Friday, May 1, 2009

Contest Details

It's official! From the Query Tracker Blog:

The QueryTracker Blog is pleased to announce its second agent-judged contest. Literary agent Brendan Deneen with FinePrint Literary Management has graciously agreed to judge one-sentence pitches. (Yes, the very thing Joanna Stampfel-Volpe guest-blogged about yesterday.) You can only enter if your manuscript falls in the following genres: YA thriller, YA horror, YA fantasy, YA sci-fi, or adult thriller. The contest will open May 11th at 9 a.m. Eastern time, and the submission window will remain open for 24 hours. Be sure to keep an eye on this blog! As the contest nears, we will be posting full instructions on how to enter. (The submission process will be different for this contest.) We are very excited to work with Mr. Deneen, and we wish you all the best of luck!

17 comments:

Tess said...

Hurray for fun contests! So great of you all to set that up. Alas, my ms isn't in any of those categories :(

Much luck to all those who enter!

Unknown said...

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! YA SF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


*can you tell I'm excited?*

Yamile said...

My books in progress don't qualify for this contest, but I forwarded the link to a friend of mine. Good luck to her and all those who enter!!!

Suzette Saxton said...

Yay Beth!!!

Sorry Tess and Yamille... but don't worry. We have several more contests in the works!

Unknown said...

What is the difference between YA fantasy and adult fantasy? Length, content?

Suzette Saxton said...

Janyece,

More than anything it depends on the age of your protagonist. YA is written for ages 12-18, and the protagonist needs to fall within these ages or slightly older. As for content, YA is often edgier than what you'd find in adult fiction. Length isn't much of a concern any more - HP and the Goblet of Fire is 190,000 words! (Though for a first novel you should probably keep it under 100 K.)

Let me know if you have further questions. :)

Unknown said...

Thanks! That clears things up quite a bit. So my characters start out in the mid teens, but by the second book (and those to follow) they're early twenties.

Suzette Saxton said...

That sounds like YA to me - with a good chance of cross-over into the adult market. You should definitely enter the contest.

Unknown said...

Thank you! Contests scare the living daylights out of me, but I'll just have to get over that, won't I? lol!

Suzette Saxton said...

Janyece, I just got back from a writer's workshop. YA author Jessica Day George gave a fantastic talk and mentioned that her editor likes to keep her YA's right around 50k.

J.N. Future Author said...

what a beautiful new layout ^.~

you asked me where I got mine. I actually custom make mine ^.^ its all by-hand work

Suzette Saxton said...

Thanks J.N. Future Author!

WOW! You do your own blog? I'm so impressed!

Leni Qinan said...

I like your beautiful new layout. In fact, I see it every day on my way to work:

http://www.museodelprado.es/index.php?id=49&L=5 ---- You're there!!!

I'm new here, and very interested in the contest. My question is: Is there a limit to the number of pages in the manuscripts?

I promise to keep an eye on your next posts!

Suzette Saxton said...

Leni,

Thank you for directing me to the museum site! The digital quality of their Flaming June is phenomenal. Someday I hope to own a copy.

I'm excited that you are considering entry in our contest. To answer your question, there is not a limit to the number of pages in the manuscripts.

Thanks for dropping by!

Suzy

Suzette Saxton said...

Leni,

I just spent some time at the museum website learning more about Flaming June. How lucky you are to see the original! Thank you so much for the information.

Leni Qinan said...

My pleasure Suzy, 'Flaming June' is an awesome work of art; it's part of a temporary exhibition, and a pleasure to see! I'm glad you enjoyed the virtual visit to the Museum.

Thanks a lot for the information about the length requirements for the manuscripts. I decided to enter the contest!

Will be back soon for more info!

Suzette Saxton said...

Hooray! I'm so glad you decided to enter, Leni. Do let me know if you need any more info.