And The Winners Are...

Say hello to Debbie D'Aurelio, the Southern Breeze Writing Contest Coordinator! It takes a lot of work to bring the contest together, from gathering judges, to handling all the entries, to getting the results out to all the members. And speaking of results, here's Debbie with big news!

The 2019 Southern Breeze Writing Contest has come to an end. We had a record number of entries in the Illustrated Text and Middle Grade categories this year. The competition was very tough and the judges across all three categories were very complimentary of the entries. The professional judges emphasized that creative writing and NEW ideas were the key to success! They recommended studying your genre and making sure your manuscripts stand out. 

And the winners are . . . 

Illustrated Text

1st - Secretly Poppy The Finder of Lost Things by Candice Marley Conner

2nd - One Bright Star by Amy Dees

3rd - The Sock Who Lost His Friend by Anne Weaver

Middle Grade

1st - Trex by Christyne Morrell

2nd - Rocket Captain by Randall Bonser

3rd - Maybe This Time by Johnna Stein

Young Adult

1st - Fall to Me by Brenda Posey

2nd - Persistence by Kara Bietz

3rd - Secrets Rise by Lisa Stauffer

BIG congratulations to all our winners! And a big thank you to Debbie D'Aurelio for all her hard work!

For all those who participated, check your inboxes in the next week or so for feedback from the judges. Use your professional critique to polish those manuscripts because even if you didn't win today, you could end up published in the future. And to think that it started with the Southern Breeze Writing Contest!

Southern Breeze Writing Contest

Remember "if-then" statements? Like "If you read the Southern Breeze blog, then you're going to know what's going on in SCBWI in Georgia, Alabama, and the Florida Panhandle."

And here's one more for you: If the Show-Mo events have started near you, then the Southern Breeze Writing Contest is coming up! Every June, you're invited to send in your manuscripts in the hopes that our judges will award you a prize. This year, we've lined up a slate of super judges!

For Illustrated Text (Includes fiction and non-fiction picture books, early readers, leveled readers, and illustrated chapter books):

Lara Perkins, Associate Agent at Andrea Brown Literary Agency


For Middle Grade (Includes novels in verse):

Hannah Fergesen, KT Literary Agency


For Young Adult (Includes novels in verse):

Elizabeth Bewley, Sterling Lord Literistic, Inc.


Check out the judges and see what they like! Because if you do your homework, then you might find the perfect manuscript to send to the contest. And please check the Southern Breeze website here for details about the contest like formatting, word count, and where to send the manuscripts. All the rules are there, including this final if-then:

If you are a member of Southern Breeze and/or attended wik'18, then you may enter the Southern Breeze Writing Contest. (And if you are not a member, then what are you waiting for? Come join us today!)