In this 6-week writer coaching program you will work closely with Literary Agent Alyssa Eisner Henkin to create the best version of your young adult or middle grade book, chapter or picture book, or graphic novel script, and move it toward publication!

You will improve your craft and your book with weekly feedback on your writing, enjoy motivation and accountability, and join a fun, supportive community of your fellow writers.

Are you an aspiring author who writes for the young adult, middle grade, or children's market? Do you have a story idea that you've begun to write, but can't find the drive to finish? Or, maybe you have finished a first draft but have no idea what to do next?

Are you struggling to harness your inner child, create authentic characters, or pace your book in a way that will engage younger readers?

We've been there. Writing a book is hard enough. When you're writing for the younger set, there's the added challenge of needing to understand the youthful mind to such a degree that they empathize with your story—and would choose it over scrolling through social media.

At the end of this 6-week program, you’ll use the feedback you receive from an expert literary agent and your peers to raise your writing and your book to the next level, and move toward publication.

There is no better motivation for writers than getting instant feedback on your work. In this program, you will share your writing (up to 5,000 words each week) and receive helpful feedback and guidance from literary agent Alyssa Eisner Henkin and other writers in the program. 

Consider this program a kind of “One-Stop Shop” for building your kidlit writing career. It will turn you into a better writer, help you craft your query letter, finish your book faster, and create the best, most polished product at the end of the 6 weeks.

Alyssa Eisner Henkin is the owner and Lead Agent at Birch Path Literary. She has a BA in American Literature from the University of Pennsylvania and a background in editing at Simon & Schuster, where she worked for seven years in the Books for Young Readers department.

Afterward, she took a literary agent position at Trident Media Group. Over the next fourteen years at TMG, she championed a list of award-winning and bestselling children’s book creators and rose to the role of Executive Vice President.

In early 2021, Alyssa Eisner Henkin launched Birch Path Literary, where she provides a compass in helping authors and illustrator navigate the intricate, ever-changing, and ultimately verdant publishing landscape.

Picture holding the first printed copy of your book in your hands. Picture seeing it on store shelves around the world. Picture pulling it up on Amazon and seeing hundreds of five-star reviews.

This 6-week intensive mentorship will help you crack your writer's block, boost your self-confidence, and give you the expert feedback you need to there. 

This program is led by Alyssa Eisner Henkin, a literary agent with more than 23 years of experience in the publishing industry. She knows great writing, but also what publishers—and readers—are seeking.

Look, you've spent enough time trying to get into the mind of your young characters to get them just right.

You've read countless blogs on how to improve your pacing to hold the slippery attention of children and young adults.

You've tried your best to stay motivated long enough to finish your manuscript and wade through the murky query trenches.

You've learned how to plaster a smile on your face and spew vague answers when your friends ask about the progress of your book.

You could stay in this place, confused about the path to publication.

You could continue trading pages with amateur writing friends you met online, scrolling through blogs, wasting time on Twitter.

You could enrol in yet another writing course with no new information.

...But we'd rather help you leave a legacy for the world in the pages of your book!