Tag Archives: Young-adult fiction

Interview: Brent Taylor Literary Agent

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Great things are happening in the literary world. One of the latest is former editor, Brent Taylor, becoming a literary agent. But let me tell you, Brent is no stranger to this new hat. He interned for two years at The Bent Agency before being hired at TriadaUS Literary Agency earlier this year.

Brent Taylor

1)      I was devastated you had to recently drop out as a mentor of a contest until I learned the super awesome reason. Can you tell us the journey of how you became an agent with TriadaUS?

It’s very long, but the abridged version is: I spent years working under various agents and agencies, and one day an incredible opportunity fell into my lap. Rest is history, etc. (Read more…)

PITCH WARS: MEET THE AGENTS

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In case you’re wondering, PITCH WARS is a super cool contest hosted by the fabulous Brenda Drake. And, of course, it’s a writing contest. What else would I post? And what’s seriously special about this contest is writers will be selected for mentoring. That’s right, winners will get help polishing their ENTIRE manuscript to get it ready for the agent round.

Girls wanna have fun

Today Brenda posted the awesome lineup of agents that will be participating from agencies such as The Bent Agency, Dystel & Goderich, Sarah Jane Freymann, Park Literary, Writers House, Andrea Brown Literary, and—and more! So go check them out here.

The submission window is fast approaching…August 18th, 2014 to be exact. Get your fingers flying on those keyboards and finish that novel to submit. I know you can do it!

Good luck and happy writing!

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

 

YA CONTEST ALERT-NO PITCH NECESSARY

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Having trouble writing a query or a pitch for that YA novel you’ve written? I know. I hear you screaming, “my brain rips in two trying to condense my story into a few sentences!” I feel your pain and send you a virtual hug! I understand an unfinished pitch keeps you from entering contests. You avoid them like dog poop on your sidewalk, curse them even. But I’ve discovered the perfect contest for you!

Here’s the scoop. I follow the wonderful @ChuckSambuchino (Editor of GUIDE TO LITERARY AGENTS and author of HOW TO SURVIVE A GARDEN GNOME ATTACK) on Twitter, who often contributes articles to WRITER’S DIGEST. Yesterday, he tweeted a link to Tell It Slant regarding a contest for your YA manuscript AND no pitch required! That’s worth repeating…NO PITCH REQUIRED!

Woo-Hoo!

You do need to have the first 250 words polished to submit and a $15 entry fee. But look who they say will be reading:

“YA literary agent Regina Brooks and her team will read all of the entries and determine the top 20 submissions. These submissions will then be read by Deidre Jones Little Brown, Nicole Raymond Candlewick, Annie Nybo Simon and Schuster, Mercedes Fernandez Kensington, Erica Finkel Abrams Books, Monica Jean Random House/Penguin , Stacey Friedberg Penguin Group, Catherine Laudone Simon and Schuster, Laura Whitaker Bloomsbury, Kendra Levin Viking, Anna Roberto Feiwel and Friends.

These judges will whittle the top 20 down to five, and each of the five winners will be provided commentary on their submissions.”

Go to Tell It Slant to read more about the contest guidelines and the benefits of winning. Good luck!

P.D. Pabst

Blogger and Writer of MG/YA Fiction