Tuesday, March 26, 2019

Picture Book Party Finalists for 2019

Can I just say how amazed and a little overwhelmed we were to go from 300+ entries of last year to 800+ entries this year. Incredible! Thanks for making this happen. Of course the numbers took us right down to the wire before the agent showcase.

Mindy, Sharon and I tried to give this much thought and pick a good variety of entries. We kept an eye out for diversity, but also for unique concepts or interesting methods. We found entries that made us laugh and those that made us cry. You, the writers, are amazing!

Even more so this year there were way more fantastic entries than there are spots. We had so much trouble narrowing down the field. In fact, we were making the last picks moments before this post went live.


Before the reveal, I just want to remind everyone that contests are for fun and meeting other writers, building contacts. In no way are they a reflection on a story. There are only 20 or so  picks out of 820 entries. Maybe people have entered contests and gotten no love, only to get an agent from the query slush--like me. For one thing, we are limited to the number of picks we can showcase, while an agent is not. So keep querying, keep writing those adorable picture and chapter books.




It's very tough. I know the disappointment. Hugs. Use it to keep going.


Please if your title is on the list, watch my blog early on Wednesday and check your entry for typos or formatting problems. Let me know as soon as possible what needs fixed in this post or on twitter. 





So here are the 25 picks, listed in no particular order and color coded like a rainbow just for fun.

The Little Pink Robot

Detective Jelly Donut Investigates: Vegetables Gone Bad
Jessie's Journey
Simon(e)
Ten Just Wants to Have Fun
Strong Hands: The Story of Young Potter Maria Povika Martinez
A Flood of Kindness
Delphine Denise and the Best Mardi Gras Ever
Bro vs. Peas... How to Feed a Sister
Down My Snowy Street
Sugar
I Voted!
Bert and Wert: We Do the Dirty Work
The Three Little Pigs Need Your Help
Ruth Bixer, Problem Fixer
Mako Brown and the Ghoul Dragons
The Robot that Could: The True Story of Mars Opportunity Rover
Keep on Truckin': The Story of the Red Ball Express
Flap Your Hands
Bad Pizza
Pauli's Key: How One Woman and Her Typewriter Changed the World
Including Alice: The Story of Alice Johnson and the First Soap Box Derby
A Flag Full of Suns
The Princess and the Key
Minha's Mission

It's not over! There's more!
Because we had so many agents interested in illustrations this year, we are doing something about that. There will be a special entry of just illustrations--each one labelled with a number. Agents can request by number which artist they would like to see more of. If you submitted an illustration, check for your artwork there tomorrow morning. (If I have time I'll get a list added to this post.)  


Congrats to the finalists! Hugs to those who will be watching! See you Wednesday for the agent round. It does last three days. Nobody is promised requests, but our fingers are crossed. 

24 comments:

  1. Just from the titles, these look like terrific entries! Looking forward to reading them and seeing the selected illustrations. What a wonderful opportunity for all. Thank you Michelle, Mindy and Sharon.

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  2. Can't wait to read more about these great entries. I know this was many days worth of work on your end--thank you so much, Michelle, Mindy, and Sharon! This was a wonderful opportunity!

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  3. Congratulations to all the finalists! Hoping for some agent love for y'all later this week! And thank you so very much Michelle, Mindy, and Sharon! I don't know how you all manage your busy schedules so well. The kidlit community appreciates and thanks you!! <3

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  4. I am grateful for this contest and all the work you ladies put in to narrow down your finalists. May this be a jump start on publishing for many and a "Well done" to all who took the time to enter.

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  5. P.S. I assume the yellow writing is also winners. I couldn't read those.

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  6. Congrats to all winners. I helped one person on this list pick amongst 4 mss to send to you. And she got in this agent round. Squee and thank you all for your time and the opportunity.

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  7. Thank you so much for all your hard work. It it truly appreciated. Wishing everyone tons of good luck!

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  8. Thank you all so much for your sweet comments--and for participating in PBParty. I've loved being on this journey with you.

    Sherri--the yellow titles are a bit hard to read. I'll add them here for you and anyone else who is having trouble seeing them:

    Bro vs. Peas... How to Feed a Sister
    Down My Snowy Street
    Sugar
    I Voted!

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    1. Thank you, Mindy. When I printed out the page, I could read them. I didn't want to miss anyone's winning entry!

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  9. Thanks for hosting this party! I hope you will post the winning entries at some point. They are so helpful to read! Congratulations to all the winning entries.

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  10. thank you again for all that you'all did to make this happen. Even if I didn't get chosen! Illustration question- where do you look for that-#PBParty or here? (thanks for showing the yellow ones-couldnt read it!)

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  11. Thank you so much!!!
    I am so honored to be in this list.
    Thank you so much for putting this on, giving us hope, and reading over 800 entries. Wow! You ladies are amazing

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  12. Congratulations to all the writers on the list and those that put themselves out there!
    Thank you for this wonderful opportunity!

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  13. Congratulations to all, including those who joined in the fun. Making your work known is the only way it can be found. The titles are intriguing. I look forward to seeing more. Thanks to Michelle, Mindy, and Sharon for throwing such a great party every year.

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    1. Thank you for participating and giving us hope. Hoping you find some great titles to help publishšŸ˜Š

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  14. Congratulations to all of the finalists. We are all very happy for you. Best of luck on hooking one of those "agent fish" very soon. Thanks Michelle and Mindy for the opportunity you offered us. You are both much appreciated.

    (Doing some quick math...300 grew to 800. Next year, you should expect to break the 2000 mark. Best to start stockpiling your coffee now) (Smile)

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  15. Congrats to all the finalists! Just got back from no-signal range in Joshua Tree National Park to find this list of intriguing titles. Can't wait to see their snippets! Cheers! Thank you for the fabulous and entertaining contest! You all must have been working 24/7 to create this list from all those entries. Thank you!!

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    1. Joshua Tree, lucky! It's so beautiful there šŸ˜Š

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  16. Congratulations to all! I am so interested in reading these! Write on!

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  17. Good morning,

    It's so exciting to see my entry up, thank you, thank you, thank you!

    You said to check for any formatting issues,and I saw just two super small ones on mine, entry #5. The italics for Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and 1, 2, 3 By the Sea titles up and disappeared, and in the 50 words, there's an extra enter line after the third line.

    I still can't believe my work is up there for the amazing agents and editors to see.


    Thank you so much again!

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    1. Got it fixed. There was some hidden formatting in the sample.

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  18. I'm thrilled to be a finalist- thank you so much for this opportunity! There is one small typo in the last sentence of my entry, #6. It should read, "One day she would become the most famous..." instead of "became." This could easily have been my mistake.

    Thank you all again for your time and your support of emerging writers!

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  19. It really was fun entering your contest, thanks so much! I particularly enjoyed the intricate whittling down required to make the strongest possible 50-word entry. Well done to the finalists!

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