Tag Archives: Middle Grade

WNDB Walter Grant Applications Ending

See the source image

We Need Diverse Books applications for the Walter Grant program will be ending on June 15, 2018. This is an opportunity to receive financial support for diverse authors. This year they will award FIVE $2000 grants. If you are unfamiliar with this grant, you can read how THE HATE U GIVE author, Angie Thomas, used this to buy a computer to complete her manuscript, which is now a #1 New York Times Bestseller and film releasing this fall.

ELIGIBILITY:

  • Applicants must identify as diverse (defined below).
  • Applicants must be unpublished as illustrators and/or authors. This includes both trade publishing and self-publishing. If the applicant has a book deal for an as yet unpublished book, the applicant is considered published for purposes of this grant. Essays, short stories, and articles do not render an applicant ineligible.
  • Applicant must be working toward a career as a children’s author and/or illustrator. This includes but is not limited to: Picture Books, Early Reader Books, Chapter Books, Middle Grade Books, Young Adult, Graphic Novels, Non-Fiction, Poetry.
  • Applicant must be a U.S, resident.
  • Applicant must be at least 18 years in age.

DIVERSE MEANING:

  • Person of color
  • Native American
  • LGBTQIA+
  • Person with a disability
  • Marginalized religious or cultural minority

So, if you are a diverse author, this might be the boost you need to finish that manuscript. For submission guidelines, go here. And as always, good luck!

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

#PitMad is Coming!

 

Nothing soothes the writerly soul than a good twitter pitch party! This Thursday, June 7, 2018 is the infamous #PitMad founded by Brenda Drake, now ran by Managing director, Kellye Garrett, 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
#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. And as always, good luck!

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

Arthur A. Levine Books (Scholastic) Submissions

Arthur A. Levine Books

Did you know you could submit your manuscript or illustrations to Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic? But they don’t take unsolicited material, you say? This is true. However, they will look at the following samples:

Picture Books: Query letter + the full text
Novels: Query letter + the first two chapters + synopsis
Other: Query letter + 10-page sample + synopsis/proposal
Illustration: Three sample illustrations and/or links to online portfolios

Currently (subject to change) they are accepting submissions every month, but have a limitation. If you are met with the message “There are presently no open calls for submissions,” they have reached their monthly limit on queries. Please wait until the first day of the next month to submit your query. And since Harry Potter is associated with this publisher, I imagine they meet their quota pretty fast!

If you read this post and get a publishing contract, please let me know. I’m always eager to know when someone learns about an opportunity from my blog and scores! Good luck!

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

The Last BINC/SFWF Charity Auction

sfwc

This auction is online with 30 items donated by best-selling authors, literary agents, publishers, PR professionals, and others. Get critiques on queries, Skype or phone consultations on manuscripts or proposals, and so much more. It’s a great opportunity for feed back while donating to a great foundation.

The San Francisco Writers Foundation has chosen as its co-beneficiary the Binc Foundation, which acts as a safety net for independent booksellers experiencing sudden, otherwise insurmountable hardship.  Binc helped 24 booksellers through 5 natural disasters last year and has provided $6.5 million to 7,300 families since its inception. Some authors that support Binc are James Patterson and Ann Patchett because they understand it’s a worthy cause! If you are a writer, you might want to help the cause and get a nice benefit of a critique in return.

binc Foundation

Bid here and follow @SFWC on Twitter for updates. Some auctions close in 6 days, while others are closing in 7 days.

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

PitDark Only Has a Few More Hours!

PitDark-May-October

 

Somehow I managed to schedule this post for a different day. It was brought to my attention that I had the wrong day when I got a “fave” from an editor from an older pitch. (Needless to say, I was excited and then disappointed when I saw my blog didn’t post.) So, here is the info incase you’re not aware. There are only a couple more hours left in the contest!

This cool twitter pitch party is today May 17, 2018! Author Jason Huebinger is the host 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.

Query Kombat Open Tomorrow!

Query Kombat Logo

Reminding everyone that Query Kombat submissions open tomorrow May 16 (9am) and close on May 18, 2018 (noon).  Michelle Hauck is the creator of the contest and has help from this year hosts Kara Reynolds and Michael Anthony  hosting. You can find the instructions to submit here. The participating agents are:

Whoa! What a list that is! So if you have a novel ready for submission, polish those queries and first 250 words. And remember, this is for completed and unpublished works. And as always, good luck!

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

Sourcebooks 2018 Spring Diversity Pitchfest via SavvyAuthors

Sourcebooks

SavvyAuthors is sponsoring a pitchfest with editors from Sourcebooks starting May 8, 2018 (9am EST) and ending May 10, 2018 (11:59pm EST).

savvyauthors-logo

You do not have to be a member to participate. Just post your three-line pitch directly on the blog when the pitch event opens. You just need to have a valid email. To see what editors are participating and what they’re looking for, go here. To read the complete rules, go here. As always, good luck!

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

#DVPit Hosted by Lit Agent Beth Phelan

dvpitlogo

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 25th will be for Children’s & Teen Fiction/Nonfiction (picture books, chapter books, graphic novel, middle grade, young adult).
  • April 26th will be for Adult Fiction/Nonfiction (all genres, commercial and literary).

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.

Revise & Resub Contest #RevPit

#RevPit

Revise & Resub is a writerly contest started in 2017 by a group of editors wanting to help writers find their dreams of publishing. Writers submit their completed manuscripts to two editors and one alternate  for an opportunity to win feedback. The chosen writers will get help to ready their entire manuscripts for agent queries, and it’s FREE!

The Editors:

The submission window opens at 9am EST on April 21, 2018 and closes at 11:59pm on April 22, 2018. Be sure to read the editor bios so your manuscript will be a good fit (and they don’t hit the delete button)! In order to submit, go here. And as always, good luck!

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

New Voices Award

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.

But the window for submission is closing soon! All manuscripts must be submitted no later than August 31, 2018. Be sure to read their entire guidelines before submitting. As always, good luck!

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