HOW TO ROCK YOUR WORLD-BUILDING

Bring your worlds to life—whether they’re set in faraway galaxies, enchanted forests, or the familiar corners of your hometown. In this lively, hands-on workshop, award-winning science fiction and fantasy author Henry Lien shares surprising, practical strategies to help you craft worlds that captivate young readers and linger in their imaginations long after the story ends.
You’ll explore how to:

• Avoid the most common worldbuilding clichés.
• Use worldbuilding as an empathy engine to create emotionally rich stories.
• Balance imagination, research, and the actual writing process.
• Build worlds—fantastical or realistic—that feel authentic, immersive, and full of heart.

Whether you write picture books, middle grade, or young adult fiction, this session will help you deepen your craft and make your settings sparkle with originality and purpose.
And yes—this workshop is taught by the world’s foremost expert in kung fu figure skating Asian fantasy worldbuilding. You don’t want to miss it.