June is only a few weeks away and that means our Southern Breeze Writing Contest will be open for entries. And we have some exciting changes coming to the 2020 writing contest!
In order to help our members best prepare their manuscripts for publishing, the contest entries will now mirror submissions that would be sent to future agents or editors. So although the manuscript requirements are shorter in length, every entry will now also include a query.
The query is such an important part of all submissions, even for those already represented by an agent. To get some great tips on writing your query, please refer to SCBWI THE BOOK which is available online for free to our members.
Along with having query feedback, each manuscript receives a scoring sheet from one to two of our Southern Breeze published authors, depending on the number of submissions to the contest category. The top 15 manuscripts in each category move on to the final round and receive feedback from an editor or agent judge.
And now to announce the judges for our 2020 categories!
Illustrated text (which includes fiction and non-fiction picture books only): ADRIA GOETZ
Adria Goetz is a literary agent with Seattle-based Martin Literary and Media Management, specializing in picture books, middle grade, young adult, and adult fiction, as well as gift books and devotionals. To learn more about Adria and what she is (and isn't) looking for, check out her wish list at adriagoetz.com. She tweets at @adriamgoetz.
Middle Grade novels, including chapter books: LAUREN SPIELLER
Lauren Spieller is a literary agent at TriadaUS. She has a sharp editorial eye, and is passionate about author advocacy. Lauren is seeking middle grade and young adult fiction. Whatever the age category or genre, Lauren is passionate about finding diverse and underrepresented voices.
Young Adult novels: ALEXANDER SLATER
Alexander Slater is a literary agent with the Trident Media Group. He is most interested in stories that blend genres, in characters that have historically been underrepresented, and in voices that enrapture him to the point of missing his subway stop. His list focuses intently on middle grade and young adult fiction and nonfiction, and in particular, graphic novels for all ages. You can follow his infrequent tweets at @abuckslater.
Our judges always rave about the Southern Breeze contest entries (and P.S. Something else new: First Place winners will receive a year's SCBWI membership!) and this year, we're once again sponsoring special programming for our members to get those entries polished up and prize-ready: Show-Mos!
This year, our annual Show-Mo events are moving online! By now, you've heard from Critique Coordinator TK Read about the meetings starting on May 15th. There are 10 Show-Mo events, with five different categories. You can go to as many Show-Mo events as you like, too, and then decide which manuscript is the best to enter into the Southern Breeze Writing Contest.
It's free to enter the contest and it's free to attend any Show-Mo event, as long as you're a member of SCBWI. So take advantage of all that your SCBWI membership offers... and good luck!
