Thursday, July 26, 2012

Upcoming Contest with Teen Eyes Editorial

THIS IS NOT A CALL FOR ENTRIES! I'M JUST GIVING YOU A HEADS-UP. THE CONTEST OPENS NEXT TUESDAY, JULY 31.

Have you ever wondered if your young adult, new adult, or middle grade manuscript would hook a teen reader? We all have. So what better way to find out than through a contest with the talented teens of TEEN EYES EDITORIAL!

First, a bit about the editors:

Kate Coursey has completed nine novels to date. Her fifth novel, tentatively titled LIKE CLOCKWORK, won the 2010 PUSH Novel Contest. It is currently undergoing revisions with Jody Corbett at Scholastic Press. She is represented by Edward Necarsulmer IV of McIntosh & Otis, Inc. In addition to having extensive experience as a freelance editor, Kate worked as an intern at Scholastic Press where she read many (agented and unagented) submissions. She received the prestigious Sterling Scholar Grant in 2011 based on an extensive creative writing sample. Later that year, Kate underwent a comprehensive evaluation of her editorial skills (both technical and content-related), beating out dozens of post-grad students for an editorial internship at a mid-sized publisher, where she worked during the fall. She is nineteen years old and lives in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Kate loves all things fantasy, contemporary, and middle grade. To learn more about her, visit her website or follow her on Twitter.

Taryn Albright is a nineteen-year-old author whose choice to write instead of do homework led to a Creative Writing major. When she isn't being a college student, swimmer, or writer, she is an intern with Movable Type Literary Management. She is also the personal assistant to the amazing Genn Albin (CREWEL, Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, October 2012). Her YA fiction is represented by Vickie Motter of Andrea Hurst Literary Management.

Taryn is particularly interested in contemporaries, mysteries, thrillers, sci-fi, and dystopians, but she also loves fantasy and historical fiction. She's probably not right for your paranormal, but pleasant surprises happen. She loves strong heroines, myth and fairy-tale retellings, and stories about sports. Some of her favorite authors include Suzanne Collins, Stephanie Perkins, Rae Carson, Kirsten Hubbard, Kendare Blake, Veronica Roth, Ilsa Bick, and Ransom Riggs.

To learn more about Taryn, visit her blog or follow her on Twitter.

Brent Taylor lives in Louisville, Kentucky. He’s an ex-gymnast turned blogger, and has been a children’s and YA specialist intern at a New York-based literary agency for a little over a year. His articles have appeared in School Library Journal and VOYA, and he is a contributing writer at Lambda Literary.

Brent was raised in middle grade fantasy, hung out with YA contemporary for years, and is now enjoying every stolen moment on his porch swing with nice literary and not-so-literary fiction. He loves narrators that take him on wild rides to worlds and situations he’s never experienced before and fresh plotlines.

You can visit his blog, or--and this is if you’re feeling particularly adventurous--follow him on Twitter.

THE EDITORS WILL ONLY CONSIDER ENTRIES IN THE GENRES THAT MEET THEIR TASTES, so please read those guidelines carefully to determine which editor or editors will fit your manuscript. Then check out whichever blogs will host the editors you pick.

Mother. Write. (Repeat.)

I will host Kate Coursey, who will judge ONE-SENTENCE PITCHES and THE FIRST 250 WORDS of completed manuscripts. The winner will receive a 20,000-word in-depth critique.

Miss Snark's First Victim

Authoress will host Taryn Albright, who will judge QUERY LETTERS. The winner will receive a $100 gift certificate to use toward any of Taryn's editorial services.

Brenda Drake Writes...under the influence of coffee

Brenda Drake will host Brent Taylor, who will judge 35-WORD PITCHES. The winner will receive a 20,000-word in-depth critique.

The submission posts on all three blogs will go live on Tuesday, July 31, at 8:00 a.m. EDT (or 5:00 a.m. PDT). And here's the really great part: You can enter on one, two, or all three blogs (though everyone will only be eligible to win one prize).

You don't have to follow us or spread the word to win, but we'd love it if you did. All you have to do is come back and enter on the submission post next Tuesday, July 31!

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is there a certain number of entries that will be accepted?

Brenda Drake said...

No, but we will close the contest at a certain time (tbd).

Stephsco said...

Very cool! New follower here. I will consider entering. I've been a lurker for these type of contests for what feels like forever. Finally, I have a completed manuscript which I'm working on editing, but finding myself at a need to get more feedback. I think I'm ready!

Looking forward to keeping up with your blog.

Krista Van Dolzer said...

Michelle, what Brenda said:)

Stephsco, welcome! This would be a great contest to enter if you're looking for critique. Kate's an excellent writer, and her feedback is spot-on. (Definitely check out Authoress's blog, too (the link is in the post), since she often hosts in-house critique sessions that will give you a taste of that, too.)

Kimberly Gabriel said...

You ladies are amazing. Thanks for all of your hard work for putting together another fun contest!

Myrna Foster said...

Sweet! I should have everything ready by then. :o)

Krista Van Dolzer said...

Kimberly, Brenda's been the driving force behind this contest. She's put together all the details for us.

Yay, Myrna! Can't wait to see the new first page!

Jeannete said...

This is an excellent contest! I would love a younger set of eyes to rip my MS apart. :)

One question though, just to clarify. This post mentions that you're hosting Kate Coursey who is judging one-sentence pitches and the first 250, but the other two participating blogs indicate she's judging only the first 250. Should we be submitting our one-line pitches here as well as on Brenda Drake Writes?

Cheers, and thanks for setting this up!

Krista Van Dolzer said...

Good question, Jeannete! Yes, Kate Coursey would like to see both your one-sentence pitch and the first 250 words of your manuscript, so make sure to submit that pitch here as well as at Brenda Drake Writes.

DanaE said...

Hey Krista,
I'm back at work tomorrow so I'm wondering what time the contest closes.
Thanks!

Krista Van Dolzer said...

Dana, we're going to leave submissions open until midnight EDT tomorrow night, so you should be fine. Good luck!