It’s contest time again at Adventures in Children’s Publishing, and we’re thrilled to announce that our upcoming contest will be judged by Sarah LaPolla from Curtis Brown, Ltd. Our panel of guest authors will choose the top 20 query letters, and then Sarah LaPolla will request the top three finalists, and offer the grand prize winner a three-chapter manuscript critique. Second and third place finalists will receive a two-chapter and one-chapter critique respectively from one of our panel of mentoring authors. (See below for bios.) All entries will receive feedback along the way from other contestants and our mentors.

So here’s how it’s going to work. Ready?

• 8/19: We’ll post an announcement at noon eastern time and open the contest to the first 50 entries. To enter, post a comment including:

• Your name or screenname
• The title of your project
• The genre of your project
• Your pitch, no more than 175 words that briefly synopsize your story.
• If your online profile doesn’t include an email address, either provide it or email us privately at kidlit (at) writeedge.com so we’ll have a way to contact you. We will not accept anonymous entries or entries without contact info this time. (We spent WAY too much time herding contestants last month!)

Sarah LaPolla began at Curtis Brown in 2008, working with Dave Barbor and Peter Ginsberg. Sarah is interested in literary fiction, narrative nonfiction, urban fantasy, paranormal romance, science fiction, literary horror, and young adult fiction. She loves complex characters, coming-of-age stories, and strong narrators. Sarah graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Writing and English, and went on to receive her MFA in Creative Writing from The New School. She is always on the lookout for debut authors and welcomes email submissions at sl [at] cbltd.com.

• P. J. Hoover grew up visiting museums and dreaming of finding Atlantis. She eventually married and had two children, shifted her dreams to reality, and began a writing career. PJ enjoys writing fantasy for middle grade and teen readers, boys and girls alike. Her middle grade fantasy novels, The Emerald Tablet and The Navel of the World, chronicle the adventures of a boy who discovers he’s part of two feuding worlds hidden beneath the sea. Prior to writing full time, PJ worked as an electrical engineer designing chips in Austin, Texas. She is represented by Laura Rennert of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency.
• Award-winning journalist, freelance writer and book reviewer, Michele Corriel’s debut middle grade novel, Fairview Felines: A Newspaper Mystery, comes out this summer and her debut picture book, Weird Rocks, will be out this fall. Michele is also the Regional Advisor for SCBWI’s Montana Chapter and conducts writing workshops throughout the year. She is represented by The McVeigh Agency.
• Michelle Hodkin is a lawyer and YA author represented by Diana Fox of Fox Literary, LLC. Her debut novel, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, will be published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers in Fall 2011.
• Tahereh a.k.a. T.H. Mafi works as a graphic designer. Her blog Grab a Pen consistently entertains the masses. She writes YA novels and is represented by the ever-fabulous Amy Tipton of Signature Literary Agency.
• Lisa Green is not a demon, ghost, vampire, fairy or shape-shifter*. She has, however, enjoyed reading and writing about them since the age of seven. Her short stories and poems have been featured in several online magazines and her manuscripts are represented by the amazing Rubin Pfeffer of East-West Literary. *Please note that the exclusion of werewolves above is strictly coincidental.
• J.A. Souders was born with an overactive imagination and an abundance of curiosity that led her to befriend the monsters under the bed. When she grew up, she decided to put her imaginary friends to work and started writing. She lives in the land of sunshine and palm trees with her husband and  their two children, and is an active member of the RWA, CFRW, and the SCBWI. She is represented by Natalie Fischer of the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency.
• After a successful career in journalism, Debra Gersh Hernandez works with press and media advocacy groups as an independent communications consultant. Her first picture books  “The Sneaky Snackers,” illustrated by Eric MacDicken, features furry, funny monsters and an easygoing lesson about tolerance. She is represented by Marisa Corvisiero at the L. Perkins Agency.
• Nikki Katz is a freelance writer, author, wife, rocket scientist (aerospace engineer), mother of three, friend, daughter, sister, and often-times more. She lives in San Diego, CA where she works from home as the Managing Editor for the BlogWorld blog. She has published four nonfiction books, and her first novel, a young adult urban fantasy, is represented by Bree Ogden at Martin Literary Management.
• A.E. Rought’s love of fantasy started with listening at her mother’s knee and turned to writing after she got married and had two beautiful kids of her own. Her work includes children’s fiction as well as adult fantasy and paranormal. Her first novel, Nuermar’s Last Witch, which has been called a ‘spellbinding fantasy,’ was published in 2007, with a number of other books published since and more in the works. She is represented by Gina Panettieri of Talcott Notch Literary Services. 
• Elana Johnson’s debut novel, Possession, will be published by Simon Pulse (Simon & Schuster) in Summer 2011. Her popular ebook, From the Query to the Call, is also available for download. School teacher by day, Query Ninja by night, you can find her online at her personal blog or her website. She also co-authors the Query Tracker blog, the League of Extraordinary Writers, and What Writers Read. Elana is represented by Michelle Andelman of Regal Literary.
• Hilary Wagner lives in Chicago with her husband, Eric, two crazy kids and her dog Louie, who sometimes thinks he’s human. Her debut novel, Nightshade City (Holiday House) releases October of 2010, with Book II of the Nightshade Chronicles releasing next year. She loves classically written stories with a creepy slant and knows she’s read a good book when she’s sad she has no more left to read! Her guilty pleasures are bad reality TV, candy corn and Cheetos!
• Tiffany Strelitz Haber lives for adventures. Her obsession with rhyme began at the age of 3, when a nursery school admissions scout asked her, “What is a flower that rhymes with nose?”, and she proudly shouted: “Rose!”. Twenty-five years later (give or take), now married with two sons and coming off of a twelve year career in finance, she has reconnected with her love of words and rhyme. Her two debut picture books are The Onster (Holt / Spring 2012) and Ollie and Claire (Penguin / Spring 2013). She is represented by the fabulous Teresa Kietlinski of Prospect Agency.

 Get your pitches ready!

Martina & Marissa