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Read more about the Sub Six Series: All About Submissions Here
Guest Post by Sylvia Liu
Contest and Other Submission Opportunities in 2014
Besides submitting work to agents and publishers, don’t forget to submit to contests, grants, or mentorship programs. These are great ways to get your work noticed and perhaps published, to improve your craft, or to help pay for your writing or illustration habit.
Here’s a list of contest and submission opportunities in 2014, for both children’s book writers and illustrators, with deadline dates ordered chronologically. When a range of dates are listed, applications are accepted only within that window. If a date is in parentheses, it is the date for last year’s contest because the new date has not been announced (but it is likely this year’s deadlines will be on a similar timeline). Click the links to find out application information.
A great resource: Be sure to check the SCBWI Event Calendar for local mentorship programs and awards. Just in the month of January, the following SCBWI regions have mentorship program or scholarship applications available and due soon: Southern Breeze (conference tuition for illustrators; AL, GA, FL, Feb. due date), Carolinas Mentor Program (Jan. 10 due date), California North/Central Digital Mentor Picture Book Program (Jan. 10 due date),
JANUARY
Jan. 1 – Jan. 31 Highlights Fiction Contest
- What: best short story (up to 800 words) with a holiday theme
- Who is eligible: anybody, published or unpublished
- Prize: three $1,000 prizes or tuition to any Highlights Foundation course
Jan. 15- Feb. 3 Rate Your Story
- What: best manuscripts in three categories: Picture Book, Novel/Novella, Everything Else
- Who is eligible: free to RYS members (Basic members can submit 1 MS to each category, Pro members can submit 2 MSs); $5/MS for anyone else
- Prize: First place gets $50, a professional critique, and free Pro membership, 2nd & 3rd prizes available
FEBRUARY
Feb. 28 Sustainable Arts Foundation 2014 Spring Grant (application available Jan. 15)
- Award: Five $6,000 awards and five $2,000 awards for writers or artists who are also parents
- Who is eligible: applicant must have at least one child under the age of 18
MARCH
March 1 – March 31: SCBWI Work In Progress Grants, includes:
- Award: seven $2,000 grants in each category (Picture Book Text (Barbara Karlin Grant), General Fiction, Contemporary young adult novel, Multi-cultural fiction, Nonfiction research (Anna Cross Giblin Award)
- Who is eligible: SCBWI members
Karen and Philip Cushman Late Bloomer Award
- Award: $500 and free tuition to any SCBWI conference
- Who is eligible: SCBWI members, authors over age 50 who have not been traditionally published
- Award: two $1000 grants to illustrators (1 to a published illustrator, 1 to a pre-published illustrator)
- Who is eligible: SCBWI members
March 15-April 15: Student Illustrator Scholarship to SCBWI Conference
- Award: 2 scholarships to the national LA SCBWI conference in August 2014, including the portfolio showcase and the illustrator intensive
- Who is eligible: full time graduate or undergraduate students studying illustration
APRIL
April 15: Student Writer Scholarship to SCBWI Conference
- Award: two scholarships to the national LA SCBWI conference in August 2014, including an SCBWI advisor to help navigate the weekend
- Who is eligible: full time students over 18 at an accredited academic institution
MAY
May 5 Writer’s Digest Annual Writing Competition
- Award: cash prizes, work seen by editors & agents, etc.
- Who is eligible: anyone writing for all genres, including kid lit (fees are involved to apply for this competition)
JUNE
JULY
(July 31) Unfortunately, THE CHEERIOS CONTEST WILL NOT RUN THIS YEAR Cheerios 2014 Spoonful of Stories Contest
- What: a national search for a winning picture book story
- Who is eligible: unpublished writers (very strict – can’t have published in kidlit market, including magazines)
- Prize: $5000 and publication & distribution in Cheerios boxes nationwide
AUGUST
Aug. 31 Sustainable Arts Foundation 2014 Fall Grant
- Award: Five $6,000 awards and five $2,000 awards for writers or artists who are also parents
- Who is eligible: applicant must have at least one child under the age of 18
SEPTEMBER
(Sept. 30) New Voices Award, Lee & Low Books
- What: a national search for a winning picture book story
- Who is eligible: unpublished, unagented writer of color (can be published in kidlit magazines)
- Prize: $1,000 plus standard publication contract
OCTOBER
NOVEMBER
DECEMBER
(Dec. 13) Tomie dePaola Illustration Contest
- What: annual search for a winning illustration following a prompt given by Tomie dePaola
- Who is eligible: SCBWI members
- Prize: trip to the winter New York SCBWI conference, award presented, and lunch with Tomie dePaola
Sylvia Liu is a former environmental attorney turned writer-illustrator. She is working on several picture book projects and is being mentored by illustrator David Diaz as part of this year’s Nevada SCBWI Mentor Program. Her art and infographics have been published on Huffington Post and other venues. She is inspired by aliens, cephalopods, bunnies, and pigs who want to fly. Check out her portfolio at www.enjoyingplanetearth.com, her blog at www.sylvialiuland.com, her Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ArtbySylviaLiu, and her Twitter handle is @artsylliu.
CONTEST ADDITION AND IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT SYLVIA’S LIST FROM ALAYNE
On JANUARY 11, SYLVIA’S LIST WILL BE POSTED ON kidlit411. It will be updated on that site throughout the year. Kidlit411 is an exciting new website that my friends Elaine Kiely Kearns and Sylvia have put together with a little help from their friends. They are building it up to be “the” place to go for kidlit information. I hope you will check it out. They have done a beautiful job. Just before I published Sylvia’s post, I thought of another contest. Pockets Magazine Fiction Contest – March 15 – August 15. BEST OF LUCK TO ALL WHO COMPETE OR APPLY FOR THE FABULOUS OPPORTUNITIES. MORE ABOUT THE SUB SIX SERIES: ALL ABOUT SUBMISSIONS
Alayne Kay Christian 