October is the time for ghosts and ghouls to scare the bejeebers out of us as they creep out of the closet. Even more exciting…it’s NIGHTMARE ON QUERY STREET month! This is a fabulous writerly contest hosted by Michelle, Michael, and SC.

What’s that? You don’t have a scary manuscript to enter. NEVER FEAR! The contest is designed for only your pitch to be scary. You need to write a paragraph of no more than 100 words about what the most fearsome obstacle your main character has to overcome and submit with your query and first 250 words of your manuscript. So, your MC doesn’t have to be fleeing a group of vampires to be entered in this awesome contest. Oh no! Your MC’s most fearsome obstacle could be the eight-year-old nosy neighbor that will rat him out about the party he threw last week if he doesn’t buy that $500 WII system for her.

Now hurry and get to planning your pitch! The submission window opens at 12 noon (EST) on October 15th. The window will close at 12 noon (EST) October 17th or when they receive 225 entries. But know there are rules to be followed, so read everything here to make sure you clearly understand the submission guidelines.

As always, good luck!

P.D. Pabst
Writer and blogger of MG/YA fiction