Everything You Need to Know About the Client Connections 2026 Lottery and Prep Session

Client Connections 2026 takes place April 23-24, 2 to 5 p.m. Eastern time. Keep reading to understand how to register, how the lottery process works, and how to prepare.

We know how hard it is out there for freelancers. Budgets are drying up. Editors are being laid off, and AI is taking center stage. But there are signs that things are turning around – including the fact that nearly 40 outlets have signed up for Client Connections 2026 – 40 and counting!

ASJA’s signature speed dating event for professional members continues to attract agents, editors, and content marketing firms that want to meet with ASJA members.

Among the 40 clients that have signed up to date are:

• Editors from AARP The Magazine, Atlanta Magazine, Boston College Magazine, Common Good Magazine, The Guardian, and Scientific American 
• Content marketing firms such as Casual Astronaut and EM Marketing
• Literary agents such as Talcott Notch, Rita Rosenkranz Literary Agent, and Ted Weinstein Literary Management
• Book publishers, including Little, Brown Spark, as well as associations, and more. 

See the entire Client Connections 2026 client list here.

During Clients Connections, ASJA professional members will spend 9 minutes in one-on-one meetings with their choice of clients. Members can register to attend Client Connections by itself or bundled with registration for the 2026 virtual conference. Either way, you have until April 12 at 11:59 p.m. EDT to sign up.

Client Connections changes careers. Even a single assignment can pay for your entire conference fee as many of our members can attest.

How the Client Connections 2026 Lottery Works

Signing up for Client Connections is a two-step process: First, you need to register for Client Connections; second, you need to fill out the lottery form.

Once you register for Client Connections, start thinking about the clients with whom you want to meet. You can select those clients during the Client Connections lottery, which is open from Sunday, April 5, at 11:59 p.m. ET, to Sunday, April 12 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

It’s possible to register for Client Connections until the penultimate day of the week-long lottery. But it’s advisable to leave yourself enough time to consider your choices. Before the lottery opens, evaluate which participating outlets make sense for you to meet with based on your experience and talents. There’s nothing worse than spending 9 minutes talking to someone who can’t use you – and you both know it.

When deciding which clients you want to meet with, also consider that if you select only “popular” outlets or agencies, there’s a good chance you’ll only be matched with one or two clients. If you choose clients that might be less well known (but still pay well), you’ll have a better chance of securing more meetings.

When you come up with a list, get ready to transfer it to the Client Connections 2026 lottery form. 

When the lottery opens, choose up to eight clients to meet with. Rank your selections in order of preference. All selections are final, so choose carefully. Once you submit the form, there’s no way to change it.

Client matching happens after the lottery closes and is completely automated. A database of every participating writer’s selection is fed into a computer program that creates the fairest schedule for everyone. The program is randomized, designed to start with everyone’s first choice, and move up and down the list until everyone has at least one of their selections. 

Once matching is completed, participants will be notified of the client meetings they secured by Thursday, April 16 at 5 p.m. ET. Please remember: just because you requested eight meetings doesn’t mean you will get eight meetings! Client Connection participants are guaranteed one meeting, but could secure two, three, or more meetings, depending on each client’s popularity with other writers and how many slots they have signed up for. 

Attend the CC26 Prep Session on April 13

To make sure you get the most out of client meetings, the three Client Connections co-chairs –  Cari Shane, Richard Eisenberg, and I – will host a prep session, “How to Prepare for Connections 2026,” on Zoom, on Monday, April 13 4 to 5 p.m. ET. Look for the Zoom link coming soon. During the meeting, we will explain how to best prepare for these short, one-on-one client networking meetings. Put the date on your calendar today! 

Find the full ASJA 2026 conference schedule and register here. To stay up to speed with ASJA news and events, subscribe to the ASJA Weekly newsletter, read ASJA Confidential blog or follow ASJA on LinkedIn.

And keep the faith! Journalists are some of the most flexible, transformative people in the world. We will find a way through – AI be damned!

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KJ Bannan is a seasoned journalist, content strategist, editor, moderator, and storyteller with more than 20 years of experience crafting stories across technology, health, business, human resources, personal finance, and lifestyle topics. A graduate of New York University with a master’s degree in journalism, she writes for top-tier publications, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Parents, Time, Forbes, USA Today, Reader’s Digest, WebMD, Marie Claire, and many others. She previously served as editorial director at New America’s Public Interest Technology practice and was executive editor for Smart Enterprise magazine from CA Technologies. Bannan is also a passionate advocate for children. Her first book, 5-Minute Devotional for Girls (Chartwell Books), arrives in June. Her second title, Beautiful Bible Stories for Children, also by Chartwell Books, will hit shelves at the end of 2026.