That’s right- the votes have been tallied, our esteemed judge Danielle Chiotti has made her selections, and it’s time to announce the Top Three Winners as well as the Top Ten Finalists of WordHustler’s Literary Storm Novel Contest! We combed through almost 1,000 entries to find the best and the brightest.

Drum roll please!

The Winners:

Grand Prize Winner: Tatiana Blackington for THE SANCTUARY

Second Place Winner: Scott Thomas for KILL CREEK

Third Place Winner: JoAnn Chaney for HEAVEN SENT

Tatiana wins a free manuscript critique from Joyce Sweeney, while Scott and JoAnn win Barnes & Noble gift certificates!

Here is the complete list of Top Ten Winners, all of whom are being considered for publishing by indie publisher Flatmancrooked.

Top Ten Winners:

Susanna Fantich for A CAT’S TALE

Ann Gimpel for ECHO OF HOPE

Dennis Frohlich for HAVINA VIVANT

Joseph Carey for BANQUO’S BANQUET

Kathleen Murphy for THE LAND OF LEVAN

Meghna Pant for ONE AND A HALF WIFE

Chris Nunley for NOWHERE, AZ

Tatiana Blackington for THE SANCTUARY

Scott Thomas for KILL CREEK

JoAnn Chaney for HEAVEN SENT

Honorable Mentions:

Ann Eskridge for THE RAVEN

Donald O’Donovan for NIGHT TRAIN

Mickey Marie Dodson for NICARAGUA IS MINE

John White for PRODIGIOUS SAVANT

Remi Oyedele for GOAL DREAMS

Congrats to each of our winners and a huge thank you to all of you talented writers who entered. This contest was more of a success than we ever imagined, due largely to the huge flood of fantastic entries. You made this contest a smash hit! Keep on writing!

Ladies and gentlemen of the court, all rise for the noble and knowledgeable Danielle Chiotti, literary agent at Upstart Crow Literary and esteemed judge of WordHustler’s Literary Storm Novel Contest (NEWSFLASH: due to popular demand, we’ve extended the deadline to February 26, 2010! You’ve still got time to submit!). Danielle is passionate about great writing, finding amazing new clients, and helping writers succeed in the publishing industry.

Luckily for us, Danielle made time in her busy schedule to sit down and discuss what draws her to different books, how important the query letter really is, and how she plucks talented writers out of the slush pile. Will you be the next gifted scribe to catch her eye?

Read the interview to find out, then polish those manuscripts and send them out!

WordHustler: How did you get your start in the publishing industry?

Danielle Chiotti: Completely by accident, actually. I graduated with a degree in Creative Writing, and spent a year waitressing before I basically stumbled into a job doing reader’s reports for a small literary agency. A few months later, they asked me if I wanted to come in and learn about being an agent. I had no idea what that meant, but I thought, “Oh, why not?” I’ve been working in publishing ever since.

WH: You’ve worked all over the publishing industry, at places like Kensington Publishing and Adams Media. What is the main difference between editing and agenting, and why did you decide to make the switch?

DC: Literary agents have a lot more autonomy than editors do; we’re not beholden to a certain set of parameters for publishing a book. I loved my work as an editor, but there were always so many rules about what I could and could not acquire, depending on the needs of the publisher. As an agent, I can truly sign the projects I love–in any area I choose.

WH: What draws you to a fiction book? Non-fiction?

[Read more →]

Have you ever wanted to sit a literary agent down and ask them all those burning questions bouncing around in your brain: How important is the query? What kind of books get you excited? How many author clients do you REALLY find in the slush pile?

So have we. And so we did. Enter Adriann Ranta, newly-arrived agent at Wolf Literary Services who has spent years shepherding writers through the editing and agenting processes. Adriann handled all the hard-hitting writing questions we dished out, and even asked for seconds.

Read on to discover what Adriann considers the best kind of query letters, what she thinks about YA books, and why she loves the word “percussive.” Then it’ll be time to get an agent for yourself! Success never tasted so good!

WordHustler: How did you get your start in the publishing industry?

Adriann Ranta: I graduated with my obligatory, directionless liberal arts degree having no idea what I wanted to do with books, but knowing I had to do something with them since they’re all I’ve really felt passionately about. After considering and quickly declining a phone sex job as an outlet for creativity, I got a job at The Editorial Department, the oldest freelance editing firm in the country, based in Tucson, AZ.

I worked as their managing editor of Between the Lines, gathering info and interviewing professionals in the industry. Eventually, I moved to New York and through a variety of internships, assistant positions, and odd jobs found that agenting is the niche that most suits me.

WH: What’s the main difference between editing and agenting, and why did you decide to make the switch?

[Read more →]