Young Adult Creative Writing Workshops (YACWW)

Thursday, November 30, 2006

Anyone Understand Russian?

Sorry it's been so quiet in here. Sasha and I got caught up with the holidays and other things. I can't believe how fast 2007 is coming up. I need to start thinking about Christmas cards! I am so not ready for that.

I learned this through the scbwi loop I belong to. These are links to two Russian sites that depict illustrations of children books. They're quite beautiful and worth a look. Check out this blog on old soviet era children's books or this one on children's book illustrations. I can't read Russian but it was fun looking at the pictures. I did get a bit of suprise at the second site when I scrolled down and realized I could read what the zebra was saying on the page--that's because it was in Italian. What the Italian book is doing mixed in with the Russian will require a translator. ;-)

Cheers--Patrizia

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Interview with Bev Katz Rosenbaum




Today, I'm excited to post an interview with author Bev Katz Rosenbaum.
I Was A Teenage Popsicle
is her first YA novel and a great addition to any bookshelf. You want something fun to read, this book is it.

For those readers who haven't read your book, can you tell them briefly about it?
I Was a Teenage Popsicle is a crazy mix of teen chick lit, comedy, romance, sci-fi and action-adventure, featuring cryonically preserved Venice Beach teen Floe Ryan, the first human being to be 'thawed'!

What drew you to writing for the YA market?
I was loving the books my kids were reading, so I thought, why not give it a shot? I tend to write short and funny, so my style was perfect for the genre.

Okay, I've got to ask. Why a popsicle? How did you ever get an idea like that?
Well, the YA market's pretty competitive--coming up with a unique idea is paramount. When the whole Ted Williams cryonics controversy broke, I thought, cryonics, that's the ticket!

Waking up ten years later would freak most people out. What quality about your main character Floe as she deals with this situation do you most admire and why?
I once heard someone say that her heroines are the people she wishes she could be, and that's pretty much how I feel about Floe. She's so much more confident and self-possessed than I was at her age--though she's not without her flaws, because a perfect heroine would be extremely boring!

Trying to fit it in is a theme most anyone who experienced teen life can relate to. What made you write about this feeling?
What you said! Trying to fit in is a theme most anyone who has experienced teen life can relate to. The 'cool' (ha-ha) thing about this book is that Floe's situation is at once totally out there, yet completely universal.

Here's another must-ask question. How did a Canadian end up writing about Valley Girls and Venice Beach types? (Is no one else surprised by that?) And any plans for some Canadian characters or settings?
Well, my publisher is Penguin US, not Penguin Canada, but aside from that, I just thought Venice, California was the perfect place to set my out there cryonics story Having said that, I will tell you a few upcoming projects are set considerably closer to home. You're quite right--the only place you can get totally right is the place you call home, the place you can feel in your bones!

When will your next book be out and what will it be about? What themes will you be exploring this time around?
Watch out for the sequel to I Was a Teenage Popsicle, called Beyond Cool, to be released in August '07. I have several other projects in various stages of development--none of which I can talk about yet!

--Patrizia

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Contests!!!!

Here are some contests for you to consider. Remember to read the rules carefully and follow them; pay attention to the deadlines and proofread your manuscript for grammar and punctuation. Also, note some contests require an entry fee. Good Luck! --Patrizia


Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers is pleased to announce The Twenty-Fourth Annual Delacorte Press Contest for a First Young Adult Novel. The prize of a book contract (on the publisher’s standard form) covering world rights for a hard-cover and a paperback edition, including an advance and royalties, is awarded annually to encourage the writing of contemporary young adult fiction. The award consists of $1,500 in cash and a $7,500 advance against royalties. Deadline: December 31, 2006

The Writer's Digest 7th Annual Short Short Story Competition
We're looking for fiction that's bold, brilliant...but brief. Send us your best in 1,500 words or fewer.
But don't be too long about it—the deadline is Friday, December 01, 2006.

PRIZES
First Place: $3,000
Second Place: $1,500
Third Place: $500
Fourth Through Tenth Place: $100
Eleventh Through Twenty-Fifth Place: $50 gift certificate for Writer's Digest Books

Chapter One Promotions International Open Short Story Competition. This is a UK contest with prize money in British pounds. Deadline: January 14, 2007

UPDATE: 11/18/06 Here's another contest with a December deadline to add to the list.

CAJE DORNSTEIN SHORT STORY WRITING CONTEST
---
NO ENTRY FEE
Up to three prizes, totaling $1,000, are being offered
in the annual David Dornstein Memorial Creative Writing
Contest for Young Adult Writers, sponsored by the Coalition
for the Advancement of Jewish Education. Authors aged 18 -
35 years by December 31, 2006, are invited to submit a
short story on a Jewish theme or topic. Up to three winners
will be selected. CAJE will have the right to publish prize-
winning submissions and to disseminate them to the CAJE
membership at any time; credit will be given to the author.
Stories must be postmarked no later than December 30, 2006.

TEEN FANLIT

HarperTeen Fanlit. A storytelling event by teens for teens.

Check it out. They have some cool prizes and you get a chance to try your hand at writing or if you want you can just read and vote for your favs!

http://www.harperteenfanlit.com/index.htm?cid=00000049

Monday, November 13, 2006

A TEENS GUIDE TO GETTING PUBLISHED


Check out this updated version of A TEEN'S GUIDE TO GETTING PUBLISHED by Danielle and Jessica Dunn

Price: $14.95
A Teen's Guide to Getting Published is an exciting must-read for young writers wanting to see their work published. This revised edition, written by two successful former teen authors, offers practical writing tips and an expansive, up-to-date listing of markets that publish student work.

Grades 4-12

Sunday, November 12, 2006

SCBWI talk by YA author Linda Gerber--Part II

Yesterday I posted about Linda Gerber's talk to the Tokyo chapter of the SCBWI. Today, I'd like to continue with Linda's descriptions of Book Packager series, publisher-driven series and author driven series.

You might be wondering what a book packager is. Well, they come up with the concept, get the writer, and produce the project which they then sell to a publisher. A publisher driven series is one designed and conceived in-house by the publisher. An example is Linda's own book Now and Zen which is part of Puffin Books' Student's Across the Seven Seas series (S.A.S.S.).

A book packager series or even a publisher-driven series can be written by different authors, using different characters, revolving around the same theme. Again the S.A.S.S. series is a good example. Another type of series can be one where a pen name is established and then ghost writers are hired to write the story. Think Nancy Drew and how long she's been aorund. Last, a publisher may see a gap in the market and contract authors who already write for them to produce the stories.

An author driven series, of course, is one where the entire concept comes from the author. The character may grow from book to book, like Harry Potter, or stay pretty much the same age from one adventure to the next. Bottom line it's the author who decides what direction the character and series take.

The publishing world is tough and competitive. Writing for a book packager can sometimes be the way to get your foot in the door. It worked for Linda. She has another S.A.S.S. book coming out set in Finland and she went on to seal a three-book deal for Puffin's (a division of Penguin Books) Sleuth series. So keep your eyes open for opportunities. They're out there.

UPDATE: 11/17/06 The above post has been edited to reflect the corrections Linda made in the comments to this post. Sorry for any confusion on the original.

Keep on Writing!
Patrizia

Saturday, November 11, 2006

SCBWI talk by YA author Linda Gerber--Part I

Yesterday I parked the kids with hubby and took the train into Tokyo to attend a talk by Linda Gerber, author of Now and Zen, sponsored by the Tokyo chapter of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. Most of my writing life always seems to take place online, so the chance to meet other writers ranks up there with an offer of chocolate--impossible to turn down.

Linda's talk focused a lot on what consititues a series and the various ways to break into the market. She made a comment that I can't emphasize enough: "Keep your eyes open to any opportunities." Sure writing is all about being creative. At least that's what we tell ourselves. But once we start submitting that piece of work, there's a business aspect that can't be ignored. Editors may like your writing, but if the market isn't there or if the market has already turned the corner and your fascinating heroine is considered yesterday's leftovers, you're out of luck.

Study the market. Look at the books that are currently published and see if you can determine why they're such a success. According to Linda, it's spies and sleuths that are hot right now. Will they be tomorrow, good question. Remember that any manuscript you submit now isn't likely to get into print for another year or more, so while it's important to look at the market, don't become a slave to it.

Another interesting point she raised is that while girls generally get hooked on reading and continue to read, boys have to be caught early. Boys don't seem to be the huge readers that girls are (we're speaking in generalities here). This does leave a huge gap in the market for anyone with a cool concept. A YA author on a loop I belong to mentioned recently that her publisher is actively seeking YA boy-focused books.

Tomorrow, I'll post more on Linda's discussion of book series.

--Patrizia

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Gallagher Girls Contest!



Fans of Ally Carter's Gallagher Girl series will be excited to hear that I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You has been optioned for a movie by Disney. Way cool!

Ally also has a contest up on her website for her next book, titled...well, that's your job. ;-) The title is in code and your mission, should you accept it, is to Break the Code! Click on the link for contest rules. Good luck and have fun.

--Patrizia

Friday, November 03, 2006

YA Agents

Patrizia sent me these links. Check out what these agents are blogging about in YA.

Find out what Agent Kristin is tired of seeing

Read a great interview with Agent Sara Crowe Of Harvey Klinger, Inc


Happy submitting!

Sasha

Thursday, November 02, 2006

Writing Contests

Now is the time to polish up those manuscripts!


DELACORTE PRESS CONTEST FOR A FIRST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL
Deadline: December 31
The prize of a book contract (on the publisher's standard form)
covering world rights for a hard-cover and a paperback edition,
including an advance and royalties, is awarded annually to encourage the writing of contemporary young adult fiction. The award consists of $1,500 in cash and a $7,500 advance against royalties. For guidelines visit
http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/games/delacorte.html.

THE NEXT GREAT CRIME WRITER CONTEST
Deadline: November 27
Do you have a killer book idea? Then this is your chance to make
crime pay. Court TV is offering you a chance to win a book deal with Regan, an imprint of HarperCollins. The Judges are bestselling authors Lisa Scottoline, Jonathan Kellerman, and Faye Kellerman, and editor Judith Regan. For more information, please visit http://getpublished.courttv.com/?link=winabookdeal

NATIONAL WRITERS UNION POETRY CONTEST
Deadline: November 30
A prize of $1000 and publication in Poetry Flash is given annually
for a single poem. Adrienne Rich will judge. For more information,
please visit http://www.nwu7.org/ .

FIRST COLLECTION OF SHORT STORIES AWARD
Deadline: December 31
A prize of $1000 and publication by Livingston Press is given
annually for a first collection of short stories. For more
information, please visit http://www.livingstonpress.uwa.edu/ .