Thank you to every writer and author/illustrator who put themselves out there and entered PBParty. The judges and I loved reading your entries. You made us laugh, cry, think, and learn all kinds of new things. We can’t wait for your books to be out in the world!
Huge thanks to the Dream Team of Judges who made this all possible with their hard work and dedication.
Please thank the judges again:
Matt Tesoriero * Gabriele Davis * Sylvia Chen * Jenna Waldman
Aixa Perez-Prado * Marietta Apollonio
Judge and Ninja Superstar Sylvia Chen says: “As you review the Honorable Mentions, you’ll see so much talent from these titles alone! But please know that we truly enjoyed reviewing every single entry—you are ALL inspiring for the dedication, courage, and creativity you showed in your excerpts and queries. It only takes one yes and the right match for your dream to reach the next step.”
I’ll add that we absolutely LOVE helping make dreams come true through the PBParty contest…but it’s not the only way to get published. Your YES might be a query or two away! Or possibly after working on craft and adding more polished, ready-to-submit manuscripts, you’ll hit the jackpot in PBParty 2024. Keep writing, revising, illustrating, working on craft…and I KNOW your yes will come.
I’m so grateful to every agent and editor who took time out of their busy schedules to browse the finalists and Illustration Showcase. We had 360 requests from agents, editors and art directors. Wahoooo!
So far, two finalists have signed with PBParty agents. Offers, R&Rs, and requests for additional manuscripts/dummies are flying, so I KNOW there will be tons more to celebrate soon. Some finalists had as many as 18 and 24 requests! I can’t wait to celebrate all the magical matches that happen.
If not seeing your title on the Honorable Mention list will be too difficult for you—please stop reading now. Not having your title here doesn’t mean it isn’t good. Or great. Maybe it could use another revision or two. But other judges (plus agents and editors) might love it as is. Don’t forget this is out of almost 1100 entries. You all made our job so difficult.
Competition was incredibly tough. You were up against 422 entries from authors who are traditionally published and 108 entries from those who used to have an agent (I’m sure some of those overlap). We were also extra-hard on rhyme and bios, because they’re tougher sells at the moment. We had three rhyming finalists…out of 125 entries (one of them already signed with an agent)!
One thing that stood out to me is the number of finalists who said they didn’t make it into PBParty for a year or more. They studied past finalists, worked on craft, found new critique groups or critique partners. Some wrote their PBParty entries within the past few months. They really thought about the types of stories they were meant to write… and magic happened!
We don’t have a set date for PBParty 2024 contest submissions yet, but it’s usually around March 1st. That gives you less than 11 months to write, revise, and get ready to dazzle everyone next year! You might have some ‘aha’ moments that bring existing manuscripts up a few levels. Or the next manuscript or two might be your golden ticket to a YES!
If you’d like an extra boost to write a new picture book this month plus give and receive a critique, I hope you’ll join the April 20 – 22 PBParty New Draft Challenge & Critique Train. We wrote 69 new picture books in March. I can’t wait to see how many will be born in April!
Whether or not you’re on the list below, the judges and I are sending tons of good vibes your way and hope you find agents and editors soon.
Congratulations 2023 PBParty Honorable Mentions!
*The first 12 were in the duke-it-out-for-final-spots Zoom!*
The Pulse Of Papa’s Land
How to Know if Your Mom’s a Robot
Capoeira: The Brazilian dance of freedom
Fur, Feathers, and Fins: A Rainbow of Diverse Animal Families
Farah’s Nose
Pig Snout Soup and Other Delicious Breakfasts
The Divided Life of Mathematician Maria Gaetana Agnesi: Her Story Told In Mathy Poems
Chip and Chisel Dig It!
Belonging
The Gloomlight
The Bored Knight
The Boy Who Sold His Shirt: The Gene Slattery Story
Bird and Dog
Cinderella Caterpillar: A Monarch Tale
Shadow’s Home
Daisy’s Hero
Gwendolyn’s Toes
Dad, the Fearless Storyteller
Kevin the A-COW-ntant
Bailey’s Branches
Symphonic Storm
Hands in the Air: How Two Baseball Players Changed the Way We Celebrate
Yia Yia’s Phyllo
Ocean Forest
The Lemur Who Loved to Win
Take Me Out to the Compost: Keeping in Tune with the Earth
Stella Means Star
The Perfect Diamond
Gumball, Therapy Dog Extraordinaire!
Antelope to Zanzibar
Cap at Sea
Big Hearted
Grrrls Rule!: Mighty Matriarchs of the Animal Queendom
The Shabbat Flood
Home Again
Night of the Living Veg
Guaranteed to Fit
Eat, Prey, Love: When Bernie Met Florence
Growing in the Musical Garden
Mildred – The Dragon Who Breathed Fire From Her Bottom
Slippery Cyril
Magdalena’s Painted Poland: How One Polish Town Embraced Its Beauty
The Elephant in the Room
Light Up the Night
Musa’s Message
The Earlier Bird
Stone Sounds
How to Get a Cat and Keep Dad
The Not So Sweet Potato
I’m Mo Squito
Love Bugs: Magnificent Mini Mamas
The Seal and the Humpbacks
The Arroyo Waits
Crackerdiles, Crammel, and More Compound Creatures: Portmanteau Poems
PJ Patty
Standing Up While Sitting Down
The Ickiest Stickiest Soggiest Boggiest Book
The Academy
Best Frenemies
Impeccable Pig
A-Z Diversity: A Rainbow of Animals and Their Families
Slug and Gardener
My Great Big Beautiful Family
How to Make a Friend in Outer Space
Matzo Ball City
The Dibbles Dig In
Time For Rhymes Pancakes! A Hungry Moose Meets Mother Goose (Rhymes)
Animals? Plants? Plantimals!
The Scientist in Sybil
There’s a Butt in My Peanut Butter!
Melissa In The Middle
My Super Shoe
Playing Astronaut
Try, Ceratops!
A Topnotch Topknot
Mischa the Fidgety Frogfish
Sing to Me
Zach, That Kayaking Yak
Master Sandman
Even on a Twosday
Giraffe on a Raft
The Sweet Scent Of Bitter Orange
Bubbe’s Mish Mash Holidays
Fighting A Volcano
The Unicorn Who Loved Latkes
A Pocket Full Of Questions
Honorary Easter Bunnies
Where Are The Piping Plovers?
I.M. Pei & The Grand Louvre: A Simple Big Idea
Mindy the Meteorologist
The Zombie Gourmet
Grom’s First Wave
Sled Hockey
Horace and Ivan
Our Sukkah
Avery and the Thieving Vine
Inspector Dexter and The Case of The Halloween Yarn
Kazoodled!
A Dozen Dragons
Do I Know You?
F Finds Friends
Five Fish for Lala: Based on the True Story of the Shopping Penguin
Bubbe’s Babka Breakthrough
Tap Dancing is My Life: The Story of Peg Leg Bates
Journey to the Sea
Good Night, Wake Up!
A Song From Mother Earth
The Same Luna
Hidden Beauty
The Pickle Incident
Verda – A Violin of Hope
Dear Santa: Letters From Big Wave Dave
Couchboy
The Fantastic Grandmothers: Seven Snorkelers Search For Greater Sea Snakes
Beep Ball: How Beep Baseball Changed the Game for the Blind
The Last Ride Of The 503
Muslim Girls Rise!
Water Logged
The ABCs of Antarctica and the Arctic, Similarities and Differences Between the Poles
Moray And The Three Noisy Parrotfish Brothers
Save the Duck!
Never Melt: Memoir of a Snowlady
The Black Mambas: The True Story of The First All-Female African Ranger Unit
The Enormous (and NOT at all Dangerous) Adventure of Leaf Sheep and Sea Bunny
Just The Place: Saving The Swans – One Pond At A Time
My Language is Home
2023 PBParty Illustration Showcase
Honorable Mentions!
Monster
Zac and Zoe’s Zany Race
Get Real, Lucille
Amanzi’s First Day
Ella and the Blooming Balloons
Alphabet Ballet for Curious You
If I Don’t
Super Nova
Clip Clip
Ice Boy, el Niño del Hielo
Mannerly Rock
The Pooka
Congrats, everyone!
And thank you all again for sharing your stories, illustrations, and chatting with us all March. It was so much fun. I can’t wait to do it again!
Please stay in touch…especially during Celebration Sunday, Motivation Monday, and the monthly New Draft Challenge & Critique Train. You’re also welcome to ask questions and shout out for critique swaps in the PBParty Participant Facebook Group.
Here’s hoping for lots of future yeses for all of us. And TONS of celebrations.
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