Tag Archives: Childrens Books

Pitch Madness via @brendadrake Is Approaching!

February 20, 2017Contests, Literary#amwriting #amediting, Adult Books, Agents, Authors, Blog Contest, Brenda Drake, Childrens Books, Editing, February, Feedback, Fiction, Manuscripts, Marketing, Mentors, Non-Fiction, Pitch Event, Pitch Madness, Readers, Wordsmith, Writers, Young Adult Bookspdpabst

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If y’all don’t already know, Brenda Drake is an amazing author that hosts some amazing opportunities for writers via contests. Pitch Madness is one of these awesome events that helps connect writers with literary agents! Writers submit a 35-word (max) pitch and the first 250 words of their completed manuscript on submission day. Then a team of readers choose the top sixty (60) entries to go onto the agent round.

The submission window for 2017 Pitch Madness is February 24, 2017. This is a blog contest, so stay tuned to Brenda’s site for entry information!

As always, good luck!

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

Writing With The Stars

January 14, 2017Contests, Literary, Mentor ProgramArtists, Authors, BeckyTara Books, Childrens Books, Critiques, Feedback, Fiction, Illustrators, Industry Knowledge, Manascripts, Published Authors, Stories, Writers, Writing, Writing With The Starspdpabst

BeckyTara Books is hosting Writing With The Stars, a mentorship opportunity for picture book writers and illustrators. The industry stars who have generously agreed to donate their time and knowledge to this program can be found here. Applicants who are selected will be paired with one of these amazing author/illustrators for a three-month mentorship. Wowza!

Be sure to check their complete submission rules and application. Deadline to enter is January 16, 2017. As always, good luck!

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

2017 Minnesota Writing Workshop

December 18, 2016Literary, Writing Conferences & GetawaysAdult Books, Betsy Amster Literary, Childrens Books, Conference, Corvisiero Literary Agency, Dee Mura Literary, Editing, Editors, February, Fiction, Getting Published, Graywolf Press, How To Get Published, Jennifer De Chiara Literary, Kensington Publishing, Literary Agents, Manuscripts, Middle Grade Books, Mighty Media Press Children's Books, Minnesota, Minnesota Writing Workshop, Non-Fiction, Pitch Event, Red Sofa Literary, St. Paul, Stories, The Bent Agency, The Lark Group, Writers, Writing, Young Adult Bookspdpabst

The 2017 Minnesota Writing Workshop 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 (150 total). This workshop is a full-day “How to Get Published” writing event in St. Paul, MN on February 11, 2017.

Agents and editors confirmed to be in attendance and/or available to pitch are:

literary agent Laura Zats (Red Sofa Literary)
literary agent Gemma Cooper (The Bent Agency)
editor Yana Makuwa (Graywolf Press)
literary agent Mary Cummings (Betsy Amster Literary)
literary agent Kimiko Nakamura (Dee Mura Literary)
literary agent Vicki Selvaggio (Jennifer De Chiara Literary)
literary agent Jennie Goloboy (Red Sofa Literary)
editor Elizabeth May (Kensington Publishing)
literary agent Abby Saul (The Lark Group)
literary agent Samantha Fountain (Corvisiero Literary)
literary agent Dawn Frederick (Red Sofa Literary)
editor Lauren Kukla (Mighty Media Press Children’s Books)
literary agent Kaylee Davis (Dee Mura Literary)
literary agent Erik Hane (Red Sofa Literary)
and possibly more to be announced.

For information on how to enroll and where to stay, go here. As always, good luck!

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

The Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition

December 11, 2016Contests, Literaryagent, Chicken House, Childrens Books, Competition, December, Editing, Fiction, Guidelines, Manuscripts, Middle Grade, Monetary Prize, publisher, Publishing, Representation, Royalty Advance, Stories, Times, Unagented, Writers, Writing, Young Adultpdpabst

While they no longer accept unsolicited manuscripts, they do offer unpublished and unagented writers of children’s fiction the chance to submit their work to the annual Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition. They’re looking for original ideas, a fresh voice and a story that children will love!

First prize is a worldwide publishing contract with Chicken House with a royalty advance of £10,000 (approximately $12,500 US), plus representation from a top children’s literary agent.

To enter, you must have written a completed full-length novel suitable for children/young adults aged somewhere between 7 and 18 years. The full-length , manuscript should be minimum of 30,000 words and do not exceed 80,000 words in length.

The deadline to enter is December 18, 2018. Also, there is an entry fee of £15 (approximately $18.76 US). For complete guidelines and entry form, go here.

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

Children’s Books Turned Into Movies

September 26, 2016Film, LiteraryAmazon, Black Beauty, Book Blurbs, Charlotte's Web, Childrens Books, Coraline, Dirary of a Wimpy Kid, Divergent, Good Story, Harry Potter, movies, Published, Screenplay, The Lorax, Tom Sawyer, Voice, Wikipedia, Writer's Dream, Writing Skillspdpabst

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Every writer has a dream of seeing their manuscript published. To hold the bound pages and sniff the fresh ink would bring a euphoric state of mind. Those who’ve never slaved over writing a manuscript may not be able to relate.

Then there is the ultimate dream the dream of having your book optioned for a movie! I’m talking the double payday. During a break in my “binge blog pre-scheduling”, I surfed the net to see how many books for children have actually made it to the big screen. Of course, there were the obvious ones:

Harry Potter
Coraline
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Black Beauty, Charlotte’s Web
Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Divergent
The Lorax
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Little Women
Nancy Drew
Twilight
And so many more.

I perused to see what was interesting about the books, meaning I read a LOT of opening pages on Amazon and book blurbs (for the books I haven’t read yet). The honest truth is what we’ve all heard so often. You just need a damn good story! (And, of course, good writing skills and voice.)

Movie Reel

It’s an interesting list, and it may not be absolute. If you want to check out the stories that have made it to the “big screen”, go to this Wikipedia link. Have fun reading, or watching (if that’s what you choose).

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

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