Tag Archives: Manuscript

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.

 

 

LOUISE MERIWETHER FIRST BOOK PRIZE

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Feminist Press

The Feminist Press has partnered with TAYO Literary Magazine to launch a contest seeking the best debut books by women and nonbinary writers of color to celebrate author Louis Meriwether’s achievements. This contest is for first time authors. Submit your complete manuscript of fiction (including novels and short story collections) or narrative memoir between 50,000 and 80,000 words. Capture their attention with your words and could receive $5,000 and a publishing contract from the Feminist Press!

To learn how to enter and complete guidelines, go here. As always, good luck!

P.D. Pabst

Blogger and writer of MG/YA fiction.

Picture Book Party

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PB_Party_for_contest

Holy-moly! It’s another picture book contest in less than a month. Things are looking up for the PB writers and illustrators, indeed. On July 10th, 20016 Michelle Hauck and Sharon Chriscoe will  co-host a Picture Book Party. Submission will open at noon EST and will close when 250 entrants have been received. You need to have a completed and polished PB manuscript and illustrations are encouraged to be submitted (if you’re an illustrator). The agent round will be between July 20-22, 2016. 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.

Drue Heinz Literature Prize

Contests, Literary, , , , , , , , ,

uPressLogo

The University of Pittsburgh Press announces the 2017 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. The winner will be announced in December (2016) or January (2017). 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.

Manuscripts must be received during May and June 2016. That is, they must be postmarked on or after May 1 and on or before June 30.  (That’s right, these are mailed submissions.)

As always, good luck!

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

Twitter Contest for Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers

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sffpit-contest

It’s that time of year again for science fiction and fantasy writers to polish their pitches for Dan Koboldt’s #SFFpit writing contest on twitter! It starts tomorrow June 23, 2016 between 8am-6pm EST. This contest allows 10 pitches total and Dan asks that you use them wisely! As usual, it needs to be a 140 character pitch for twitter and includes the hashtag #SFFpit. For all the rules, including how to properly insert the age group and category, go here. And remember to research any agents or editors that favorite your tweet because ANY ONE can trawl the feed!

As always, good luck!

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

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry National Writing Contest

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In partnership with We Need Diverse Books Penguin Young Readers celebrates 40 years of  Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor by launching a debut children’s fiction contest to find talented, ethnically diverse authors writing for readers ages 8-14.

The deadline to enter is June 21, 2016 at 11:59pm. Open to people of color (or those who self-identify as other than white) who are residents of the fifty United States, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories and possessions, aged 18 and older.

Submit your manuscript (25,000-75,000 words) for a book about diversity for ages 8-14 and you could receive a publishing contract from Penguin Random House LLC with an advance of $35,000, plus royalties!

Writing From Color & Native Voices Contest

Contests, Literary, , , , , , , ,

logo-WCNV

According to the website, there are many paths to publication and one that has risen in popularity is online contests. (Isn’t that the truth!) The W.C.N.V. is such a contest, but also an attempt to directly combat inequality in the industry, by focusing not only on Native characters and characters of color, but authors as well. This contest will feature queries and the first 300 words of COMPLETED, POLISHED manuscripts written by native authors and authors of color. The entry window will be open from 12:00 am (midnight) Eastern June 12, 2016 until 11:59 pm Eastern that same day.

Ge here for submission guidelines and agent/editors (56 so far) participating go here.

As always, good luck!

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

PitMad Is Approaching

Contests, Literary, , , , , , , , , , ,

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This is a reminder to polish your pitches for Brenda Drake’s #PitMad coming on June 9, 2016 form 8am-8pm (EDT). This is a twitter pitch contest requiring 140 characters (which includes your genre and age category). Only submit polished, finished, and unpublished manuscripts! Rules state to only pitch three times per manuscript for the entire day.  Please don’t break these rules so it will remain easier for agents/editors to surf the feed for favorites. If they see a bunch of repeats, they’ll be more likely to stop looking!

Remember to NOT favorite (heart) a pitch you like unless you are an agent or an editor. While authors are flattered to know you love their pitch (because it’s freaking hard to put a synopsis in 140 characters), they wind up shedding a tear when they realize it wasn’t an agent/editor. Okay, maybe not literally, but they do have a mini-heart attack. (Seriously!)

Although there will be many legitimate professionals searching #PitMad for an awesome story to snag, be aware anyone can trawl the feed. If you get favorited, be sure to check out credentials before submitting.

And finally, not going to be home during the contest? Use TweetDeck to schedule your tweety pitches! As always, good luck!

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

The 2016 Tennessee Writing Workshop

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Tennessee Workshop

The Tennessee Writing Workshop  will take place July 23, 2016 in Nashville, Tennessee and is a wonderful opportunity to get intense instruction over the course the event, pitch a literary agent or editor (optional), get your questions answered, and more. Note that there are limited seats at the event (130 total). Some of the agents participating are:

  • literary agent Cate Hart (Corvisiero Literary)
  • literary agent Julie Gwinn (The Seymour Agency)
  • literary agent Tricia Skinner (Fuse Literary)
  • acquiring editor Laura Apperson (St. Martin’s)
  • literary agent Eric Smith (P.S. Literary)
  • literary agent Marisa Corvisiero (Corvisiero Literary)
  • literary agent Victoria Lea (Aponte Literary)
  • and more to come.

So hurry if you want to attend, especially if you want to pitch to an agent!

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