Deadline Approaching for Futurescapes Writing Contest

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Futurescapes is seeking short stories set in a near-future city where significant strides have been made toward improving air quality, climate adaptation, or even net positive impacts on climate and air quality. Thus, their theme for 2017 is “Blue Sky Cities.”

Here’s a breakdown of the important stuff:

  • You’ll need a work of short fiction up to 8,000 words.
  • No fee to enter for first entry, but you can submit a second for a fee.
  • $2000 for first prize.
  • $500 for five runners-up.
  • Publication in an anthology.

The contest deadline is October 13, 2017. For complete guidelines and the form to enter, click here. As always, good luck.

P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA fiction

Inked Voices First Page Workshop with Tina Wexler GIVEAWAY!

Contests, Critiques, Literary, Webinar/Workshop, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

inkedVoicesLogo

Here’s a chance to win a spot in Inked Voices’ upcoming Middle Grade Fiction First Pages Workshop with Tina Wexler of ICM Partners, which normally costs $82 for members and $99 for non-members. That’s right, you could get in for FREE!!!

  • Who this workshop is for: YA SFF writers ready for agent feedback and interested in meeting writers at a similar stage.
  • Focus: Middle Grade Fiction
  • Group size: 9 writers
  • Submissions: Writers will submit their first 3750 words (about 15 pages) at the workshop start.

To submit for your chance to win a spot in this great workshop, go here. Submissions close after October 10th, 2017. As always, good luck!

P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA fiction.

Revise & Resub Feedback Giveaway!

Contests, Literary

#RevPit

Revise & Resub is giving 70 spots away to writers wanting feedback on their query and first five pages! The participating editors will post their comments on the #10queries twitter hashtag. (Not to be confused with #tenqueries where agents tweet their reactions while reading queries…and apparently one disgruntled troll.) All winners will be selected via Rafflecopter.

The Schedule:

  • Saturday, October 7th: Contest drawing opens for writers.
  • Wednesday, October 11th: Drawing closes, and winners are notified to send their query/five pages.
  •  Thursday, October 12th – Friday, October 13th: Editors will review the submissions packages.
  • Saturday, October 14th: The editors will share their #10queries throughout the day!

The names of the chosen writers will remain anonymous. But don’t worry, the editors will send emails to the winners so they can match their submission to the corresponding tweet.

The Editors:

In order to submit, watch for the Rafflecopter to go live on their blog (scroll to the bottom of the guidelines). As always, good luck!

P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA fiction.

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dvpitlogo

The search for diversity within books has increased, not just with secondary characters but main characters. The world wants to see a fabulous palette of colors and cultures among the stories they read and the publishing industry is responding! This prompted literary agent Beth Phelan of The Bent Agency to create DVpit.

According to the site, #DVpit is a twitter event created to showcase pitches about and by marginalized voices. This includes (but is not limited to): Native peoples and people of color; people living and/or born/raised in underrepresented cultures and countries; disabled persons; people with illness; people on marginalized ends of the socioeconomic, cultural and/or religious spectrum; people identifying as LGBTQIA+; and more.

The next event will spread over two days:

  • October 2nd, 2017 will be for Children’s & Teen Fiction/Nonfiction (picture books, chapter books, graphic novel, middle grade, young adult).
  •  October 3rd, 2017 will be for Adult Fiction/Nonfiction (all genres, commercial and literary).

Each day the event will run from 8am-8pm ET using the hashtag #DVpit. Be sure and pitch your manuscript on the correct day because agents/editors will search the feed on the specific day of the categories they represent/acquire.

As always, good luck!

P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA fiction

Inked Voices First Page Workshop with Eric Smith GIVEAWAY!

Contests, Literary, Webinar/Workshop, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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Here’s a chance to win a spot in Inked Voices’ upcoming Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy First Pages Workshop with Eric Smith of P.S. Literary, which normally costs $82 for members and $99 for non-members. That’s right, you could get in for FREE!!!

  • Who this workshop is for: YA SFF writers ready for agent feedback and interested in meeting writers at a similar stage.
  • Focus: fantasy – Young Adult – Science fiction
  • Group size: 8 writers
  • Submissions: Writers will submit their first 3750 words (about 15 pages) at the workshop start.

To submit for your chance to win a spot in this great workshop, go here. Submissions close after October 5th, 2017. As always, good luck!

P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA fiction.

L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers & Illustrators of the Future Contest is Ending Soon!

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L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers and Illustrators of the Future contest entries ends on September 30, 2017. So, hurry and get your submissions in.

Writers
L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future Contest is an opportunity for new and amateur writers of new short stories or novelettes of science fiction or fantasy. No entry fee is required. Entrants retain all publication rights. All awards are adjudicated by professional writers only. Prizes every three months: $1,000, $750, $500, with an annual grand prize: $5,000 additional! If you have not read the contest rules, please click here before submitting. To enter, go here.

Illustrators
L. Ron Hubbard’s Illustrators of the Future Contest is an opportunity for new science fiction and fantasy artists worldwide. No entry fee is required. Entrants retain all publication rights. All judging by professional artists only. $1,500 in prizes each quarter. Quarterly winners compete for $5,000 additional annual prize! If you have not read the contest rules, please click here before submitting. To enter, go here.

As always, good luck!

P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA fiction.

New Voices Award – Picture Book Manuscripts is Ending Soon

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Lee & Low Books

Established in 2000, the New Voices Award is given annually to an unpublished author of color for a picture book manuscript. Previous winners include award-winning titles such as As Fast As Words Could Fly, Juna’s Jar, It Jes’ Happened, and Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds.

Manuscripts may be FICTION, NON-FICTION, or POETRY for children ages 5-12. Manuscripts should address the needs of children of color or native children by providing stories they can identify with and which promote greater understanding of one another. Themes relating to non-traditional family structures, gender identity, or disabilities are also of interest.

Contestants must meet all of the following criteria to be considered:

  • Self-identify as a person of color or a Native/indigenous person.
  • Be at least 18 years old at the time of entry.
  • Be a resident of the United States.
  • Not have had a children’s picture book published.

The Award winner receives a cash prize of $1000 and their standard publication contract, including their basic advance and royalties for a first time author. An Honor Award winner will receive a cash prize of $500.

But the window for submission is closing soon! All manuscripts must be postmarked no later than September 30, 2017. Be sure to read their entire guidelines before submitting. As always, good luck!

P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA fiction

A. M. Heath Twitter Pitch Event For Authors

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A.M. HEATH LITERARY AGENTS

A.M. Heath is hosting a week long event of pitches on twitter for unpublished writers seeking agent representation. Each day will focus on a different genre of fiction and authors are invited to tweet one pitch for their polished manuscript on the relevant day using the hashtag #TellAMH. The dates and themed events are as follows:

  • Monday, September 18th: Crime/thriller/psychological suspense
  • Tuesday, September 19th: Historical fiction
  • Wednesday, September 20th: Women’s fiction
  • Thursday, September 21st: Children’s fiction (any age group)
  • Friday, September 22nd: Wild card (any genre)

A favorite from one of the agents or their assistant invites authors to submit directly to that agent via A.M. Heath website. (Be sure to mention that the tweet was favorited in the submission letter.) And for further excitement, they will select one winning pitch per genre the week commencing September 25, 2017 to receive a critique on the selected authors first 10,000 words!

Please be aware that A.M. Heath is based in London so that you pitch your genre on the correct date! Now, get those pitches ready! And don’t forget to check out the participating agents and assistants on their blog post so you don’t get scammed by trolls! As always, good luck!

P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA fiction

SavvyAuthors Pitchfest Ends Tomorrow!

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Agents and editors are taking live pitches on the SavvyAuthors blog! What you will need is a three line pitch (unless stated differently on their personal pitch page). Be sure to state the title, genre, word length, and your author name. Then post your pitch below that information. The format should look like this:

Title: This Scary Manor Blows
Genre: Middle Grade Paranormal
Length: 48,000 words
Author: P.D. Pabst

Agnes plays pretend in an old manor to keep her father’s memory alive and learns she must solve the murder of an eight-year-old ghost—daughter of Franz San Galli, the inventor of the radiator. Her non-believing brother wants her to grow up but she must convince him to acquire his help. After all, it’s not safe to play in secret passages and hidden rooms when a more sinister specter threatens her.

Be sure to read the guidelines thoroughly before pitching. And don’t forget to research each editor/publisher and agent to make sure your manuscript fits their wish list. To pitch editors/publishers, go here. To pitch literary agents, click here. And don’t delay! The Pitchfest ends tomorrow, September 17, 2017 at 11:59pm, EST.

As always, good luck!
P.D. Pabst

Yes! It’s #MSWL Day!

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MSWL Logo

That’s right folks, today agents and editors tweet about their manuscript wishlists on twitter using the hashtag #MSWL. So, if you’re looking for an agent, read their wishes because you just might’ve written exactly what they are looking for. As for the editors, be sure and check their guidelines because not all of them accept unagented manuscripts. Then, why are they tweeting you ask? Because agents need to submit their clients just the same as when an author subs to an agent.

Don’t worry if you miss the live event, you can always scroll through the feed afterwards. And if you want to get more details regarding what agents/editors want, go to the website Manuscript Wish List. Now, quit dawdling and get to perusing the hashtag!

Good luck finding the perfect match!

P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA fiction.