Tag Archives: Guidelines

#PitMad Is Almost Here!

May 31, 2019Contests#OwnVoices, #Pitmad, Adult, Age Category, Agents, Brenda Drake, Committee, Contemporary, Disabilities, Diversity, Editors, Event, Fantasy, Fiction, Genre, Guidelines, Hashtag, Horror, LGBTQIA, Managing Director, Manuscripts, Middle Grade, Mystery, New Adult, Non-Fiction, Opportunity, Paranormal Romance, Person of Color, Picture Book, Pitch, Pitching, POC, research, Romance, Rules, Sarah Nicolas, Science Fiction, Speculative, Submissions, Submitting, Twitter, Young Adultpdpabst

Nothing soothes the writerly soul than a good twitter pitch party! This Thursday on June 6, 2019 is the infamous #PitMad founded by Brenda Drake, ran now by Managing Director Sarah Nicolas, and a full committee (yeah, it’s grown that much!). This event will run 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
#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

Additional hashtags (optional):
#POC = Author is a Person of Color
#OWN = Own Voices
#IMM = Immigrant
#LGBT = LGBTQIA+ subject matter
#IRMC = Interracial/Multicultural subject matter
#MH = Mental Health subject matter
#DIS = Disability subject matter
#ND = Neurodiverse subject matter

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 pitches. So, do your research before submitting your manuscript. And as always, good luck!

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

Little, Brown Emerging Artist Award

May 27, 2019Contests, Literary, Publishing OpportunityAmerican Express, Art, Art Director, Artist, Artist Mentor, Children's Picture Books, Diverse Backgrounds, editor, Emerging Artist Award, Guidelines, LBYR Publishing Staff, LIttle Brown and Company, Lunch, Mock, Monetary Prize, New York City, Opportunity, Picture Book, Pictures, Portfolio, Quality, Round Trip, Rules, Submissions, Travel, Young Readerpdpabst

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers will be closing submissions for their Emerging Artist Award on June 7, 2019. The goal is to develop high quality children’s picture books that resonate with readers of diverse backgrounds. So if you haven’t completed your mock up to send, get it done, ASAP! The award includes:

American Express® gift cards totaling $1,500
Round-trip travel for the winner to New York City
A day at LBYR’s offices in New York
Lunch with an editor, an art director, and the Artist Mentor.
An in-person portfolio review by the Artist Mentor and the LBYR publishing staff.
A tour of the office
Opportunity for the winning submission to be reviewed by LBYR’s editorial team for possible future publication.

Be sure and visit the link above regarding the award and pay attention to the official rules. As always, good luck!

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

Drue Heinz Literature Prize

May 25, 2019Contests, Literary15K, Authors, Book, Collection, Contract, Distribution, Drue Heinz Literature Prize, Fiction, Guidelines, Journal, Magazine, Manuscripts, Monetary Prize, Noevellas, Novel, Opportunity, Press, Prize, Publication, publisher, Rules, Short Fiction, Stories, Submissions, Submit, Submittable, University of Pittsburgh Press, Unpublished, Writerspdpabst

uPressLogo

The University of Pittsburgh Press announces the 2019 Drue Heinz Literature Prize for a collection of short fiction. The prize carries a cash award of $15,000 and publication by the University of Pittsburgh Press under its standard contract. No information about the winner will be released before the official announcement. The volume of manuscripts prevents the Press from offering critiques or entering into communication or correspondence about manuscripts. Please do not call or e-mail the Press.

The award is open to writers who have published a novel or a book-length collection of fiction with a reputable book publisher, or a minimum of three short stories or novellas in magazines or journals of national distribution. Digital-only publication and self-publication do not count toward this requirement.

Eligible submissions include an unpublished manuscript of short stories; two or more novellas (a novella may comprise a maximum of 130 double-spaced typed pages); or a combination of one or more novellas and short stories. Novellas are only accepted as part of a larger collection. Manuscripts may be no fewer than 150 and no more than 300 typed pages. Prior publication of your manuscript as a whole in any format (including electronic) makes it ineligible.

Submissions are May 1 through June 30, 2019. Acceptable formats can be either email or mailed. Ge sure and read the complete guidelines before entering.

As always, good luck!

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

PitDark Pitch Contest Hosted by Jason Huebinger

May 20, 2019Contests, Literary#PitDark, Adult, agent, Author, books, Creepy, Cyber Punk, Dark Comedy, Darker Elements, editor, Fantasy, Fiction, Film, Guidelines, Horror, Jason Huebinger, Magical Realism, Manuscript, Middle Grade, Monster, movies, Murder Mystery, New Adult, Non-Fiction, Opportunity, Paranormal, Pitch, Producer, Production, publisher, Publishing, Rules, Science Fiction, Space Opera, Stories, Thriller, Twitter, Villains, Writer, Young Adultpdpabst

This cool twitter pitch party will be May 23, 2019 and is hosted by author Jason Huebinger, the creator of #PitDark. This is one of my favorite contests because it’s strictly for manuscripts with darker elements, which is soooo down my alley. The event is between 8am and 8pm EST. Authors may pitch once an hour per manuscript. Please do not clog the feed by over pitching so agents don’t get frustrated and quit reading.

Hashtags for AGE CATEGORIES

#MG – Middle Grade
#YA – Young adult
#NA – New adult
#A – Adult

Hashtags for GENRES & SUBGENRES

#H – horror
#PH – psychological horror
#GH – gothic horror
#CSH – cosmic horror
#BH – body horror
#CH – comedy horror
#DC – dark comedy
#DR – dark romance
#SFH – science fiction horror
#PNH – paranormal horror
#ZH – zombie horror
#MH – monster horror
#GRH – graphic horror
#MM – murder mystery
#FA – fantasy
#DF – dark fantasy
#T – thriller
#EF – epic or high fantasy
#HF – historical fantasy
#LF – literary fantasy
#AH – alternate history
#PN – paranormal
#PR – paranormal romance
#UF – urban fantasy
#MR – magical realism
#SF – science fiction
#AF – apocalypse fiction
#ML – military science fiction
#PA – post-apocalyptic SF
#CP – cyberpunk
#SFT – sci-fi thriller
#SH – superhero / superhuman
#SO – space opera
#DS – dystopian
#SP – steampunk
#TT – time travel
#WW – weird west
#SPEC – speculative fiction
#NF – non-fiction

For complete rules, go here. (Note: If your curious about previous agent, editor, and film company participation, there is a link on this page.) As always, good luck!

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

So You Think You Can Write: Harlequin Presents Blitz

May 16, 2019Literary, Publishing OpportunityAuthors, Blitz, Editors, Entries, Feedback, Guidelines, Harlequin, Harlequin Present, Manuscript, Publishing, Romance, Rules, So You Think You Can Write, Submissions, Submittable, SYTYCW, Writerspdpabst

Harlequin Romance is looking for new romance writers to become their next authors. Details are often posted on their blog So You Think You Can Write of upcoming opportunities. The latest submission event is for Harlequin Presents. If you think you’ve got what it takes and have a polished romance manuscript ready for submission, this might be for you! Entries must be sent no later than June 2, 2019. Even cooler, all submissions will receive feedback by the 14th of June! (I know you want to squeal, go ahead. I’ll wait.)

Submissions will be uploaded to Submittable. But before you send things off to the editors, be sure and read the guidelines here. And as always, good luck!

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

SavvyAuthors & Sourcebooks #OwnVoices Diverse Romance Pitchfest

May 6, 2019Contests, LiteraryAdult, Authors, Authors of Color, Blog, books, Deb Werkman, Diversity, editor, Fiction, Guidelines, LGBTQIA, Manuscript, Own Voice, People of Color, Pitch, Pitchfest, Romance, Rules, SavvyAuthors, Sourcebooks, Sponsor, Stories, Writers, Young Adultpdpabst

Sourcebooks

SavvyAuthors is sponsoring a pitchfest with Sourcebooks editor, Deb Werksman starting May 8, 2019 (9am EST) and ending May 10, 2019 (11:59pm EST).

You do not have to be a member to participate. Just post your three-line pitch (less than 250 words) directly on the blog when the pitch event opens. You need a valid email to join the fun. The editor is looking for Authors of Color, LGBTQIA+, and Own Voices/Diverse romance. To read the complete rules, go here. As always, good luck!

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

Forever Yours Submissions (Hachette Books Romance Imprint)

April 29, 2019Literary, Publishing OpportunityAdult, Agented, Author, books, Contemporary, Contract, Cowboys, Creativity, Diverse, Forever Yours, Guidelines, Hachette Book Group, Historical, Manuscripts, Novel, Novellas, Opportunity, Paranormal, publisher, Publishing, Romance, Stories, Submissions, Submit, Suspense, Unagented, Writerpdpabst

See the source image

Forever Yours is a romance imprint of Hachette Books that not only accepts agented manuscripts, they also accept unagented submissions. (Yep, you heard that right!) The imprint is looking for adult contemporary, diverse reads, romantic suspense, cowboys, historicals, and paranormal romance styles. (Please note that they do not want YA, fantasy, mystery, general fiction, or nonfiction.) And further great news, they also accept novellas!

Be sure to read the complete guidelines for submissions before sending your manuscript. And as always, good luck!

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

New Voices Award

April 26, 2019Contests, LiteraryAge Category, As Fast As Words Could Fly, Authors, Children, Disabilites, Gender Identity, Genre, Guidelines, Indigenous People, Ink and Ash, Lee & Low Books, Manuscripts, Monetary Prize, Native Children, New Voices Award, Non-Traditional Family Structures, Not agented, Opportunity, People of Color, Published, Publishing Contract, Rebel Seoul, Resident of United States, Stories, Submissions, Tu Books, Underrepresented, Unpublished, Writers, Young Adultpdpabst

Lee & Low Books

TU BOOKS, the middle grade and young adult imprint of LEE & LOW BOOKS, is open for submissions to their New Voices Award. This contest is given annually to an unpublished author of color (in the contest age category, other categories okay). Previous winners include award-winning titles such as Ink and Ashes, Rebel Seoul, As Fast As Words Could Fly, Juna’s Jar, It Jes’ Happened, and Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds.

Manuscripts may be any genre for children ages 5-12, or young adult ages 12-18. 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.
Must not be agented.

The Award winner receives a cash prize of $2000 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 $1000.

All manuscripts must be submitted no later than August 31, 2019. Be sure to read their entire guidelines before submitting. As always, good luck!

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

Secret Agent Contest via Authoress

March 30, 2019Contests, Critiques, LiteraryAdventure, agent, Authoress, Authors, books, Contemporary, Critique, Feedback, Fiction, Guidelines, Historical, Jillian Boehme, Manuscripts, Middle Grade, Miss Snark's First Victim, Opportunity, Secret Agent Contest, Stories, Submissions, Suspense, Thriller, Women's, Writers, Young Adultpdpabst

Authoress (aka Jillian Boehme) is hosting a round of Secret Agent on her popular Miss Snark’s First Victim site. If you’ve followed Authoress for several years, then you know that she unveiled herself because she finally got her first book deal! (And this was her one condition she had promised herself before unveiling her true identity.) And many of us are so excited for her because she has given back to the community for so-so-so long! (Thank you Jillian!)

Now, for a few basic details of the contest:

Submissions open between Noon to 6pm EDT, April 1st, 2019
This is a lottery. The BOT will draw 50 random names.
Only the First 250 words will be submitted.
Only completed and polished manuscripts may be entered.
Only ONE entry per person!

As always, there is no fee to enter the contest. This month’s contest will include the following genres only:

Middle Grade–especially adventure stories and historical fiction
YA contemporary romance
YA magical realism
Women’s Fiction
Thriller/Suspense
Literary Fiction
General Fiction

For complete guidelines and entry form, go here. As always, good luck!

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

Picture Book Party To Get An Agent

March 15, 2019Contests, Literary, Publishing OpportunityAgents, Art, Authors, Betsy Amster Literary, Blue Whale Press, BookEnds Literary, Children's Stories, Clear Fork Publishing, Dunham Literary, Editing, Editors, Fiction, Guidelines, Hashtag, Illustrators, Kidlit, Kids, Manuscripts, Martin Literary Management, Michelle Hauck, Mindy Alyse Weiss, Page Street Publishing, Picture Boos, Prospect Agency, Sharon Chriscoe, Stories, Submissions, The Innovative Press, Trident Media Group, Twitter, Upstart Literary, Writers, Writers House Literarypdpabst

Holy-moly! It’s another picture book contest. Things are looking up for the PB writers and illustrators, indeed. On March 19 2019 Michelle Hauck, along with Sharon Chriscoe and Mindy Alyse Weiss, will host a Picture Book Party. Submissions will open at 4pm EST and will remain open for one hour. You need to have a completed and polished PB manuscript and illustrations are encouraged to be submitted (if you’re an illustrator).

Past Participating Agents and Editors

Alexandra Levick of Writers House Literary
Leslie Zampetti of Dunham Literary
Susan Hawk of Upstart Crow Literary
Clelia Gore of Martin Literary Management
Tracy Marchini of Bookends Literary
Emma Sector of Prospect Agency
Adria Goetz of Martin Literary Management
James McGowen of Bookends Literary
Alyssa Eisner Henkin of Trident Media Group
Mary Cummings of Betsy Amster Literary
Asia Citro of The Innovative Press
Alayne Kay Christian of Blue Whale Press
Charlotte Wenger of Page Street Publishing
Callie Metler-Smith of Clear Fork Publishing

The agent round will be between March 27-29, 2019. Be sure to checkout the complete guidelines on the website. You can also follow helpful hints for all writers on the twitter hashtag #PBParty.

As always, good luck.

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

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