Chad W. Beckerman

C H A D  W . B E C K E R M A N, Agent (he/him)


Chad brings over 20 years of illustration and design experience to the CAT Agency. After studying illustration as an undergrad at RISD, Chad went on to be a Designer at Scholastic, a Senior Designer at Greenwillow Books, and then became the Creative Director at ABRAMS Kids and Comic Arts, where he spent 13 years overseeing the design of 250 books a year – from picture books, to novels, to graphic novels, and art and entertainment books. Chad is behind the aesthetic for over forty New York Times bestselling and award-winning books including the blockbuster Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney, the Caldecott honor and Coretta Scott King Award winning Trombone Story, illustrated by Brian Collier, and the Newbery Medal honor books El Deafo, and Heart of the Samurai. He brings this unique view of children's books to his growing roster of illustrators.


Chad’s agent website is found here.


For the 2024 Critique Carousel, Chad Beckerman will be critiquing:


  • Picture book dummy 
  • Graphic novels fiction or nonfiction 
  • Portfolio review


Special note: Chad will be giving video critiques. Chad will be responding not with a written critique, but with a zoom recording of his review of the materials. This is in place of the written review. This way, Chad can also look at your website and socials to see how you are communicating to art directors, editors, and agents with your work selections.