Hello Everyone!
It's Saturday again, and time for an update on the progress of the event. It's been another amazing week with more authors coming forward to pledge their book AND a couple of amazing agents/editors donating their time in the form of 'Wild-Cards' -- more about that to come.
Most amazingly,
the first books have arrived in Edinburgh! Most of these are signed copies that I am handling with the utmost reverence. Here they are, gloriously arranged on a pink plaid blanket:
And a zoom in on the dedication written by Nina Rossing ... because aww, all the feels :S
For the records of all authors, shipping seems to take the following:
From the UK: 2-3 Business Days.
From Continental Europe: 5-7 Business Days.
From East-Coast US, City: 5-7 Business Days.
From Elsewhere in the US/Canada: 7-14 Business Days.
Australia - Absolutely No Clue.
Additionally, here are the new books that
FABULOUS, ALTRUISTIC, BEAUTIFUL authors pledged this week:
I really am blown away by the number of authors who have agreed to participate in two weeks. To me, it really proves just how much desire there is in the writing community to help LGBTQ young adults both by supplying them with great fiction they can relate to, but also by actually physically donating to the programs that support them via
Stonewall.
Wild-Cards
Authors, Agents, and Editors ... oh my! A few fantastic publishing professionals have agreed to donate their time to the campaign via Wild-Cards. Wild Cards will feature in the boxes to be auctioned for Stonewall, not in the promotional Giveaway.
After winning a box auction, the winner will be able to select 3 Wild-Cards to add to their box. Picks will be price structured (also donated). We haven't determined what these pick price structures will look like, but somewhere in the ballpark of £100 for first pick in addition to the auction price of the box.
If we end up receiving more than 15 donated wild-cards, then we will also sell Wild-Cards individually for a set price (yet to be determined!).
These agents and editors are all actively looking for diverse YA projects themselves. Yes, I creepily pinched these photos from social media (with permission).
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| Brent Taylor - TriadaUS - Agent |
Query Critique Wild Card x 2
Although his tastes are eclectic, all of his favorite novels are similar in that they have big commercial hooks and fantastic writing.
He is seeking smart, fun and exciting books in the following categories: Middle grade, Young Adult, Mystery/Crime, Women’s Fiction.
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Patricia Nelson - Marsal Lyon Literary Agency - Agent
10pg Critique Wild Card
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Patricia represents adult, young adult, and middle grade fiction, and is actively looking to build her list. In general, Patricia looks for compelling, well-written stories featuring complex characters that jump off the page and thoughtfully drawn, believable relationships. On the adult side, she is seeking women’s fiction, historical fiction, and accessible literary fiction, as well as contemporary and historical romance.
For YA and MG, she is open to a wide range of genres, with particular interest in contemporary/realistic, magical realism, mystery, horror, and fantasy. She is interested in seeing diverse stories and characters in all genres.
Also, I think agents like sunglasses.
This may or may not be an overt generalisation based on a small sample size.
These two agents rock the sunglasses.
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| Stephen Morgan - Entangled Publishing - Editor |
Query Critique Wild Card
5pg + Twitter Pitch Wild Card
For YA/NA, he’d love to see more gritty across-the-tracks romances, tortured heroes/heroines on the path to redemption, and high-concept genre pieces (biopunk, steampunk, thrillers, even fantasy or paranormal if it’s just a splash of supernatural grounded in the real world).
If your story doesn’t match any of that, don’t worry! Bottom line, if it’s fast-paced and has a strong romantic conflict, send it his way. Find a way to write your story with commercial elements and a literary voice and you’ll immediately have his attention. LGBT characters more than welcome.
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| Rachel Brooks - L. Perkins Agency - Agent |
Query Critique Wild Card
She is excited about representing all genres of young adult and new adult fiction, as well as adult romance. While she is looking for all sub-genres of romance, she is especially interested in romantic suspense. She is also on the lookout for fun picture books.
She’s a fan of dual POVs, loves both print and ebooks, and has a soft spot for marketing savvy writers.
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| Maria Vicente - PS Literary - Agent |
Query Critique Wild Card
For YA books, I am looking for a few specific things to add to my list: psychological horror, magical realism, a break-up story (ideally between friends, but I’d also be open to reading an emotionally gripping break-up between a couple), and a contemporary series full of drama (think
Gossip Girl). I’d also be interested in a YA short story collection if it has a great book-long theme. Above all, I am looking for diversity in YA fiction; I don’t want characters and plots I’ve read over and over again. And because I’m asked a lot: LGBTQ YA fiction is a great fit for me.
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| Rebecca Podos - Rees Literary - Agent |
10pg Critique Wild Card
Rebecca is interested in Young Adult and Middle Grade fiction of all kinds. She's looking for projects with compelling characters whose journeys feel human, whether they're high school students, were-dragons or space travellers.
She is thrilled to represent books like Rin Chupeco's THE GIRL FROM THE WELL (Sourcebooks), Ryan Bradford's HORROR BUSINESS (Month9Books), Mackenzi Lee's THIS MONSTROUS THING (Katherine Tegen Books, 2015), Sarah Nicolas' DRAGONS ARE PEOPLE, TOO (Entangled, 2015), Ashley Herring Blake's SUFFER LOVE (HMH Children's, 2016) Kenneth Logan's THE SLOW THAW (HarperCollins Children's, 2016), andEmily Ross's HALF IN LOVE WITH DEATH (Merit Press, 2016.)
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Marietta Zacker - Nancy Galt Agency - Agent
Skip the Query Queue Wild Card x 2 |
Marietta has professionally experienced every aspect of children's books for over 15 years, working with authors, illustrators, publishers, educators and readers. As an agent, she is passionate about bringing those worlds together. She represents authors whose words make her pause, shiver or laugh out loud and illustrators who add a completely different dimension to the story being told. Marietta approaches her work with the knowledge that there are remarkable books of all genres, targeted to all ages, just waiting to be discovered.
Damn. That might actually be the longest blog post I've ever written. More next week and truly looking forward to the event!!
I leave you with my cats.
