Join the Open Talks

Join the Open Talks

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As we strive to do with all our open calls, Paal is not just a contest, but a strategy aimed at providing guidance and training tools for the artists and creators who are part of our community, as well as opening the door to another path for the professional development of ideas and stories.

That is why, every year, we organize a number of online activities for everyone interested and for those participating in the open call.

This year, due to the festival's change of dates and some adjustments related to our workload, the activities will take place over the coming weeks.

The masterclasses

This time, we have prepared a series of talks focused both on understanding and defining the audience targeted by the open call (children ages 5 to 7), as well as on aspects related to publishing with a publishing house or self-publishing a picture book.

The talks will take place on the afternoon of Monday, September 7, and will be streamed on both Facebook and Instagram. We will be joined by outstanding members of our community. These are the topics and schedules:

• 5:00 pm. Writing for Children, led by Mariana Cano, Programming Manager Kids & Animation, and Soledad Yañez, Sr. Manager of Original Production, both at Warner Bros. Latin America.

• 7:00 pm. Illustrating for a Publisher, led by El Dee, author, illustrator, and editor, who has worked for publishing houses including Planeta, Penguin Random House, and SM, and was the winner of the Chinelo Comic of the Year award, among other prizes and recognitions.

If you are participating in Paal, interested in exploring the publishing path, or want to better understand the interests and characteristics of the children's audience, you can't miss these talks.

The mentoring sessions

In addition to the talks, every year we also hold one-on-one online mentoring sessions for those participating in the open call, so they can receive initial feedback on the progress of their projects in individual sessions with one or two different mentors.

In addition to the speakers, this year our mentors will also include Diana Zela, author and illustrator represented by The Bright Agency, as well as Efrén Victoria, a prominent illustrator for the newspaper El Informador and winner of Paal in 2024 with his picture book Cómo suena el amor.

There's still time to participate!

You don't need to have your story 100% finished to take part in the mentoring sessions, but to make the most of the opportunity, it is advisable to have at least the complete idea and a rough layout of the pages.

Remember that simply by participating in the open call, you receive a 1-Day Creator Pass (which you can upgrade to a higher-tier pass) for this year's Pixelatl Festival.

Check out the complete open call by clicking here.