Submission Shout-Out

It occurs to me that it's been ... like, dog years since I've posted any submissions. There's been a lot of reading and writing and not a whole lot of mailing things going on lately. I've typed up a number of pieces of short fiction, and then realized that the market for YA shorts is rapidly depleting. CICADA Magazine is currently not accepting unsolicited submissions. Know any anthologies in need of shorts? Have news on untapped markets for YA short fiction? Do tell!

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Anthology

Sumach Press is delighted to announce a new YA story collection about mothers and daughters and body image, to be published in 2008. The working title is Cleavage, and we're looking for stories of 2000 - 3500 words about eating disorders, cosmetic surgery, implants, clothing choices, hair, waxing, makeup, piercing, tattoos etc. Point of view should be thirteen and up, but the issues can be hers, her mother's, or both. We're especially interested in quirky, humourous stories that capture the bizarreness of body image along with defining mother-daughter moments. We welcome submissions from new, emerging and established writers by June 15 2007. For details, please visit.

Deb Loughead and Jocelyn Shipley, co-editors.

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Blue Works Publishing has issued a call for chapter books for Middle Grade and Young Adult works. "Our 'young adult' books are defined as novels (50,000 or more) written for readers in the twelve to eighteen range. Our "chapter books" are approximately 20,000 words for readers up to eleven, with the most common audience six to ten year olds." Blue Works has specific guidelines, and they expect a lot out of savvy writers, so read, read, read before you submit. Respect the people and the time they took to make themselves plainly understood. The clarity will either alarm or intrigue you. Anyone with experience working with this company, we'd love to hear about your experience!

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The 2007 Write It Now! Competition is open for entries! May 15 is the deadline. Judges include Printz-winner Terry Trueman for YA stuff, and the prolific Kathleen Duey for middle grade. Grand prizes includes SmartWriters.com acting as agent for you and showing your story to a publisher -- or several.

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Aargh, will it never end?! NaNoEdMo is national novel editing month – all thirty-one days of March. The timing is so good it’s bad. I don’t want to commit to fifty hours of doing anything at this point... which is a sure sign that I probably should. SIGH.

Via Galleycat, check out books for boys, the newly formed Flying Point Press the company that is making boys' reading habits a priority.

Meanwhile more encouraging words about dealing with rejection - or silence which equal rejection - in the editorial and writing world.