Join our in-person Near West Suburban Network event on Thursday June 5th 2025, 7 p.m.– Dole Branch Meeting Room, Dole Library, 255 Augusta Street, Oak Park.Have you ever wondered why some phrases from favorite books, snippets of famous speeches, or even lyrics from popular songs linger in your mind? What exactly is it about the wording that makes them so memorable? Author and poet Eileen Rajala Meyer will review nineteen different poetic devices that add audible effects, intensify emotion, heighten relationships between words, and help capture mood through sound in your writing. A program for prose and poetry writers alike, Eileen will provide examples from a dozen children’s picture books as she highlights these poetic devices. Handout (book list and term definition sheet) included for attendees. Q & A at the end of the program.
Join us as we celebrate and support the new independent bookstore in Oak Park, 
Get to know the local kidlit creatives in your area and join us for a bookish gathering. We’ll do some gentle and playful creative writing exercises, designed to kickstart new ideas and develop storycraft techniques so bring along a pen and paper. Where? La Grange Public Library, Board, Room, 10 W Cossitt Avenue, La Grange, IL 60525
Join our Near West Suburban Network together with the Chicago Southland Network for a discussion with special guest 
On Valentine’s Eve, in our SCBWI Illinois network we’ll be thinking about kidlit romance. How do you create believable romance in YA? How is romance used as a subplot in different genres? And what about middle grade? We’ll look at excerpts and talk about technique. Join us and share your kidlit romance thoughts and recommendations, too. We meet online at 7 p.m. on Thursday February 13th. Click this 
Join us and visit the 
