Tag Archives: Authors

The Final #Adpit Has a Few Hours Left!

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Heidi Norrod is hosting her final twitter pitch event for writers called #AdPit. In order to participate, authors need to have a finished manuscript and tweet their 280 character pitch using the hashtag #AdPit on November 7, 2018. The contest began at 9am and ends at 3pm CST (Chicago time). Writer’s will be allowed to pitch six times over the course of the event. (That’s once every hour, as the event is six hours long.)

This contest is open to ADULT and NEW ADULT COMPLETED, fiction and non-fiction books. And remember, be sure to research the LITERARY AGENTS and EDITORS before submissions. As always, good luck!

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

Still a few hours left for #KitPit today!

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Heidi Norrod is hosting another fabulous twitter pitch event for writers called KidPit! In order to participate, authors need to have a finished manuscript and tweet their 280 character pitch using the hashtag #KidPit on twitter. The contest will be between 9am-3pm CST (Chicago time) on November 7, 2018. You will allowed to pitch six times over the course of the event. (That’s once every hour, as the event is six hours long.)

This event is open to BOARD BOOKS, PICTURE BOOKS, EASY READER/CHAPTER BOOKS, MIDDLE GRADE, and/or YOUNG ADULT COMPLETED novel, fiction and non-fiction books. When typing your pitch, be sure to include either #BB (Board Book), #PB (Picture Books), #CB (Chapter Books and Early Readers), #MG (Middle Grade), or #YA (Young Adult) and tag with the genre. And don’t forget to add the hashtag #KidPit so it will show up in the feed.

Also, I’d like to remind everyone that twitter pitch parties are open to everyone, meaning anyone can trawl the feed! Be sure to research before you send any submissions from a favored pitch. As always, good luck!

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

@WriteOnCon Campaign for 2019 Conference (Critiques, Agent Calls, Sensitivity Reads, Publishing Chats and more!)

 

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WriteOnCon is an online conference for kidlit writers and illustrators to teach, learn, and mingle. You do not have to be published to attend, nor do you have to leave your house! And if you think I’ve been sitting on my laptop waiting for the campaign to start, YOU ARE RIGHT! The campaign often has very affordable critiques and I WANT IN!

During the campaign, writers can purchase critiques of their queries, partial pages, or full manuscripts from NYT Best Selling Authors, publishing editors, or literary agents. Authors can also opt to purchase a sensitivity read of their manuscript. Writers can even purchase calls from a couple of literary agents to discuss the publishing industry. Some of the participants of the crits or chats include:

All purchases appear to include conference registration and entry into a raffle to win a critique, book ARC, or a phone call from an agent! (There will be multiple winners.) And of course, you can purchase only the conference if not interested in any of the critiques. The prices are:

  • General Admission: $1
  • Full Conference Admission: $5
  • Extended Admission: $10
  • Time Traveler Admission $15

No, you’re not reading those numbers wrong! This will be the cheapest conference you will ever attend that will be packed with hundreds and hundreds of dollars worth of information from the comforts of your home! What else could you ask for? For complete information of what the tiered admissions cover and to search through critiques you might want to purchase, go to the campaign page. The crowdfunding will end on December 6, 2018. so hurry if you want to purchase a critique. They’re going fast.

As for the conference, it’ll be February 8th – 10th, 2019. Mark your calendars and I hope to see you there, uh, virtually of course!

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

Adult Fiction Interns Needed for The Bent Agency

The Bent Agency

The Bent Agency is looking for adult fiction interns. This is a great way to learn more about an agent’s work and decision-making process. Past interns have been writers for adults, adult librarians, elementary school teachers, MFA students, and passionate readers. This is an unpaid internship which will require a ten hour per week commitment and you do NOT have to live in New York.

They’re looking for someone who enjoys books by authors such as:

– Megan Miranda
– Tana French
– Eleanor Brown
– Jacqueline Sheehan
– Maria Semple
– Gillian Flynn
– Lori Roy
– Lori Nelson Spielman
– Anne Taylor
– Jane Austen
– Kristin Hannah
– Rosamund Lupton
– Kate Atkinson
– Jade Chang

They’ve had this posted for two days, so don’t delay if you’re interested. The candidates pile up super fast and the submission window could close soon. For complete details, go here. As always, good luck!

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

YA Discovery Contest 2018

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Serendipity Literary Agency is hosting their annual writer’s Young Adult Discovery Competition. If writers are having trouble pitching ideas, no worries with this contest because they won’t even need a query! Seriously, only the first 250 words will be needed to submit.

YA literary agent Regina Brooks and her team will read all of the entries and determine the top 20 submissions.  (There will be great prizes for the top winners!) These submissions will then be read by editors from many of the major publishing houses. Past judges include editors from Scholastic, Random House/Penguin, Little Brown, Candlewick, Bloomsbury, Simon and Schuster, JIMMY Patterson Books, and Abram Books.  Judges will whittle the top 20 down to five winners, including a Grand Prize Winner.

Submissions open on November 1, 2018 at 12:01am (ET) and close on November 30, 2018 at 12:59pm (ET). Only one entry per person with a $15 entry fee. The contest is open to U.S. and Canada residents only.

For complete guidelines and submission rules, or to watch for their upcoming post about prizes, go here. As always, good luck!

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

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 addressing the complex intersection of homelessness, mental health, and drug and sex trafficking. Thus, their theme for 2018 is “Cities of Promise.”

Here’s a breakdown of some 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 December 31, 2018. For complete guidelines and the form to enter, click here. As always, good luck.

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

New Writing Contest: Fall Fiction Fest


Oh, how I love the creation of new writerly contests to help writers polish their work and get in front of agents! Fall Fiction Fest will be hosted by Michelle Hauck, Marty Mayberry, and Amy Trueblood. They will pick ten selections each to mentor. Manuscripts can be middle grade, young adult, new adult, or adult fiction. All genres are allowed except for erotica.

This contest requires a query and first 250 pages of a polished manuscript to enter. Submissions will only be open for 24 hours, so make sure you don’t miss the window of opportunity on October 31, 2018! And as always, good luck!

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

Submit To Dial Books For Young Readers

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Did you know that Dial Books For Young Readers (an imprint of Penguin/Random House) allows authors to submit to them without having an agent? Yes, you heard that right! They publish picture book, middle grade, and young adult books. Several of their authors have been on the New York Times Bestsellers List. Other authors have won Newberry Honor, Caldecott Honor, Printz Medal, and many other awards. So, they are a very notable imprint!

If you go this route, make sure your manuscript is polished before submitting! You want to show your best work! Go here for submissions guidelines. And as always, good luck!

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

Philadelphia Writing Workshop 2018

Chicago Writing Workshop

Per the Philadelphia Writing Workshop website, this writing event (November 17, 2018) 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. Note that there are limited seats at the event (200 total). They will inform everyone directly on the website when seats are closed.

Here are a few of this years faculty that will be in attendance:

Since the seats are limited, don’t delay in registering. Hopefully, I’ll see you there!

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

Megan Lally is Hosting Another #CPMatch

If you are in the need of a critique partner, perhaps #CPMatch is a good place to look. Megan Lally has hosted this event since 2014. And this Saturday, September 29, 2018 begins another round to hunt your perfect wordsmith mate!

How it works:

  • Create a twitter pitch of the manuscript you need feedback on.
  • Include the hashtag #CPMatch
  • Include the age category and genre (example: MG Fantasy)
  • Abbreviate your critique style(s). (Go here for acronyms)
  • Tweet pitch only ONCE!
  • Then read other pitches to find a match!

If you spot someone that you think would be a good fit, then tweet or message them to see if they’d like to swap first chapters. This way there is a trial run to make sure you like each other’s critique style. (Not everyone meshes, and this is okay!) So, happy pitching and I hope you find your wordsmith partner for life!

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