April Poetry Contest Winners!

The time has come to announce the winners of WordHustler’s April Poetry Contest. We received hundreds of poems from amazing poets everywhere, but were forced to decide on three Winners and six Honorable Mentions.

Winners:

Megan Robb, Poughkeepsie, NY

Erin Adams, San Clemente, CA

Maureen Dolan, Hayden, ID

Honorable Mentions:

Kristy Hoard, Girard, OH

Kate Murphy, Skaneateles, NY

Sarah Seidel, Dallas, TX

Melony Malsom, Aberdeen, SD

Joshua Merrell, Bountiful, UT

Amy Platon, Orlando, FL

If you didn’t win this time, you still have a chance to enter the May writing contest, which celebrates WordHustler’s First Birthday. Look for contest rules HERE.

The three winning poems are posted below. Read on to see how these three WordHustlers wowed the judges with their poetic artfulness. [Read more →]

Hey all you children’s and YA authors out there! Yes, we’re talking to you. Sure, you’ve got a great idea for a kids’ book. Maybe you’ve even written it. But how does your story go from your desk to the Best-Seller shelf at Barnes & Noble? Enter Ben Barnhart: children’s book editor and all-around publishing maven.

Barnhart is the Young Readers Editor at Milkweed Editions, a reputable and innovative children’s book publisher that is “one of the nation’s leading independent, nonprofit literary publishers.” Impressive, no? But let’s get to the part you really want to know: how does a writer become a published Milkweed author? And what does it take to succeed in children’s books?

Sit back and prepare to profit from this nonprofit editor’s fantastic information. You will soon be informed. Very, very informed.

WordHustler: First of all Ben, let’s get some background on you. How long have you been at Milkweed? And what got you into publishing?

Ben Barnhart: I got my start as an intern at Milkweed Editions during the summer of 2000, and stayed on as an editorial assistant. I’m coming up on nine years at the press, though I’ve been acquiring and editing the books for young readers only for the past five years. Coming out of college (I got my B.A. in philosophy from Cedarville College), I knew I liked writing and working with authors from my time as editor of the school’s literary journal. The internship confirmed my interest, and also gave me a sense that I might actually be good at this kind of work.

WH: Why does Milkweed focus on middle grade books? What is it about that age group that really sparks to reading?

BB: Our founding editor and publisher, Emilie Buchwald, started publishing books for middle-grade readers in 1993 after she identified a dearth of serious, literary books for young readers (eight to thirteen years old). Feeling that this was an age where many young readers cement their lifelong love of reading, Milkweed Editions has continued to focus on this age range with an array of titles from historical to contemporary novels. Of course, several years after we started publishing books for these readers, a young boy named Harry Potter changed the literary landscape and made young readers a much more attractive market for many publishers. So we find ourselves with a lot of competition these days.

WH: How many Young Reader books do you publish a year?

BB: We publish between four and six new books each year.

WH: Does Milkweed ever get Young Reader books put on school curriculums? Does a book have to hit a certain level of popularity before it is approved to be read in schools?

BB: Many of our titles are read in the schools, but as far as I know none have been selected as curriculum. Because most of our titles are fiction, they’re often used in conjunction with a specific segment, like Laura E. Williams’ Behind the Bedroom Wall while classes are studying World War II.

WH: Knowing that you obviously love each of the books you publish, what is your favorite Milkweed Young Reader book from 2008 and why? (If you need to be diplomatic, what are your TWO favorite books?)

BB: I do love each of the books I’ve worked on (not unlike children, actually), but my favorite from 2008 is a debut novel: Julie Crabtree’s Discovering Pig Magic. It’s a novel about three young teen girls in California, each struggling with a problem beyond her control. The characters come amazingly alive, with hilarious, spot-on dialogue. It manages to be light-hearted and serious at the same time.

WH: I’ll have to check that out. Now I must ask about what all of our readers want to know: manuscript submissions. How many unsolicited submissions would you say Milkweed Young Readers gets a month? What’s your turnaround time like?

BB: We get about three hundred manuscripts a year, so close to thirty a month. We advertise a maximum turnaround of six months, though I’m uncomfortable having manuscripts around for more than three months. In other words, we do our best to respond to submissions soon, but it will likely take us at least a few months.

WH: As editor, are you drawn to a specific kind or genre of book? Or are your tastes constantly changing?

BB: I wouldn’t say I’m drawn to a specific kind/genre of book, so much as I’m drawn to a book that manages to come alive for me as a reader. That can be almost any kind of book, in my mind: historical, fantasy, contemporary, urban, etc. I’m continually excited by books that push the envelope of young readers’ taste, recently I’ve been very impressed by Neil Gaiman’s Coraline and Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief.

WH: What are three things about a query letter or manuscript submission that make you want to read more?

BB: It’s almost impossible for me to develop an interest in a manuscript without actually having a sample of the writing. Having a strong premise and outline is always helpful, but I rarely ask for a manuscript if I don’t get at least a few pages to help me develop a taste for the author’s writing ability.

With the writing sample, I’m looking primarily for a strong character voice. That indicates, to me, the author’s ability to fully inhabit their characters, as well as confidence telling the story. Without those two elements, it’s highly unlikely that a novel will work for us.

[Read more →]

Is March the month your writing finds that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow? Well WordHustler thinks the luck of the Irish may indeed be with you! For the month of March, submit any piece of work through WordHustler.com and be automatically entered to win an Amazon.com Gift Card!

But that’s not all!

Each of our monthly winners will be entered in a drawing at the end of 2009 where they could win an Amazon Kindle. That’s right…this $350+ reading wunderkind could be yours, and all you have to do is send out your brilliant work. Isn’t that what you were going to do anyway?

Come on, luck is already on your side. Using WordHustler to send out your work not only gives you more time to write, it also raises your odds of success…both in publishing-land AND Kindle-land!

So what are you waiting for? Destiny awaits…and WordHustler wants to help.

Read on for Official Contest Rules, aka the nitty-gritty.

[Read more →]

The New York Observer reports “Less than a month after Dmitri Nabokov announced, following years of indecision, that he would publish his late father Vladimir’s unfinished final novel, The Original of Laura, he has hired a new literary agent to represent the Nabokov Estate.”

Just who is this new mystery agent? None other than Andrew Wylie of The Wylie Agency. The loser in this situation? The previous agent of the Nabokov estate, Nikki Smith of Smith-Skolnik Literary Management. Guess Wylie’s nickname of “The Jackal” is indeed apt.

Nevermind the fact that Vladimir specifically left instructions for the 100-plus handwritten note cards that made up the novel to be burned after his death. Wonder how he’d feel about that?

To read the whole article on the NYO, click HERE.

To read a colorful article on “The Jackal” from Conde Nast’s Portfolio.com, click HERE.

Do you have a gripping fiction project ready to burst onto the literary scene? Why not use WordHustler to help you submit your short story to the 2008 RRofihe Trophy contest and earn a chance to win $500 and publication in Open City Magazine? Who knows, with that kind of attention, The Jackal may come sniffing your way too.

In case you didn’t see us, WordHustler was Hustlin’ at BookExpo America ‘08. We had a great time and would like to say thanks to everyone who helped make our BEA experience a memorable success. In particular we’d like to say thanks to a few special publishing professionals who helped make things wonderful.

To all the writers: Thanks for taking the time to talk to us. We built WordHustler for writers from all over the world just like you. It is truly a pleasure to serve you.

To the Mystery Writers Of America: Thanks for the copy of “The Blue Religion!” We love a good mystery!

To Abrams, Inc: Thanks for the advance copy of “Diary of a Wimpy Kid.” We hope that “Wimpy” is a smash hit.

To Karen at WriteGirl: Thanks for letting us sponsor you. You have a really talented bunch of girls and we are honored to be involved. Congrats on the medal! We can’t wait to help your girls get their work out into the world!

To Bodin and all of the folks at Endicia: We said it once and we’ll say it again: You guys rock. Thanks for the generous offer and we look forward to working with you on the case studies. Word of mouth is indeed the way to build a business and we just can’t praise you enough!

To Eli at Griffyn Ink: Lovely titles and thanks for the water gun. You guys are fighting the good fight and we’re going to support you in any way we can. Long live the independents!

To everyone at the Horror Writers Association: We’re looking forward to working with you guys. And to Kelly: it’s okay to be tempted. WordHustler is finally here and ready to help you throughout your transition to fiction. (Oh, and I’d rather be associated with the other famous John Singleton, but thanks for the “chilling” story. *grin*)

To the McSweeney’s campsite: Love the tent. What a great way to cut back on the hotel bills! Also: I wasn’t joking about wanting the Metal Gods book. (No, really. I can play Guitar Hero III on Expert. I want that book.)

To the guy serving the beer at the Expo: If you only have one type of beer, isn’t “What kind of beer do you want?” a pointless question? Really. You’re dealing with thirsty New Yorkers. Make with the beer already.

To anyone standing next to me at the beer stand: Sorry. He was clearly spilling the beer all over the floor.

Lastly, to The Bumblebee: Sorry for hi-fiving you. You just seemed like you needed a high-five.

Oh, and to our hero:

“The leads are weak? You’re weak.“

WordHustler LLC is proud to announce the launch of WordHustler Beta! Our lil’ site is the result of two writers who grew frustrated with all the disorganized and misleading writing databases out there. We set out to create a thorough, illuminating database of all the writing opportunities we could find. We also decided to take the hassle and confusion out of submitting multiple projects to multiple people. How? We do it for you. Simply upload your projects to the WordHustler site, choose some writing opportunities, and click “Submit.” We’ll print, organize, and ship them all for you. No hassle, no Post Office lines. Just you…one step closer to writing success.

This is you with WordHustler…unless you’re a guy. Then it’s not.

WordHustlerInk is our company blog dedicated to enlightening our members (and the world at large) with helpful articles, writing tips, links to worthy sites, and community feedback. This is also where you’ll find more detailed explanations of WordHustler site functions, as well as the place we stash our pertinent “About Us” and “Contact” info. Check out the Frequently Asked Questions blog. Check here for our featured contests and hopefully soon, our WordHustlerInk zine! Who knows, maybe your dazzling creations will be published in the zine. First WordHustler, then the world!!!