleur's Poison Garden by Christy Mandin
• In the Groves by Andrea Cruz Floren 

Come be part of the community! Join the 12 x 12 Picture Book Writing Challenge in 2026. Click here to register by February 15, 2026.

Get 25% off off Adria's 12 x 12 webinar here: https://12x12challenge.com/adria

Adria's website: https://adriagoetz.wpcomstaging.com/

Johnny Carson and Ed McMahon. Laurel and Hardy. Thelma and Louise. Life is more fun with a partner—and work is certainly easier with someone who has your back. And no one has Julie's back like her co-host Kelli Panique. 

What you'll discover in this episode:

• How Julie and Kelli started working together
• What they each bring to the partnership
• Why community is so important to them
• Kelli's favorite and least favorite things about working in 12 x 12
• Little-known facts about Kelli

Join the 12 x 12 Picture Book Writing Challenge in 2026. Click here to register by February 15, 2026.

Subscribe and review if you like the podcast! Future episodes will include author and illustrator interviews, conversations with agents and editors, and discussions on the craft of writing picture books and getting published.

Thanks for listening!

Welcome to the 12 x 12 Picture Book Podcast! 

Host Julie Hedlund, Founder of the 12 x 12 Picture Book Writing Challenge, introduces us to this new podcast for picture book writers and/or illustrators. 

What you'll discover in this episode: 

• The history of the 12 x 12 Picture Book Writing Challenge
• When to register for the 2026 challenge
• 12 things Julie wished she knew when she started writing picture books

Join the 12 x 12 Picture Book Writing Challenge in 2026. Click here to register by February 15, 2026.

Subscribe and join us for the new endeavor! Future episodes will include author and illustrator interviews, conversations with agents and editors, and discussions on the craft of writing picture books and getting published.

Find out more at www.12x12challenge.com.

We'll see you there!