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Thank you for your patience, Storystormers!
Let’s not waste any time! Here are your Grand Prize winners and the agents with whom they have been paired:
Brenda Miller → Holly McGhee
Tanya Shock → Ammi-Joan Paquette
Krista Harrington → Ammi-Joan Paquette (Joan is taking two winners)
Amy Bradshaw → Tricia Lawrence
Stephen Cravak → Erin Murphy
Debra Katz → Liza Royce Agency
Sarah Hoppe → Linda Epstein
Helen Ishmurzin → Victoria Selvaggio
Congratulations! I will be contacting you via email shortly.
Many thanks to Urania Smith of KidLitNation who helped pull the winner’s names.
If you’re a writer of color, please check out KidLitNation for support and resources!
More daily prize winners to come soon!
Drum roll please…
The following Storystormers have been randomly selected from the pool of ~800 who registered for the event AND completed the 30-idea challenge!
Each winner has been paired with a picture book literary agent who will provide feedback on FIVE IDEAS that have been fleshed out into pitches.
So winners, go through your idea lists and pick the five ideas that move you, that sing to you. (Like Adele.)
Yes, HELLO IDEAS!
Write up each idea as a pitch, around a paragraph apiece. Write about the crux of the story, the hook, how you might envision it panning out. If you aren’t exactly sure, then say so. But give as much information as you can about the idea so the agent can give you feedback on the idea’s viability in today’s picture book marketplace. This will give you an IDEA of which IDEAS you should pursue as manuscripts.
I will give you three days to work on your idea descriptions, then I will email you on February 10 to introduce you to your agent. I have asked the agents to respond to your ideas by the end of the month, but some asked for a little longer due to pending commitments. So please give them time to review and reply appropriately.
And so, here we go…the GRAND PRIZE WINNERS ARE:
Julia Ugarte (Holly McGhee)
Donna Taylor (Ammi-Joan Paquette)
Bronte Colbert (Tricia Lawrence)
Mary Jane Muir (Rachel Orr)
Johnell DeWitt (Stephen Fraser)
Tiffany Dickinson (Erin Casey)
Cassie Bentley (Kelly Sonnack)
Amanda Davis (Jennifer March Soloway)
Tanya Parrott (Tracy Marchini)
Lauren Soloy (Liza Royce Literary Agency)
Congratulations, everyone! Go celebrate!
Remember there are still prizes to come–all those daily goodies you saw throughout January. So stay tuned!
Did you know that PiBoIdMo is one of Oprah’s favorite things?
Totally. Even Amy Poehler’s head is exploding.
And lawyers are sending cease and desist letters. Whoa. Those Oprah folks work fast.
(This is obviously her kidlit practice lawyer. I hear he also works for Aflac.)
Okay, while PiBoIdMo might NOT be one of Oprah’s favorite things, or something Oprah has even heard of…I know it is one of YOUR favorite things.
And so, without further ado (or flying feathers), here are the 13 GRAND PRIZE WINNERS for PIBOIDMO 2015! Please congratulate them!
CARRIE FINISON
ELLEN SIRIANNI
DEBORAH HOLT WILLIAMS
MARTI JOHNS
LYN MILLER-LACHMANN
KEILA DAWSON
JENA BENTON
KASSY KEPPOL
DANIELA WEIL
PAMELA BERKMAN
JENNIFER BOWER
TONY WILLIAMS
KIM ERICKSON
You may be asking: How were the PiBoIdMo 2015 GRAND PRIZE WINNERS selected?
Every participant who signed the PiBoIdMo Winner’s Pledge was assigned a number based upon the order in which they commented. I then used Random.org to generate 13 random numbers from 1 to 888 (the total number of pledge comments). The numbers were matched to their corresponding name, then I ensured that name was on the PiBoIdMo registration post. If the name had been registered, then I double checked to make sure they had not commented on the winner’s pledge multiple times (thus giving them extra chances to win). If all checked out, the winner was verified. (And they all checked out!)
In the interest of full disclosure, I will note that one of the winners is related to me by marriage. It just worked out that way. This is no way influenced the winner selection. It was all done by random selection.
If you are a grand prize winner, please read the following carefully:
I will pair each one of you with a participating agent and contact you via email. You will have until the end of this calendar year to contact your agent with your FIVE best ideas. I suggest you flesh them out into a paragraph each, like an elevator pitch. Something short and snappy. The agent will then provide feedback on which idea(s) may be the best to pursue as manuscripts. The agent may provide short and sweet feedback like a simple “Go for it!” or more lengthy feedback providing suggestions. I don’t know what’s in store for you–but there’s one thing for certain–their feedback will help you determine what to begin writing!
Thank you all for participating this year!
Remember there are PLENTY more prizes to come. I will be giving away all the prizes you saw during PiBoIdMo, nearly 50 of them, through the end of the year. Who knows what you may win! (You get a car! You get a car! YOU GET A CAR!)*
*You will not get a car.
Here are the three PiBoIdMo GRAND PRIZE winners, chosen with help from Random.org and “independent auditors” Brook Gideon and Julie Falatko:
BETH STILLBORN
SOPHIE CAYLESS
PEG FINLEY
Congratulations, writers! You will each be assigned to a picture book agent who will review your best five ideas and suggest which ones might be the best to pursue as manuscripts.
You’ll receive further details via email from me soon. In the meantime, start writing up your best five ideas as pitches!
Tomorrow (really later today) I’ll pick more WINNERS for all of the stupendous prizes—picture book critiques, original art, jewelry, journals, books…
In the meantime, please give Beth, Sophie and Peg hearty congratulations!
Writing for Kids (While Raising Them) 