After all the contest prep, it’s hard to believe the agent and editor round starts Monday. Wahooo! I’m happy dancing for the finalists and can’t wait to cheer all of you on.
I’m sending hugs to those who need them. (((Hugs))) I know how hard it is to get hopes up for a contest and not make it in. It was difficult whittling over 1000 entries down to 50 finalists and 20 in the Illustration Showcase. Maybe your entry can use a boost before submitting again…but it also might be ready to dazzle as is.
Please find at least one sparkly goal to focus on. The PBChat mentorship? Spring Fling contest? Conferences, classes, a new critique group, paid critiques, diving into a shiny new manuscript…find what works best for you. Fingers crossed that a YES is around the corner.
I hope reading through the entries next week will help sharpen your writing and query skills. And that the incredible PBParty community will cheer you up and keep you moving forward. I have my word for each year on a sticky next to my laptop—so I see Bloom, plus past words Believe (the year I signed with my agent) and Thrive. I have Super-Agent Joyce up there, too. Signing with her didn’t feel real at first. By the time it did, I decided to always keep it up.
I’ll share a secret…I also have the words I Matter. When insecurities with writing hit, my daughter wanted me to put what Demi Lovato says before going onstage on a sticky: I Am Enough. I still have that up…but I truly needed to see I Matter. To believe I can make the world a better place through my words and actions. Whenever I need a boost, I glance at the sticky notes around me.
What do you need to see next to your laptop or art studio?
And now, the moment you’ve been waiting for…
Here are the titles of the 2021 PBParty finalists!
Dance, Little Seed
Chef Goaton Ramsey’s World Famous Food Truck
SHOES FOR HASANI: A Giraffe’s True Story of Hope and Triumph
What Will the Pockets Carry?
Across the Frozen Sea: An Arctic Fox’s Journey from Norway to Canada
Big, Bad Dinosaur #1
Utterly Unstoppable: The Story of Stuntwoman Kitty O’neil
The Happy Donkey Handbook
Stara the Space Garbage Truck
This is Not a Numbers Book!
Origami Superstar
Love Letter from the Stars
Dig It, Digby!
Inventions to Count On: A Counting Book of Black American Innovators
The Sky Is Crying
A Very Special Bee
A Friend for Honey Badger
Dragonfly!: An Auto-Bug-Ography
Safa and the Perfect Roti
Penny’s Prototypes
Peter Piper’s Predicament
Born to Move!
The Great Haredini
My Block Looks Like
Heart of a Singer: The Story of Hazel Dickens
Glow in the Dark
Marina and the Turtle
Let Go Pinecone
The Prince of the Revolutionary War
Cock-A-Doo-Ah-CHOO!
Moe Skeeto
Freedom at Dawn: The Robert Smalls Story
Goodies for Sweet Granny Mae
Stitching Seasons
SHABBAT IN SPACE: Astronaut Jeffrey Hoffman’s Cosmic Mitzvah
Annabelle The Truck Fairy
Faith: The Bravest Cat
Planets Play
The Extra Stocking
Haleema’s Curls, Swirls and Whirls
Railroad Cake
Cardboard Castles
SHE THREW LIKE A GIRL: The Jackie Mitchell Story
I’m Going to Tony’s House!
Standing on the Shoulders of Giants
Being Boris
My Lost Idea
A Wig for Rigby
Littlefoot
A Home for Jack
Here are the titles from author/illustrators that 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):
Wonder
Be the Light
My Name is Alice, not Alicia: The Story of Two Alices
Artie and the Amazing Acro-Bats
Lionhearted
All Washed Up
Dancing in the Sky
Shine Bright, Blue Moon!
Wonder Away
The Night Norman Got In
Mockingbird, Make Up Your Mind
Brother Nature
Monster Garden
Just Enough Hats
Big and Little Meet in the Middle
Tangle in Tufttown
Let That Pearl Shine!
Sasquatch Says
Hazel Says Hello
Hello Winter
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.
Huge congrats, PBParty finalists! How are you going to celebrate?
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