You’ve all worked hard getting your entries ready…and it shows! I’m happy dancing for the finalists and am excited for the agent and editor round to start on Monday. The judges and I love your entries. We can’t wait to share them with agents and editors and cheer you on.
I’m sending hugs to those who need them. (((Hugs))) I know how hard it is be hopeful for a contest and not make it in. It was difficult whittling almost 1100 entries down to 50 finalists and 20 in the Illustration Showcase. That makes over 1000 people we sadly couldn’t place in the finals.
Please know that you are so talented–your entries brought us so many laughs, heartfelt tears, new knowledge, and tons of joy. We had to pass up lots of wonderful ones. I’m so proud of each of you for entering! We hope your manuscripts are way stronger between all the tips and making sure the first 70 words dazzle. It was an honor seeing that we were the first query for some of you. That’s a HUGE step forward and reason to celebrate.
I hope reading through the entries starting March 20 will help sharpen your writing and query skills even more. So many writers have told us they learned how to write a query from the finalists…which is one of the reasons we keep it open to the public. It’s like taking an intensive in strong beginnings, language that sings, great hooks, amazing writing, and professional queries.
It’s not too early to start working toward next year’s contest! It’s always wonderful seeing writers and author/illustrators getting stronger and stronger every year until they become a finalist. Tip: Keep working with your critique groups to make your manuscripts shine as brightly as possible. You can also get fresh eyes each month on the PBParty New Draft Challenge & Critique Train. Then, try to get a professional critique (you can win one in Twitter contests, purchase them from SCBWI events, join an Inked Voices agent or advanced editor workshop, find an author or freelance editor who is a great match for a paid critique, etc.)
Please send thanks to the hard-working judges who gave up tons of time to help make your dreams come true. They put so much heart, enthusiasm, and thought into every entry, and I’m incredibly grateful for them. (((Hugs)))
Matt Tesoriero * Gabriele Davis * Sylvia Chen * Jenna Waldman *
Aixa Perez-Prado * Marietta Apollonio
An extra-special thank you to Sylvia Chen, our Ninja Superstar, who goes so far above and beyond…creating the amazing graphics for our finalists plus all the great ones for our Zoom. She’s constantly finding ways to make PBParty even more incredible with her spreadsheet skills that keep track of the number of participating agents and editors, make our voting SO much easier, and make it super-easy to keep track of incoming requests during the showcase and Success Story stats. I honestly can’t imagine running PBParty without her!
*Honorable mentions will be shouted out after the showcase ends!
It was exciting to see lots of PBParty honorable mentions in the queries…and some of them are 2023 finalists! Each time you polish up manuscripts and send new hope out, it could be a huge step closer to a YES. And we can’t wait to celebrate with you!
And now, the moment you’ve been waiting for…
Here are the titles of the 2023 PBParty finalists!
Here are the titles from author/illustrators who will be featured in the Illustration Showcase (each will have a number and two illustrations in the showcase…editors and agents will request by number).
Even though we don’t include names…you’re all welcome to shout out to the world which entry is yours. You can link to it once it’s up, too!
Please make sure people know comments on entries are only for the agents and editors (but we can all cheer for you on social media). Finalists who would like to reply to a request may comment, too.
If you’re a finalist, look for an e-mail from me later today! If you don’t see it by 4 pm please check your Spam. If it isn’t hiding there, contact me so I can share important information with you. 🙂
One note about the agent/editor showcase that starts on Monday. Sometime after midnight on Sunday night I’ll make the entries go live, one by one, to make sure they’re in the right order. They will probably ALL show up in e-mail notifications if you’re subscribed to my blog. You can easily follow some of your favorites that way…or delete all the e-mails and just look at them on my website. Whatever works best for you. I can’t wait for you to see them!
Huge congrats, PBParty finalists! How are you going to celebrate?
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