It’s getting close to Halloween, which means Nightmare On Query Street is soon! But don’t let the title fool you into thinking you’re manuscript won’t qualify. The title is more about when the contest takes place. You can enter any age category or genre, excluding picture books and erotica.

The submission window opens at 4:00 pm (EST) on October 13th. All entries sent before this time will be deleted. For this years contest, there are 24 agents lined up! TWENTY FOUR! How awesome is that? But you’d better be on your toes if you want to submit. They will close submissions when they reach 250 entries or in two hours, whichever is first.

Participating Agents

• Jennifer Azantian of Azantain Literary Agency
• Lauren Galit of LKG Agency 
• Christa Heschke of McIntosh & Otis 
• Andrea Somberg of Harvey Klinger Literary Agency
• Jess Dallow of Brower Literary & Management
• Steven Salpeter of Curtis Brown LTD
• Natascha Morris of BookEnds Literary
• Jocquelle Caiby of Serendipity Literary Agency
• Caitlen Rubino-Bradway of LKG Agency
• Clelia Gore of Martin Literary Management
• Mark Gottlieb of Trident Media Group
• Lisa Abellera of Kimberley Cameron & Associates
• Alec Shane of Writers House
• Jaida Temperly of New Leaf Literary
• Amanda Jain of Inklings Literary
• Melissa Jeglinski of The Knight Agency
• Patrica Nelson of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency
• Sarah Landis of Sterling Lord Literistic
• Gabrielle Piraino of DeFiore & Company
• Carlisle Webber of Fuse Literary
• Cate Hart of Corvisiero Literary Agency

Michelle, Mike, and Laura will make 13 picks each. Then a few mentors they’ve selected will help the authors hone their entries before the agent round. Here are all the dates for the event:

• Submission Window Opens: October 13th 4:00 pm EST
• Final Picks are Announced: October 20th
• Mentors Go to Work: October 21th – 26th
• Revised Entries Due Back: October 26th at 11:59 pm EST
• Agent round: October 30th – 31th

Some rules to take note of:

• You are not eligible if you’ve been in an agent round in the last six months. (This does not include open twitter pitches.)
• You can enter if you have a different manuscript to enter than previous agent round you were in.
•  Only ONE entry per person. (No using multiple emails or pen names!)

You’ll need to send you query and first 250 words, along with a short paragraph (no more than 100 words) answering this question: What is your main character’s most stressful relationship? Who really makes them sweat?

For complete details and submission formatting, go here. As always, good luck!

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