Contest Monday - Get Published by HarperTeen!

You may remember way back in January when I announced that I would have a short story appearing in the upcoming HarperTeen anthology DEFY THE DARK, that I said there'd be more exciting news about how YOU could be in the anthology too. Well, that day has finally arrived!

HarperTeen and Figment have opened up the DEFY THE DARK Short Story Contest.

This cover is NOT FINAL, but isn't it pretty?

The contest is open to any unpublished writer, or published writer who has earned less than $2000 from their writing. All you need to do is write a 2000-4000 word story of any genre that mostly takes place at night, or in the dark.

You can be creative with this. It doesn't have to be dark and scary. A girl sneaking out at night to meet her secret crush fits just as well as those creepy things that go bump in the night.

You have until September 1st to write an upload your story to Figment. The winner gets:

• The winner will get paid and have their story published in DEFY THE DARK!
• Two second place winners will also win cash prizes from HarperCollins and have their stories published on the Defy The Dark website.

So what are you waiting for? Get all the contest details at the Figment.com DEFY THE DARK contest page!

Contest Monday

Happy Monday! Here are a few contests I've found around the blogosphere--feel free to add any I missed in the comments.

Cynthia Leitich Smith at Cynsations is giving away copies of Love? Maybe. and The Cupcake Queen by Heather Hepler. Included in the prize are those awesomely yummy conversation hearts (seriously, the pink and white ones rock). Enter by Jan. 31st.

Kai and Tin over at Amaterasu Reads are giving away an ARC of the YA dystopian The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda. Contest ends in 6 days.

Also, don't forget to check back here tomorrow for details on how to get your free query critique!

YA Giveaway Winner

Thanks to everyone who entered the Week #1 Celebration YA giveaway! The Research Randomizer selected the lucky winning comment, and the winner is....EMMA CORMACK. Congratulations, Emma! I'll email you today so think about which YA book you'd like to read next.

Be sure to check back tomorrow when my amazing agent, Jessica Regel, will do a Q & A on the blog and will answer questions LIVE in the comments!

Happy Monday!

Contest Monday featuring: editor pitch contest

If you are participating in the 2012 debut author challenge (DAC), then you are eligible to participate in a contest over at The Story Siren. Kristi is giving away a signed copy of CRACKED by K.M. Walton to one lucky winner.

YAUtopia is hosting an awesome pitch contest, featuring SIX editors (they added two more) from Entangled Publishing. Check out the post for details on what each editor is looking for. For tips on creating a great pitch, see our post here. The pitches will occur in the comments on Jan. 25th, so get ready.

If you have a contest that you'd like to promote, feel free to enter it in the comments below.

Happy Monday!

Contest Monday featuring an agent-judged contest and book giveaways

Krista V. over at Mother. Write. Repeat. is hosting An Agent's Inbox Contest TODAY (12/19)!. You submit your query and first 250 words which will be evaluated by an agent. That agent will pick the winners (and prizes) the following week. Your manuscript must be complete and polished in order to enter. Accepted genres are listed in the rules, but YA is one of them. Good luck! 

The PageTurners Blog is giving away prizes to 9, yes 9, winners. The prizes feature the "best I've read in 2011" and include City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare and Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor, to name just a few. Click here for the details, and enter by Dec. 23.

Happy Monday!!

Contest Cyber Monday

We hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving break! Can you believe it's almost December already?

UNTREACABLE by Shelli Johannes-Wells releases at midnight tonight!!!! YAY, Shelli! If you're not familiar with Shelli, her blog Market My Words is an excellent resource for writers. I recommend you check it out. To celebrate the release of her book, Shelli is hosting a "Launch with Love" celebration at her blog. She's giving away a slew of different prizes, including books and a critique session! Ends Tuesday Nov. 29th at 11:59pm.

Casey and Natalie at Literary Rambles has a great interview with Scott Tracey, and a copy of his book WITCH EYES to give away! Ends Midnight Dec. 10th. They have a lot of interviews and giveaways coming up on the Literary Rambles blog, so keep checking!

As always, if you have a contest to share, please link us in the comments! Also, great Cyber Monday deals on books and bookish things are also appreciated. ;)

Contest Monday featuring Regal Literary

Literary Rambles pointed me to a fabulous Winter Book Giveaway by Regal Literary. They are giving away some great books, including Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger which I've been dying to read. Enter through the end of November.

Anna Staniszewski is hosting an August/September debut giveaway. Enter to win one of several incredible books by 2011 debut authors. A few of these, which are already on my TBR list, include The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin, and The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson. Check out the link for other great titles and enter by Nov. 28th.

Good luck, and happy Monday!

Contest Monday! Happy Halloween!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! I assume most of you aren't in a sugar coma yet, so here are a few Halloween(ish) giveaways I found around the blogosphere. 

Our sister Valerie is having TWO giveaways this week! Check out her blog (click the links) to see enter to win the fun middle grade novel THE WHITE ASSASSIN by Hilary Wagner AND the latest House of Night book DESTINED by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast! Both contests end Thursday, November 3rd.

To celebrate all she's thankful for, Beth Revis is giving away 19 signed books to one lucky winner! Details.

Young Adult Books blog is giving away 5 copies of the YA paranormal, THE MEPHISTO COVENANT. Ends Nov. 11th. Details.

Bells has a great interview with author Shona Husk, and she is giving away 2 copies of Shona's adult book THE GOBLIN KING. Ends Nov. 7th. Details.

Today is the last day to enter to win this awesome "witchy-boo" charm bracelet at On The Broomstick.

Play this fun Halloween quiz and be entered to win a signed copy of MONSTERS in the MOVIES.

Hope you all have a safe and happy Halloween! And if you have any contests or giveaway, seasonal or not, please share them in the comments! 

Contest Monday: The Lazy Holiday Edition

Our Scribe Sister, Valerie, is giving away a copy of My Life Undecided by Jessica Brody at her blog! Ends Oct. 13th.

The early info for October's Secret Agent contest is up at the Authoress blog! This is not the call for submissions, that opens next Monday, October 17th. This is just the info, so get that manuscript ready!

And because today is a holiday (whether or not it really should be a holiday is totally debatable, but it is) I really don't have much else in the way of contests for you. Hopefully most of you are still snuggled up in your beds. I would be if my Tiny Human wasn't such an early riser.

Enjoy your day off! But not too much. You have work to do.

Contest Monday

Agent Mary Kole is giving away Writing and Selling the YA Novel by K.L. Going on her blog today. Contest ends Wednesday, October 5th, so hurry over and enter!

Also, Miss Snark's First Victim is taking entrants for this year's BAKER'S DOZEN AGENT AUCTION, she just posted the list of participating agents today, and it's VERY impressive! There are still two more chances to enter, the first is tomorrow, October 4th and the final is next Tuesday, October 11. Get all the details about the BAKER'S DOZEN AGENT AUCTION on her blog. Good luck to those of you entering! Last year was a great success and ended with, I believe, three signings!

Contest Monday With A Thank You Note

My Scribe Sisters and I would just like to say thank you to those of you who spread the word or bid on our crit auction at Read For Relief! You guys are seriously awesome, and to our super awesome auction winner, we can't wait to dive into your manuscript!

Thank you all!

Now, here's what's going on around the web:

Our very own Valerie is giving away a copy of DREAMLAND by Alyson Noel at her blog! Ends Sept 22nd.

The info is up for the September Secret Agent contest! This is such a fun contest and a great way to get honest feedback on your work (and really awesome things might happen if you win!). Definitely worth entering! Contest opens for entries TODAY Sept. 19th

Novel Novice is hosting a fab book giveaway! Two winners will each receive the LEVIATHAN trilogy by Scott Westerfeld! Ends today, Sept 19th, so get over there and enter!

And there you have it. If you've got any giveaways or contest to share, Mr. Linky wants your love.

Contest Monday on Tuesday

I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday weekend. We just got back from the mountains and I have a truckload of laundry and work to do, but I found a great contest that I had to pass along. Kody Keplinger, author of THE DUFF (fabulous book if you haven't read it), has a new book and a new contest. Her new book is SHUT OUT and you can check out the trailer here. To enter, just leave a comment on her post--that's it. One winner will have a character named after them in her fourth book. How cool is that? I'm just wondering how she'll pull it off if the winner's name is Humperdink or something equally bizarre (no offense intended if your name is Humperdink--I'm sure your parents didn't mean it). Deadline: Fri. Sept. 9th. Good luck!

Also, our sister Valerie is giving away a copy of HADES by Alexandra Adornetto - the sequel to last year's Halo - on her blog. All you have to do is comment to be entered.
Contest ends Friday, September 9th. GO HERE to enter!

Oh, and I'll have another fabulous book recommendation for you on Friday! Happy Tuesday!

Contest Monday with signed book by Carrie Harris

My vacation month flew by in a blur, and I can't believe my son is back in school already. It doesn't seem fair that the neighborhood pool and school should be open simultaneously...what happened to the "after Labor Day" start of school? Anyhoo, Valerie is still soaking up the culture in Amsterdam, and Lacey and I really hope she doesn't decide to stay there. But we didn't come back to the blog empty handed--we have a giveaway for you!

The zombie-riffic Carrie Harris signed a copy of Bad Taste in Boys for us. The inscription is even cooler, because she wrote "Sisters in Scribe rocks." Yeah, we know, but it's still nice to hear. Carrie was gracious enough to let me interview her back in November, and you can check that out here. I've read the book and it's awesome, so we're giving it away to one of our amazing followers.

The rules are simple--mainly because it's my first week back to the blog and the idea of doing a spreadsheet makes my head hurt. Leave a comment telling us how you would handle a zombie infestation in your high school (or how you would have handled it, if you're, um, older). We'll pick the most creative and/or funniest comment as the winner. You have to be a follower to enter, but that's it. Spreading the word is appreciated, but not required. Good luck!

Contest ends: Sun. 8/14 at 10pm EST. You must be a follower of this blog to enter.

Contest Monday!

It is Monday again already. How did this happen?! So you may have noticed I haven't blogged at all since last Monday, and I swear I have a good reason! We've had a major heat wave here in NY and because of this extreme heat, our power was down for nearly three days. No Internet. No TV. No lights or air conditioning. It was brutal. But I survived! And so did my family and my pets. There were no casualties, save for one fish that is unaccounted for. But I am blaming his disappearance on the monster belly of my growing catfish. *sigh*

And unfortunately I have no idea what is going on in the way of contests this week. Except this one:

Lisa and Laura Roecker have a fantastic contest going on in participation with Write On Con and The Reading Room. They're giving away $1,000 to one lucky winner, as well as your own author page on TheReadingRoom.com and the chance to have your work considered by a literary agent! So don't miss that. End Aug. 17th 2011. Details here.

Also, be sure to come back here in the next week or so. My Scribe Sisters and I have an extra special surprise for you guys! :D

Mr. Linky loves your contest links! Share them!

Contest Monday

Happy 4th of July, America!!

(I took this, *grin*)

I know you're all probably outside right now, lounging in plastic chairs, sipping sweet tea, or chowing on a greasy burger, but in case you happen to stop by the intre-webz today, check out this post by Miranda Kenneally (CATCHING JORDAN, Dec. 2011). She's got ARCS! And she's celebrating with a contest. (Pssst! You can win a crit from lit agent, Sara Megibow!) Ends July 10th.

And as always, if you've got a contest link to share, Mr. Linky wants your love.

Also, unrelated but still cool, a friend of mine made this awesome t-shirt design, and because I think it's awesome and I'm proud of him, I'm sharing it with you. You can "like" it, if you want, or just take a peek and marvel at the awesome. :D

Contest "Monday"

Lots of great writer prizes and book giveaways this week! (Let's all just pretend this is Monday and I didn't forget to post yesterday!)

I'm giving away a copy of the awesome new middle grade fantasy The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente on my blog. Contest ends 6/27.

Kari at A Good Addiction is celebrating the release of A NEED SO BEAUFITUL by Suzanne Young with some amazing random acts of kindness that include awesome things like Query Letter Critiques, First Chapter Crits, Signed Books and more! Contest ends 6/28

Tahereh Mafi is giving away an ARC of her debut SHATTER ME. Check out her blog for the details. Contest ends 6/26

Contest Monday

Good morning, lovelies!

Vampire Book Club blog has recently passed their one year birthday, and to celebrate they're giving away ten books! Most of them are adult paranormal, but I did see HEREAFTER by Tara Hudson and STARCROSSED by Josephine Angelini on the list. Closes Thurs. June 30th 11:59pm. Check that out here.

Good Choice Reading is hosting an after BEA giveaway. Up for grabs is a copy of FOREVER and THE SCORPIO RACES by Maggie Stiefvater. Ends Wed. June 22nd at 11:59pm. To enter, go here.

"Geek Girl" has a birthday coming up! And to celebrate, she's giving one lucky reader a book from her birthday wish list. Stop by her blog to wish her a happy birthday and to enter her contest. Ends June 12th, on her b-day.

Book bloggers, we *heart* you.

As always, if you know of any contest (book or writing related) feel free to share them below! You can put the prize you're offering in the "name" box instead of your name.

Contest Monday

Author Cynthia Leitich Smith has fascinating interview and crit oppourtunity with Egmont USA Publisher Elizabeth Law up on her blog. Which, if you're not following her blog yet, get over there NOW and do it, it's an amazing resource for writers!

Read the interview and enter to win a 30 page manuscript critique from Elizabeth Law HERE. Ends 5/31

Adventures in Children's Publishing is celebrating new releases this week by giving away two of them! Win AWAKEN by Katie Kacvinsky and THE A CIRCUIT by Georgina Bloomberg and Catherine Hapka. And while you're there be sure to check out their interview with several of the authors releasing this week including debut authors Tessa Gratton and Brian Farrey (also editor at Flux), and Elizabeth Scott! ENTER HERE (And check back there tomorrow for even more giveaways!) Ends 5/26

Know of a good contest? If so, fill in the info below:

Contest Monday Featuring Help Write Now!

And we're back! Blogger ate my Thursday post and wouldn't allow Kristi to post on Friday, but it looks like everything is back to normal. Whew!


The writing community has come together once again with auctions to generate funds that will go directly to the American red Cross to help with disaster relief for those affected by the recent storms and flooding in the US. Visit HelpWriteNow.blogspot.com for details on how you can donate or bid on the amazing writing/book related items up for grabs!

The ladies at Adventures in Children's Publishing are hosting a fabulous Middle Grade prize pack giveaway! Books included are: Fibble: The Fourth Circle of Heck by Dale E. Basye, The Golden Ghost (A Stepping Stone Book(TM)) by Marion Dane Bauer, The Door in the Forest by Roderick Townley, and The Forever Crush (Pink Locker Society) by Debra Moffitt. Winner will be announced on Thursday. Details at ACP blog.

The Bookshelf Muse featured author Janet Gurtler on the blog, talking about the importance of voice in your novel, along with a giveaway of Janet's YA novel, I'm Not Her. Read all about it here.

Reading Teen is giving away an ARC of Divergent by Veronica Roth. Ends June 1st. Check that out here.

Author Gail Carriger is hosting a facebook contest. If you have facebook, all you have to do to enter is join her new group. Up for grabs is a signed copy of the French version of Soulless and your pick of Soulless, Changeless, and Blameless in either American English or the UK versions. Ends midnight Thursday, May 19th. Go here for full details.

Not a contest, but Write On Con is hosting a "trifecta of awesome" chat tonight! Editor Molly O'Neill, Agent Joanna Stampfel-Volpe, and agent Michelle Andelman will be chatting live at www.writeoncon.com at 9pm EST. Topic TBA. Deets here.

Agent Contest of Epic Awesome!

*****THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED!*****

If you would like to enter, please follow this link.

Today we're excited to announce that we're having our very first agent participant contest! Woohoo!

This Friday, May 6th at 10 AM EST, we will open up for entries in our first ever twitter pitch contest!

Meet the awesome agent who's agreed to be our first judge!
Sara Megibow of Nelson Literary Agency!

Sara is the Associate Literary Agent at Nelson Literary Agency. She's actively and enthusiastically acquiring new clients!

Nelson Literary Agency specializes in representing young adult and middle grade, science fiction and fantasy, romance (all genres except category or inspirational), commercial fiction, women's fiction (including chick lit) and high concept literary fiction.

Sara is particularly interested in "contemporary YA and MG novels - stories set in the real world, preferably with a multicultural or historical aspect." And would also "love to work on more science fiction and fantasy books." She loves "fantastical stories - especially when they are unique and beautifully written," and says "My favorite young adult reads in 2010 were ASH by Malinda Lo and THE DUFF by Kody Keplinger."

For those of you that don't write YA, Sara also likes romance books that are "super sexy and intelligent" and commercial fiction that has "a unique story and superior writing."

Some of Sara's clients and their upcoming books include:
Miranda Kenneally - SCORE (Sourcebooks, December 2011)

Allison Rushby - SHOOTING STARS

Jennifer Shaw Wolf - BREAKING BEAUTIFUL


And now for the best part, THE PRIZE. Sara has offered to review the first 30 pages of the manuscript whose pitch she liked the most!

How it works:
This contest is for COMPLETED POLISHED MANUSCRIPTS ONLY. If you wouldn't want an agent to read it yet, don't enter.

You have 140 characters to pitch your novel. NO ABBREVIATIONS. So be crafty, you have four days to come up with the perfect pitch for your book.

We will only accept entries in the genres that Sara Megibow represents. (See her bio above.)

The full rules will post when the contest officially opens. Entries will open at 10am ET Friday and close at 11:59pm ET Saturday May 7th.

In other contest news:

Maggie Stiefvater is having a GIANT FOREVER TRAILER CONTEST in which you can win awesome things like an early copy of FOREVER and an ARC of THE SCORPIO RACES (aka Secret Novel). And tons of other goodies! So go check it right now!

As always, if you have a contest you'd like to share, post the link in our Mr. Linky!