ComicsPRO kicks off their C.R.E.D.I.T. program with a Kids Lit Conference at the end of the month
Aug 27 & 28, 2026 – ComicsPRO, the retail trade organization for the direct market announced earlier this year that they were expanding their educational programming to include an accreditation program. The C.R.E.D.I.T., or Comic Retailer Education, Development, and Industry Training, initiative focuses on helping store owners, managers, and employees develop and refine retail and bookselling skills. The first official workshop for the C.R.E.D.I.T. program will be the Hey Kids! Comic Shops Kids Lit Online Conference on August 27 and 28.
“The C.R.E.D.I.T. program came to life when we saw how many retailers were participating in our annual conference workshops and online mini classes,” said Shannon Live, ComicsPRO’s Director of Education. “There was such a hunger for viable information and knowledge exchange from retailers that we figured we needed to create more opportunities. As most trade organizations facilitate their industry’s accreditation and development opportunities, we knew it was up to ComicsPRO to find a way to initiate that for the direct market.”
The Hey Kids! Comic Shops Kids Lit Online Conference will feature two days of workshop, panel, and townhall style learning opportunities to help further retailer knowledge in everything from how to build and stock a Kids’s section to how to market and build events directly for that market. For each class you attend you will receive one hour of credit towards your Kids Lit ComicsPRO certification/professional development. Attend all of the classes and you will receive access to a Kid Lit Certification exam. Upon completion of the exam, you will earn a certificate of accreditation, a digital badge that you can put on your personal resume or list on your store website, and you will be listed in ComicsPRO database as certified in Kids Lit.
“Building the next generation of comic lovers is a huge job that we are all a part of,” Live said. “That means that we, as retailers, need to build the access points for kids and teens to discover comics in our stores. Some of the biggest requests we get from retailers are ‘how do I create a kids’ section’ and ‘how do you reach that market, especially when you are new to it.’ We wanted to kick off our new program with ways to help retailers reach the new market, allowing us to grow into the future together.”
Registration for Hey Kids! Comic Shops Kids Lit conference is open now via: https://comicspro.wufoo.com/forms/zyg6qw60h7hul9/ The conference is free to all ComicsPRO members with a $20 fee for non-members to participate. For more information on the conference or the C.R.E.D.I.T. program, contact Shannon Live at comicsproedu@gmail.com.
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