Get your pitches and first pages ready! We have some fabulous judges lined up for the August Pitch+250 Contest! Read about them below the submissions info.

Submissions will be accepted starting on Wednesday, July 31st at 6:00pm Eastern time. The submission window will close on August 3rd at 11:00pm Eastern time, or when we receive 50 submissions, whichever comes first. The entries will consist of a pitch of no more than 100 words plus the first 250 words of your completed manuscript. For your pitch, think logline, not query.

Pitch+250 is open to YA, NA, and MG submissions only. It will consist of 3 rounds of judging. We will accept a maximum of 50 submissions.

Round 1: A great set of bloggers will judge the submissions. The 25 submissions with the highest scores will move on to the next round.

Round 2: YA authors will judge the top 25 submissions. The 10 highest scores will move on to the next round.

Round 3: Agent and Editor judges will score the top 10 submissions.

The top 10 submissions will receive a critique from one of our judges. All 50 entrants will receive scorecards from each round of judging they participate in.

Starting at 6:00 pm Eastern time on Wednesday, July 31st, please send your pitch of no more than 100 words plus the first 250 words of your completed manuscript in the body of an email to 4kidlit (at) gmail (dot) com. We will accept a maximum of 50 submissions. You must include Pitch+250 in the subject line. Please use the following format in the body of your email:

Name:
Title:
Genre:
Email:

Pitch:

1st 250:

Agents and Editor Judges – will be announced on 8/4.

Incredible YA Author Judges

Ellen Hopkins is a poet, freelance writer, and the award-winning author of twenty nonfiction titles and nine NY Times Bestselling young adult novels-in-verse, plus two adult novels. She has published hundreds of articles on subjects ranging from aviation to child abuse to winegrowing. Ellen mentors other writers through her position as a regional adviser for the Nevada chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). She is a regular speaker at schools, book festivals and writers conferences across the US, and now throughout the world.
In 2012, Ellen founded Ventana Sierra, Inc., a 501(3)(c) whose mission is to help disadvantaged youth into safe housing and working toward career goals through higher education, vocational training and the arts.

Beth Revis is the author of the NY Times Bestselling Across the Universe series, published by Razorbill/Penguin in the US and available in 17 countries. The first book in the trilogy, Across the Universe, is a “cunningly executed thriller” according to Booklist, and the second book, A Million Suns, was hailed by the LA Times as “a fast-paced, action-packed follow-up.” The final book of the trilogy, Shades of Earth, will be released in early 2013.
A former teacher, Beth lives in rural North Carolina with her husband and dog. Her goals include travelling around the world in 80 days, exploring the moon, and finding Narnia.

Kendare Blake is the author of the NY Times Bestselling Anna series, consisting of ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD and GIRL OF NIGHTMARES. Her next novel, ANTIGODDESS, the first title of a trilogy about Greek gods and reincarnated heroes, is set to release September 10, 2013. She is an import from South Korea who was raised in the United States by caucasian parents. You know, that old chestnut. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Business from Ithaca College and a Master’s degree in Writing from Middlesex University in London. She brakes for animals, the largest of which was a deer, which sadly didn’t make it, and the smallest of which was a mouse, which did, but it took forever. Amongst her likes are Greek Mythology, rare red meat and veganism. She also enjoys girls who can think with the boys like Ayn Rand, and boys who scare the morality into people, like Bret Easton Ellis.

Kimberly Sabatini is a former Special Education Teacher who is now a stay-at-home mom and a part-time dance instructor for three and four year olds. After her dad passed away in 2005, she used writing as a way to make sense of the experience and discovered that she’s full of questions that need to be answered. She lives in New York’s Hudson Valley with her husband and three boys. Kimberly writes Young Adult fiction and is a member of the SCBWI (The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) and she’s also a member of two debut author groups–the Class of 2k12 and the Apocalypsies. She is represented by Michelle Wolfson of Wolfson Literary Agency and thrilled to be part of the “Wolf Pack.” TOUCHING THE SURFACE is her debut novel. (Simon Pulse – Simon & Schuster, October 30, 2012)

Molly Cochran, author of the teen paranormal romances LEGACY and POISON, has written 26 published novels and four nonfiction books under her own name and various pseudonyms. Her books include New York Times bestselling novels GRANDMASTER and THE FOREVER KING, coauthored with Warren Murphy, and the nonfiction DRESSING THIN, also a NY Times bestseller. She has won awards from the Mystery Writers of America (Best Novel of the Year), the Romance Writers of America (Best Thriller), and the New York Public Library (Outstanding Books for the Teen Age).

SEDUCTION, the third installment in the LEGACY series, is scheduled for release later this year through her publisher, Simon & Schuster. Two eBooks, THE TEMPLE DOGS and THE FOREVER KING, are currently available through online retailers. A third, GRANDMASTER, will be available soon.

Molly has lectured extensively and has taught writing at the college level as well as at a women’s prison (where she was NOT an inmate). She lives in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Wonderful YA Bloggers

Amy Trueblood is a freelance writer with over fifteen years of experience in marketing and public relations. Her short stories, “Emanate,” and “Unearthed,” are part of The Fall and Summer’s Edge anthologies published by Elephant’s Bookshelf Press. Her writing has also appeared in Liquid Imagination. When not “chasing the crazy” dream of being published, she feeds her addictions to good TV (Bones, Castle & Fringe), Barnes & Noble and mango ice tea. Amy was also the winner of our May Pitch+250 Contest. She blogs at Chasing the Crazies and can also be found on Twitter at @atrueblood5.

Carrie Butler daydreamed her way through college—until they thrust a marketing degree into her hands, slapped a summa cum laude seal on the corner, and booted her out into a less-than-stellar job market. Instead of panicking at the prospect of unemployment, she used her Midwestern logic to steer into the skid and point her life in the direction she really wanted to go: writing out those daydreams.

She is the author of Strength, a New Adult paranormal romance, and a co-founder/contributor at NA Alley. She can be found on Twitter at @CarrieAButler.

Angelica Jackson, in keeping with her scattered Gemini nature, has published articles on such subjects as gardening, natural history, web design, travel, hiking, and local history. Other interests include pets, reading, green living, and cooking for food allergies (the latter not necessarily by choice, but she’s come to terms with it). Ongoing projects include short fiction, poetry, YA novels, art photography, and children’s picture books.

In 2012, she started Pens for Paws Auction, which features critiques and swag from agents and authors to raise money for a no-kill, cage-free cat sanctuary where she volunteers, Fat Kitty City. She blogs at Angelic Muse and as an operative at the group blog Operation Awesome, and also volunteers at the regional conference for her local SCBWI chapter (which she recommends as a great way to get involved in the writing community). She can be found on Twitter at @angelicarjaxon.

It should be noted (and perhaps celebrated) that Angelica successfully restrained herself from writing a satirical bio this time around.

Megan Whitmer lives in Kentucky with her husband and two daughters. She loves all things Southern, and has a soft spot for football, kissing scenes, and things that sparkle. She’s a contributing blogger for www.herkentucky.com, www.allthewritenotes.com, and YA Misfits.

Her debut novel, BETWEEN, will be published in July 2014 by Spencer Hill Press. When she’s not writing, she spends her time drinking absurd amounts of cherry coke zero and wishing someone would pay her to tweet. She can be found on Twitter at @MeganWhitmer.

Katy Upperman is the stay-at-home mom of an adorable five-year-old girl. The wife of a handsome US Army Major. An aspiring writer of contemporary young adult novels. A Washington State University Alum–Go Cougs! An avid reader of anything she can get her hands on. An enthusiastic runner. The owner of two needy and eccentric mutt puppy dogs. A dweller of Central California. A proud country music fan. A too-frequent shopper of Target and indi book stores. A lover of the ocean, pedicures, peanut butter, quilting, her laptop, warm summer days, Chipoltle, Pinterest, and Dirty Dancing & Wedding Crashers. A fan of Jelly Bellies, Entertainment Weekly, Breaking Bad, and Words with Friends.

Katy is represented by Victoria Marini of Gelfman Schneider Literary Agency. She is an operative at YA Confidential and can be found on Twitter at @katyupperman.