Tag Archives: Characters

DVPit Created by Lit Agent Beth Phelan

April 22, 2019Contests, Literary#DVpit, Acquire, Adult Fiction, Agents, All Genres, Artists, Beth Phelan, books, Chapter Books, Characters, Children's Stories, Commerical, Cultures, Disabled Persons, Diversity, Editors, Fiction, Galt & Zacker Literary Agent, Graphic Novel, Hashtag, Illustrators, LGBTQIA, Literary, Manuscript, Marganalized Voice, Marginalized Voices, Middle Grade, Native People, Nonfiction, People of Color, People with Illness, Picture Books, Pitch, Religious, Represent, Showcase, Teen, Twitter, Underrepresented, Young Adultpdpabst

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 Galt & Zacker Literary 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:

April 23th will be for Children’s & Teen Fiction/Nonfiction (picture books, chapter books, graphic novel, middle grade, young adult)
April 24th will be for Adult Fiction/Nonfiction (all genres, commercial and literary)
April 25 will be for Artists + Illustrators
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 category and genres they represent/acquire.As always, good luck!

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

Masterclass with Author Dan Brown

November 8, 2018Literary, Mentor Program, Webinar/WorkshopAngels & Demons, Authors, Book, Characters, Classes, Craft, Critique, Dan Brown, Gripping Narratives, Inferno, Learn, Lessons, Manuscripts, MasterClass, Mentoring, Opportunity, Story, Suspense, The Da Vinci Code, Thrillers, Tom Hanks, Writerspdpabst

Dan Brown will be teaching a Master Class. Dan Brown’s thrillers have sold more than 250 million copies, including The Da Vinci Code (which was made into a movie, with sequels starring Tom Hanks). In Dan’s Masterclass, he unveils his process for turning ideas into gripping narratives. He’ll teach you how to research for your story, craft characters, and sustain suspense.

Learn with one of the best with 19 lessons on writing vivid characters and realistic dialogue. There will be a workbook along with the videos, and Dan will critique select members of the class. You can enroll for $90. Have fun and learn lots!

P.D. Pabst

Blogger and writer of MG/Fiction

Skylark Literary Middle Grade Competition

October 4, 2018Contests, Critiques, LiteraryAgents, Author, books, Characters, Charlotte Eyre, Children's Stories, Competition, Deadline, editor, Editorial, Fiction, Guidelines, Improve, Kirsty Stansfield, Lucy Pearse, Macmillan Children's Books, Manuscript, Middle Grade, New Stories, Nosy Crow, Novel, One-to-One, Opportunity, Outstanding, Prize, Publishing, Readers, Representation, Skylark Literary, Stories, Strong, Terms and Conditions, The Bookseller, Unagented, Unpublished, Writer, Young Readerpdpabst

Skylark-Logo-CMYK

Great news! Skylark Literary Agency has put together a competition for fiction manuscripts geared toward young readers of ages 8-12. (Non-fiction is not accepted.) They are looking for outstanding new stories with strong characters. Submissions must be from unagented and unpublished writers.

The Guest Judges

Kirsty Stansfield, Head of Fiction, Nosy Crow

Lucy Pearse, Senior Editor, Macmillan Children’s Books

Charlotte Eyre, Children’s Editor, The Bookseller

The Prize

The prize will be a one-to-one editorial critique of your finished manuscript by phone, or in person (locations allowing), with Joanna and/or Amber. They will suggest ways in which you could polish and perfect your novel to improve its chances of representation and publication, and seek to answer any queries you may have about the children’s publishing industry in general.

The Deadline!

The deadline for competition entries is December 24, 2018. So CLICK HERE for how to enter together with the full terms and conditions.

As always, good luck!

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

#SFFpit is Tomorrow!

December 13, 2017Contests, Literary#SFFpit, Adult, Agents, Authors, books, Characters, Dan Koboldt, Editors, Fantasy, Fiction, Hashtags, Horror, Manuscripts, Middle Grade, New Adult, Opportunity, Picture Books, Pitch, Pitching, Polished, publisher, Publishing, Sci-Fi, Science Fiction, Stories, Tweets, Twitter, Unpublished, Writers, Young Adultpdpabst

Hello my lovelies! Tomorrow (December 14, 2017) on twitter is #SFFpit hosted by Dan Koboldt. This is for Sci-Fi and Fantasy manuscripts only! Please do not pitch if your manuscript is not finished, polished, and unpublished.

Now that twitter has expanded most tweets to longer characters, the limit of 140 is no longer necessary. Tweet the full 280 if you have the ability! Just make sure that your pitch includes the hashtag #SFFpit. Additional hashtags that can be used are:

AGE CATEGORY
#PB – Picture book
#MG – Middle grade
#YA – Young adult
#NA – New adult
#A – Adult

GENRE/Subgenre
#FA – fantasy
#CF – contemporary fantasy
#DF – dark fantasy
#EF – epic or high fantasy
#FR – fantasy romance
#HF – historical fantasy
#LF – literary fantasy
#AH – alternate history
#MYF – mythic fantasy
#PN – paranormal
#UF – urban fantasy
#MR – magical realism
#SF – science fiction
#AF – apocalypse fiction
#ML – military science fiction
#PA – post-apocalyptic SF
#SFR – sci-fi romance
#SFT – sci-fi thriller
#SH – superhero / superhuman
#SO – space opera
#DS – dystopian
#SP – steampunk
#TT – time travel
#WW – weird west

The contest will run through 8am to 6pm EST. Also note the change of allowed pitches! Writers will only get 10 pitches (that’s one per hour). For more information check out the #SFFpit webpage. To show Dan Koboldt your appreciation for throwing together this awesome contest, be sure to follow his blog, twitter page, or buy his books.

As always, good luck!

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

Brenda Drake’s #Pitmad Is Almost Here!

December 5, 2017Contests, Literary#amediting, #amwriting, #Pitmad, Adult, Age Category, Agents, Authors, books, Brenda Drake, Category, Characters, Children's, Editors, Fiction, Genre, Guidelines, Hashtags, Manuscripts, Middle Grade, Non-Fiction, Opportunity, Picture Books, Pitch Party, Pitch Wars, Pitching, publisher, Publishing, Rules, Stories, Sub-genres, Tweet, Twitter, Writers, Writing, Young Adultpdpabst

Nothing soothes the writerly soul than a good twitter pitch party! Thursday, December 7, 2017 is Brenda Drake’s infamous #PitMad between the hours of 8am-8pm (EDT). Common age category and genre hashtags are below.

Age Categories:

#PB = Picture Book
#C = Children’s
#CB = Chapter Book
#CL = Children’s Lit
#MG = Middle Grade
#YA = Young Adult
#NA = New Adult
#A = Adult

Genres/Sub-genres:

#AA = African American
#AD = Adventure
#CF = Christian Fiction
#CON = Contemporary
#CR = Contemporary Romance
#DIS = Disabilities
#DV = Diversity
#E = Erotica
#ER = Erotic Romance
#ES = Erotica Suspense
#F = Fantasy
#H = Horror
#HA = Humor
#HF = Historical Fiction
#HR = Historical Romance
#INSP = Inspirational
#IRMC = Interracial/Multicultural
#MR = Magical Realism
#M = Mystery
#Mem = Memoir
#LGBT
#LF = Literary Fiction
#NF = Non-fiction
#R = Romance
#P = Paranormal
#PR = Paranormal Romance
#RS = Romantic Suspense
#S = Suspense
#SF = SciFi
#SPF = Speculative Fiction
#T = Thriller
#UF = Urban Fantasy
#W = Westerns
#WF = Woman’s Fiction

The rules clearly state to only pitch THREE times per manuscript during the contest. Don’t break the rules and clog the feed! Also, please remember anyone can stalk the feed. So, do your research before submitting your manuscript!

As always, good luck!

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

MasterClass With Author Judy Bloom

November 30, 2017Literary, Webinar/WorkshopAre You There God? It's Me Margaret, Authors, Banned, Blubber, books, Characters, Children's Fiction, Class, Creativity, Critique, Dialogue, Feedback, Fiction, Genre, Judy Bloom, Kids, Learn, Learning, Lessons, Libraries, Manuscripts, MasterClass, Middle Grade, Opportunity, Picture Books, Pre-Enroll, Readers, Realistic, Stories, Superfudge, Tiger Eyes, Videos, Words, Workshop, Writers, Writing, Young Adultpdpabst

Image result for judy bloom masterclass

Judy Bloom will be teaching a Master Class in early 2018. While the dates don’t appear to be set, you can pre-enroll for only $90. The award winning author broke the rules. Her refreshingly honest children’s books were banned by hundreds of libraries—and loved by generations of readers, who bought 85 million copies of classics like Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret and Superfudge.

Learn with one of the best with 24 lessons on writing vivid characters and realistic dialogue. There will be a workbook along with the videos, and Judy will critique select members of the class. Have fun and learn lots!

P.D. Pabst

Blogger and writer of MG/Fiction

Write Away Greece Writing Retreat

March 8, 2017Literary, Writing Conferences & Getaways#amediting, #amwriting, Adult, Antiparos, April, Authors, Boat Trip, Characters, Critique, Dinners, Feedback, Fiction, Greece, Horseback Riding, Inspiration, June, Manuscripts, Massages, Middle Grade, Non-Fiction, Paros, Private Boat, Retreat, Spring, Stories, Summer, Tours, Vacation, WIP, Write Away Europe, Write Away Greece, Writers, Yoga, Young Adultpdpabst

Who’s up for another retreat to stimulate the writerly mind? Then you’ll want to check out Write Away Greece in Paros, Greece! Spring session is April 22-29, 2017 and has limited places remaining. If you can’t make this session, no worries. There will be a summer session June 4-14, 2017. Yes, two opportunities to attend a place of inspiration.

Spend the time writing your latest WIP in workshops and mentoring sessions. Mingle with other authors, talk over group dinners, and chat on the weekend social occasions. Of course, you can also purchase extras such as tour of Paros, boat trip to neighboring island of Antiparos, horseback riding, guided hikes, yoga, private massages, and private boat tours. For more information, or to see all the Write Away Retreats in different countries, go to Write Away Europe website.

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

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

The Guest Judges

The Prize

The Deadline!

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this: