Listen Magazine

This is a magazine aimed at teenagers to provide information on substance abuse and other social and health issues young people face. It's also a paying market. Visit their website for further information on what they are looking for. The easiest market to break into is probably their True Stories section. In addition to true stories relating to substance abuse, Listen Magazine has covered such topics as peer pressure, decision-making, friendship, family conflict, self-discipline, and suicide.

No writing is ever a waste. Even if your interest lies in fiction, topics like the ones above will force you to dig deep to bring out the emotion of the event you witnessed or experienced--a skill you'll need if your really intend to write compelling fictional characters. Stretch your writing muscles and give it a shot.

--Patrizia

YA Author Linda Gerber

Last Thursday I met YA author Linda Gerber in downtown Tokyo. We had a great time chatting about writing and life in Japan. And we also talked about trends in YA lit. We both agree that the YA market is really taking off.

Linda has an exciting year ahead of her. Her first book Now and Zen is out now and has already received several five star reviews on Amazon. This story will be followed up by another set in Finland and she's hard at work on a three-book series that follows the adventures of a family on the run.

I asked Linda if the writing gets easier once you publish. Well, it doesn't. The doubts and worries that plague you as an unpublished writer still exist once you've sold that manuscript. But I'd gladly deal with those worries for the chance to see my name on the cover of a book.

Cheers, Patrizia

YA Authors Cafe--Feel like chatting?

Want to know what's up with some of your favorite YA authors? Visit the YA Authors Cafe. Chats are held on Tuesdays, at 8:30 pm EST . To find out who the next guest will be check the website for more information.

--Patrizia

Thanks to YA author Bev Rosenbaum I learned of this fantastic site. Young Adult (& Kids) Books Central has everything you could want to know about books. You can find reviews on your favorite books, author interviews and bios and much more. What I really like is that they are open to volunteers. Have you ever thought about doing a review? This is great writing experience, not to mention the fun of reading and talking about books you like. Take a moment and check out the site and don't leave without entering for the YABC Giveaway!

Also, stop by Bev Rosenbaum's website and learn about her October 2006 release, I Was A Teenage Popsicle. I've ordered the book through Amazon and after I've read it, I plan on having Bev join us here for a Q&A. Hope you can join us.

--Patrizia

Writing Contemporary YA Fiction Workshop

Earthly Charms is a web site that specializes in promotions for writers. They also offer monthly onlone workshops for writers that run two to four weeks long. The workshop scheduled for December features Rita-award winning author Nicole (Niki) Burnham, whose first YA book, Royally Jacked launched the Simon Pulse romantic comedy line. Her latest YA title, Do Over, is in stores now. The course runs two weeks and will cover such topics as YA markets, plotting your novel and Q&A time. The cost for the course is $10. For more information on this workshop, click here. To learn more about Niki Burnham, visit her website at www.nikiburnham.com.

--Patrizia

Teen Read Week

The third week in October celebrates Teen Read Week. The event is put on by the Young Adult Library Services Association. Drop by to learn more and vote for your favorite book while you're there.

--Patrizia

YA Publishers

It's another Monday morning here in Tokyo and I'm beat from the weekend. Friday the 13th truly lived up to its name. The computer would boot up and play the screensaver over and over. Try to go to the desktop and it was a black screen. The whole system had to be reinstalled. My five-year-old said to me Saturday, "I thought you said Friday the 13th is a bad day. I had a good day." Lucky him. Hope you did too.

Now on to publishers. This list comes from a markets column in a new e-zine whose focus is women on writing

The markets column, YA Publishers That Pay in Advance, can be found at this link


Good Luck, Patrizia

NANO WRITE

National Novel Writing Month

It's that time again. NaNoWriMo has officially opened for its eighth noveling season, and they'd love to have you come and join them for another raucous and productive November.

For more info and guidelines go to:
www.nanowrimo.org

Young Novelist Challenge

It's Monday monring already here in Japan and I've got more great news to share with you. For young writers out there who've written that novel but want to learn how to make it shine or for those of you in the process but need help getting over that bump in the road, this challenge might be just what you've been looking for to get ahead. Note the deadline to sign up is October 15, 2006.

--Patrizia

YOUNG NOVELIST CHALLENGE
http://www.absynthemuse.com
---
Do you fancy yourself the next big thing in publishing? Do you
spend far too much time developing a cool-looking autograph for
your adoring fans during math class? Do you ever wish someone
would finally explain to you the difference between a query
and a hook?

This challenge is for young novelists, ages 13-22, who want to
learn about all there is to book publishing, want to win free
prizes, and garner a critique by a lit agent, namely Nadia
Cornier, of the fabulous Firebrand Literary agency. Perhaps,
just perhaps, she would be so impressed with your work, that
she’ll offer you a contract. That’s something to celebrate!

If you think you’ve got what it takes to whip your novel into
marketable shape, this challenge is for you! Over the course
of the next two months, we’ll be posting articles, offering
roundtable chats where we invite awesome published authors,
editors, and agents to talk to participants, and holding mini-
workshops on Absynthe Muse for you to sharpen your writing
skills.

We’ll take you from ruthlessly editing your manuscript, learning
how to give and take good critique, to researching publishers
and agents, to writing queries and novel synopses, and finally,
submitting them. The more events you participate in, the more
chances you get to win fabulous prizes, such as books, journals,
gift cards to coffee shops, and lots of chocolate to kick writer's
block.

Then, you email us your query with the first three chapters of
your manuscript. We’ll post each with critiques on the blog,
and the handful of entries that blow our socks off we’ll pass
onto Nadia to review.

Sound cool?

All you have to do is sign up on the Young Novelists' Challenge
board on the forum. There we’ll be posting further information
about the challenge and mini-challenges to come. The deadline
for interested novelists to join the board is October 15, 2006.

Happy October!
Elisabeth Wilhelm
Editor-in-Chief

HarperTeen Fan Lit

Sasha posted a while back about Harper Collins fan lit sweepstakes. Apparently Harper Collins is at it again with a focus on the YA market this time around. Details and other news are below. While you're at it, check out the http://www.harperteen.com/ website for info on their latest books and authors. These are great opportunities for anyone wanting to write for the YA market. Writing for fan lit gives you an objective, a chance for your work to be seen, and simple experience whether you win or not. As for First Look, the more you read in the genre the more you'll find out what you like, don't like, what's hot and what's not and what's been done to death. So, go for it!

FanLit is coming October 17th!

Team up with bestselling YA authors, HarperTeen editors and your fellow readers to create a completely original short story and win great prizes with HarperTeen FanLit!

First Look

We want your thoughts on our new books. Sign-up for First Look, our reader review program to read and review books before they’re available in stores!

--Patrizia

AFRICANA HOMESTEAD SHORT STORY CONTEST

Hi everyone, I'm going to be joining Sasha as a regular blogger here. There is supposed to be a way to add my profile as a team member, but that particular blogger feature isn't working. Until then, I'll be posting via Sasha's account and apologize if there is any confusion.

I found this gem via the newsletter put out by Funds for Writers: http://www.fundsforwriters.com

If you are interested in writing stories with a focus on African American characters and issues, this contest may be for you. Note that the deadline is October 31st. You don't have much time. There is a $20 entry fee but the prize money is attractive and there is always the name recognition from winning.

--Patrizia

AFRICANA HOMESTEAD SHORT STORY CONTEST
http://ahlpub.com/uploads/

The_Africana_Homestead_2006_Short_Story_Contest.pdf
---:
ENTRY FEE $8 for Children and Youth/$20 for Adults
Three categories: Children, Youth and Adult. Deadline
October 31, 2006.

Children (ages 5-11 by October 31, 2006.)
First place $150, Second $100, Third $50.

Youth (ages 12-18)
First place $300, Second $200, Third $100.

Adult (18+)
First place $450, Second $300, Third $150.

Open to residents of the 50 US states and territories.
The subject must be any aspect of the historic or present-day
black experience in the United States or its territories.
Must not exceed 7,500 words.

Nerd Writers Wanted!

Are you a closet sci-tech geek?

Do you like to tinker with big ideas in literary ways?

Do you keep up with the latest fashions in theoretical physics?

Scriblerus Press is looking for short creative works inspired by STRING THEORY for an upcoming anthology.

Submit a poem, a short story, or a piece of creative nonfiction. We are most pleased by well-crafted work that engages STRING THEORY in an entirely original way. This may or may not mean science-fiction.

Complete guidelines are to be found at http://scriblerus.net

Article from http://www.mediabistro.com/mbtoolbox

YA Market is HOT

Here's an article on the YA market--it's hot--they say.
from the following link:
http://www.oregonlive.com

In a bit of magic, young adult literature becomes a hot market
Sunday, September 24, 2006

MARY RECHNER

Everybody -- first time author and established scribe -- is doing it: writing for young adults. "YA," a hard-to-define market that encompasses readers between 9 and 19, is attracting writers for a variety of reasons.
Karen Karbo, author of five books for adults, wrote "Minerva Clark Gets a Clue" and the forthcoming "Minerva Clark Goes to the Dogs" "as a way to give girls between 9 and 11 or 12 something to read that didn't involve teen issues they might not be ready for."
First-time novelist Christine Fletcher of Portland thought she was writing for adults until her agent found that editors didn't think adults would respond to the 17-year-old protagonist in her book "Tallulah Falls." When Fletcher agreed to pitch her novel to the YA market, her agent quickly sold it.

Altering "Tallulah Falls," published this spring, into a YA book "did not entail a tremendous about of work," says Fletcher. "I streamlined the plot, removing any navel-gazing. It's all about the story, not about the writer."
The unprecedented success of J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" series deserves much of the credit for transforming YA from an underappreciated niche into a hot market.
Will Peters, the manager of Annie Bloom's Books, attributes much of the burgeoning young adult market to the popularity of Harry Potter.
"People buy new hardcover books much more than they used to," he said. "There are more quality series available."
Charlotte Perry, youth materials selector for Multnomah County Library, concurs. "It's hard to find a book that stands alone, that's not a series."
Perry says another change is that "it's difficult to tell the boundaries between teen and adult books."
Some books, like Mark Haddon's "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time," become successful crossover books by appealing to readers of all ages. Haddon's novel won the Whitbread Novel Award, the Book Trust teenage fiction award, and the Guardian's children's fiction prize.

Roland Smith, the Oregon author of more than 20 books for young adults, notes that before Harry Potter, some of the most successful books for kids were short, like the spooky "Goosebumps" series by R.L. Stine.
"What Harry Potter did for people like me is get kids comfortable reading thick books. Now kids are not intimidated by size if the story is good," Smith said.
California author Kerry Madden's first book, "Offsides," was published in 1996 as adult literary fiction, though it featured a young protagonist. "Offsides" got good reviews but didn't sell well. Madden had asked her agent about the young adult market, but in 1996 was assured that publishing a YA novel would be the "death knell" of her career. By 2005 the book market had changed.

"Writing for young people was taken more seriously as an art form," said Madden. That year she published the first book in what has become her "Maggie Valley" series. "Gentle's Holler" is soon to be followed by "Louise's Palette" and "Jesse's Mountain."
In his job as a middle school teacher, Portland writer Bart King observes that "the reason something flies or not [with kids] is not the content, it's how the content is presented." In his nonfiction books, "The Big Book of Boy Stuff" and the forthcoming "The Big Book of Girl Stuff," King uses cartoons, graphics and a delightfully wacky tone to hook his young readers. He believes gender may play a part in what young readers prefer.
"Girls tend to read more literary fiction, while boys generally read more sports- or hobby-related books, in addition to fantasy and sci-fi," King said.
David Brooks, in a recent column in The New York Times, is concerned about the growing gender gap in academic performance; boys are losing ground. Teaching more boy-friendly writers (Brooks suggests Hemingway, Tolstoy, Homer and Twain) might turn more boys onto reading, but perhaps the TV should be turned off first.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, the average child watches three hours of TV daily. According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, children who watch too much TV "have lower grades in school, read fewer books and have problems with attention." The National Association of State Boards of Education, in its October 2005 report, found "that approximately 70 percent of adolescents struggle to read," with "one quarter unable to read at the most basic level."
Despite all the magic in the young adult market, an alarming number of young Muggles have yet to be transformed into readers.