The 2016 Sacramento Writing Workshop

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Philadephia Writing Workshop

The Sacramento Writing Workshop is fast approaching! The good news? It looks like there are still spots opened to pitch and agent. Yippee! This is a full-day “How to Get Published” writers conference on Sept. 9, 2016 at the Courtyard Sacramento Midtown. This writing event is a wonderful opportunity to get intense instruction over the course of one day, pitch a literary agent or editor (optional), get your questions answered, and more. This year’s faculty so far includes:

Seats are limited to 100 and the gap is closing. If you’re in the area and want to spend a day with writerly folks and learn a thing or two, hurry and sign up.

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

Internship: The Emma Sweeney Agency

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Emma Sweeney Agency, LLC

The Emma Sweeney Agency is looking for a fall intern! The boutique literary agency represents multiple bestselling and award-winning authors. This internship is an excellent way to gain experience assessing the current book market, reviewing submission queries and manuscripts, writing reader’s reports and editorial letters, and in general receive a bird’s eye view of the industry. They can work with a university to provide college credit for the internship.

Their requirements state you should be hard-working and professional, possess excellent reading and writing skills, be eager to learn, and must be familiar with the current book market.  They did not state whether this will be local in New York or a remote internship. To apply, send your cover letter and resume to info@emmasweeneyagency.com.

As always, good luck!

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

 

ON THE BLOCK CONTEST

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Authoress

Oh I just love literary contests that help writers sign with agents. Don’t you? Here is another great one hosted by Authoress on her blog Miss Snark’s First Victim. The contest is called ON THE BLOCK and submissions open September 8, 2016 from 8am-10pm (EDT). That’s next week peeps!

This is for polished and completed manuscripts only. Please know there is an entry fee of $21 (US) payable via Paypal. (A lot of work goes into these contests!) The contest will cap at 250 submissions, so don’t delay when the window opens. Out of those subs, only 20 entries will be chosen for the agent round. Authoress is accepting middle grade, young adult, new adult and adult fiction manuscripts only. (Sorry, no picture books, poetry, and narrative non-fiction.) Be sure to go to Miss Snark’s First Victim to find the participating agents and submission guidelines.

As always, good luck!

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

Sourcebooks: Romance Submissions

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Sourcebooks

While Sourcebooks only accepts virtually all agented submissions, they’re doors are wide open for romance fiction subs—even from unagented writers! They are acquiring single-title romance fiction for their Casablanca imprint. Some of the subgenres they’ll accept are:

  • paranormal romance
  • romantic suspense
  • contemporary romance
  • erotic romance
  • historical romance (prior to 1900 only)

Please note, this is not an exclusive list as they state they’ll consider all subgenres. The manuscripts they’re looking for should be between 85,000-100,000 words. For complete criteria and to learn how to submit, go here.

As always, good luck!

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

The Bent Agency: Generalist Intern

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The Bent Agency

The Bent Agency is looking for an intern reader for generalist fiction. You do not need to have any kind of publishing experience, but they’re looking for someone who enjoys books by authors such as:

– Erin Morgenstern
– Tana French
– Eleanor Brown
– Jacqueline Sheehan
– Jodi Picoult
– Gillian Flynn
– Lori Roy
– Laurie Notaro
– Celia Rivenbark
– Elin Hilderbrand
– Kristin Hannah
– Jeannette Walls

– Kate Atkinson

You don’t need to like everyone on the list. But basically, you should like at least two of the following genres: humor, memoir, upmarket women’s fiction and literary suspense. And more exciting, this is a remote internship! That’s right, you don’t have to live in New York.

The internship is a great way to learn more about an agent’s work and decision-making process. Past interns have been writers for children, children’s librarians, elementary school teachers, MFA students, and passionate readers. But if you want to apply, you’d better hurry. They get a ton of applicants and the window will close quickly.

As always, good luck!

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

Cover Reveal: FAITHFUL by Michelle Hauck

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FAITHFUL COVER REVEAL Digital Assets

Today Michelle Hauck and Rockstar Book Tours are revealing the cover for FAITHFUL, book two in the Birth of Saints series which releases November 15, 2016! Check out the gorgeous cover and enter to win a SIGNED copy of book 1 GRUDGING!

On to the reveal!

Faithful n1

 

Title: FAITHFUL (Birth of Saints #2)

Author: Michelle Hauck

Pub. Date: November 15, 2016

Publisher: Harper Voyager Impulse

Formats: eBook

ISBN: 9780062447173

Find it: Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Goodreads

Following Grudging–and with a mix of Terry Goodkind and Bernard Cornwall–religion, witchcraft, and chivalry war in Faithful, the exciting next chapter in Michelle Hauck’s Birth of Saints series!

A world of Fear and death…and those trying to save it.

Colina Hermosa has burned to the ground. The Northern invaders continue their assault on the ciudades-estados. Terror has taken hold, and those that should be allies betray each other in hopes of their own survival. As the realities of this devastating and unprovoked war settles in, what can they do to fight back?

On a mission of hope, an unlikely group sets out to find a teacher for Claire, and a new weapon to use against the Northerners and their swelling army.

What they find instead is an old woman.

But she’s not a random crone—she’s Claire’s grandmother. She’s also a Woman of the Song, and her music is both strong and horrible. And while Claire has already seen the power of her own Song, she is scared of her inability to control it, having seen how her magic has brought evil to the world, killing without reason or remorse. To preserve a life of honor and light, Ramiro and Claire will need to convince the old woman to teach them a way so that the power of the Song can be used for good. Otherwise, they’ll just be destroyers themselves, no better than the Northerners and their false god, Dal. With the annihilation their enemy has planned, though, they may not have a choice.

A tale of fear and tragedy, hope and redemption, Faithful is the harrowing second entry in the Birth of Saints trilogy.

Exclusive Excerpt!

Not for the first time, Claire reconsidered her decision to stay when Ramiro had asked her. She’d lingered out of curiosity—and truthfully because it felt good to be needed—but they didn’t need her now with the Northern army defeated. She could return to the swamp and away from so many people. Despite her hopes of friends and community, she felt awkward here. Reason said she’d get used to their ways, but being around so many folk made her want to hide. Everything pressed down. The walls of the tent shrunk, pinning her in, and smothering her. It became hard to breathe.

She reached for a fresh strip of cloth, only to have her hand shake. She snatched the material and began to roll it, trying to shut out everything else, including her own doubts.

Before she could find a semblance of peace, though, someone shouted. Ladies screamed. Claire looked over her shoulder at the noise. A brown-bearded man in a poncho and a floppy hat ran in her direction. “My family is dead, because of the evacuations. Because of you.”

Claire gasped. He seemed to be talking to Beatriz, then his gaze found Claire.

“Witch!” His outstretched hand suddenly held a long butcher knife. “Witch! Stay away from us! Murderer! Abomination! Die!”

Fronilde dropped to the ground, but Claire couldn’t move. Surprise robbed her brain of a Song to stop him. Even the words of the Hornet Tune, which she knew as well as her name, deserted her. The man closed as everyone scrambled out of his way. Then Beatriz sprang from her chair to stand over Claire, holding up her hand. The tall, black-lace mantilla atop her head waved like a flag. “Stop.”

Something about the authority in the First Wife’s voice—or maybe her simple resistance instead of cringing or scrambling away—brought the man up short, making him pause for a moment. Just the moment the bodyguard needed to crush the lunatic to the floor and overpower him, wrestling free the knife. More guards came running from outside.

Breath rushed back in Claire’s lungs. Beatriz sniffed and touched a spot on her chest over her heart and then her forehead and stomach areas. “Imbecile. He didn’t know who he was dealing with.”

 

About Michelle:

michelle_h

Michelle Hauck lives in the bustling metropolis of northern Indiana with her hubby and two teenagers. Two papillons help balance out the teenage drama. Besides working with special needs children by day, she writes all sorts of fantasy, giving her imagination free range. A book worm, she passes up the darker vices in favor of chocolate and looks for any excuse to reward herself. Bio finished? Time for a sweet snack. She is a co-host of the yearly contests Query Kombat and Nightmare on Query Street, and Sun versus Snow. Her epic fantasy, Kindar’s Cure, is published by Divertir Publishing. Her short story, Frost and Fog, is published by The Elephant’s Bookshelf Press in their anthology, Summer’s Double Edge. She’s repped by Sarah Negovetich of Corvisiero Literary.
Website | Twitter | Facebook page | Tumblr | Goodreads 

Giveaway Details:

2 winners will receive a signed of GRUDGING, US Only.

Rafflecopter Link

(The Rafflecopter is on my Facebook page because WordPress won’t allow me to embed it.)

 

McIntosh & Otis Internship

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McIntosh & Otis Logo

Even though I write middle grade and young adult stories, I’ve got a few ideas for adult fiction books in the works. So, I love every age category of reading. So when I hear news about categories I’m not currently writing, I still want to share with all my readers.

For all you lovers of adult fiction or non-fiction, you’ll be excited to learn that an agent at McIntosh & Otis is seeking an intern. Applicants should have a strong interest in book publishing and be savvy readers and strong writers who have office experience. Intern will be responsible for reading submissions and writing evaluations of adult fiction and non-fiction manuscripts. In addition, the intern will assist the existing support staff of the department, handle mailings, filing, and other day to day tasks. The internship will also include administrative tasks such as scanning and copying, but our goal is to create an environment where students will learn firsthand about an agency’s role in book publishing. Please note that this internship is unpaid, though we are more than willing to work with interns in order for them to receive college credit. We would like an intern to work 12-18 hours per week and to commit to a 4 month term, but we can be extremely flexible with your schedule. Current undergraduates strongly preferred.

Send cover letter and resume to aappel@mcintoshandotis.com  to apply to this awesome opportunity.

As always, good luck!

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

“Dear Lucky Agent” Contest

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DearLuckyAgent24

Chuck Sambuchino announced Writer’s Digest is hosting the 22nd “Dear Lucky Agent” Contest. The agent judge is ANDREA MORRISON of Writers House.

andrea-morrison

 She started as an intern for Steve Malk in the California office in 2009, and has been in love with publishing and the company ever since. In NYC, she first learned under Brianne Johnson, and then went on to assist Rebecca Sherman and Geri Thoma. For this contest, she’ll want the first 150-250 words (i.e., your first double-spaced page) of your unpublished, completed book-length work of young adult (no high sci-fi or high fantasy, please). You must include a contact e-mail address with your entry and use your real name. Also, submit the title of the work and a logline (one-sentence description of the work) with each entry.

Please note, in order to be eligible to submit, you must mention this contest twice through any social-media. The contest will be live through the end of August 24, 2016, PST. Be sure to read all the contest guidelines before entering.

As always, good luck!

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

Pitch America for Latinx Voices

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Pitch América

A pitch contest focused on Latinx voices

This contest will feature the first 500 words and the 35 word pitch of completed and polished manuscripts written by Latinx authors. This is a diversity contest with many well known agents and editors participating.

Submissions open on August 16 at midnight EDT and close on August 17, 2016 at 11:59 EDT. Please check out the website for complete guidelines.

As always, good luck!

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

 

Peter Knapp MG & YA Critique Giveaway!

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Peter Knapp

Since Peter Knapp returned to Park Literary & Media, he has decided to give critiques to all middle grade and young adult submissions received before Tuesday, August 16th at 5pm ET that follow his guidelines. NOTE: This is NOT open to queries or submissions he has previously seen. No exceptions.

Be prepared to paste the first three chapters of your manuscript with your query. In the subject line put “Query – Peter Knapp – August 2016 Feedback Giveaway – [category + genre of your book]” (for example, “Query – Peter Knapp –  August 2016 Feedback Giveaway – MG Historical”). Remember, this is only for COMPLETED manuscripts. To make sure your submission does not get deleted, be sure to follow Peter’s entire guidelines.

As always, good luck!

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