The Story is About   +  YA Connection

October 17-23, 2009

The YA Connection is a collaborative column that was originally started by Kristi (The Story) and Steph (Reviewer X). Steph is currently on a extended hiatus, so I'm swinging it solo for the time being. In it can be found links from around the YA blogosphere, including, but not limited to, contests links, author blog links, review links, and miscellaneous news pertaining to the age group.

Author Musings

L.K. Madigan (Flash Burnout) is hosting a contest for a good cause. The prize you can be a character in her next novel. Even cooler, is that it's a mermaid novel!

Nina LaCour (Hold Still) will be doing an author event at Borders in San Francisco, which will be streaming LIVE on the POV site on October 28th, at 7 PM Pacific time. It’s just like being there!

Mandy Hubbard (Prada & Prejudice) made a HUGE announcement.

Lesley Livingston (Wondrous Strange) showed off the Spanish edition of WS. It is beautiful!

Here is an update about the FTC guidelines for bloggers by Jennifer Hubbard. Liz of A Chair, A Fireplace and Tea Cozy also has an excellent post about the FTC guidelines as presented at KidLitCon.

Danielle Jospeh (Shrinking Violet) shares when and where she likes to write.

I Love, Melissa Walker's (Lovestruck Summer) Cover Stories! This week she has P.C. Cast's Elphame's Choice and Brighid's Quest!

Don't forget next month is NaNoWriMo!!

Sarah of Sarah's Random Musings review Hold Still by Nina LaCour."Hold Still is one of those books that you have to think about. It is so strong and it is hard to tell if you like it."

Lori of Pure Imagination reviewed The Devouring by Simon Holt. "The Vours were scary! The beginning of the book read like a horror movie and I was pretty creeped out."

Sara of The Hiding Spot reviewed Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon. "...Silver Phoenix had a stunning blend of magic, romance, humor, and action!"

Adele of Persnickety Snark reviewed Willow by Julia Hoban. "It's a honest, strong and unflinching exploration of a grief stricken girl - who just happens to self-harm."

Dannie of Opinionated? Me? reviewed The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey. "And that's exactly what it is: Gothic. From the scenery to the dark subject matter to the time period, and even to the characters."

Sab of Crystal Reviews reviewed WTF by Peter Lerangis. "The writing was awesome. The characters were cool, I felt I was watching a really fun movie."

Steph of Juiciliciousss Reviews reviewed The Waking: Dreams of the Dead by Thomas Randall. "A very well-written novel that incorporates the Japanese culture and a very typical and ordinary horror story."

Yan of Books By Their Cover reviewed The Lonely Hearts Club by Elizabeth Eulberg. "Small and cute that doesn’t pack much a pow or wow."

Sharon of Sharon Loves Books and Cats reviewed The Naughty List by Suzanne Young. "The Naughty List is one of the most adorable books I have ever read."

Lenore of Presenting Lenore reviewed My Invented Life by Lauren Bjorkman. "Even though the story can be messy at times and it can be confusing to tell what is invented and what is real, I think it would be a great read for Shakespeare enthusiasts (for the Shakespearean insults alone), the drama crowd, and those interested in GLBT lit."

Leave A Mark is BACK! Leave a Mark is an awesome site that was created by Lauren of Shooting Stars Mag and Chelsea of The Page Flipper. All proceeds from Leave A Mark benefit First Book!

Cindy of Princess Bookie has a ton of Read-A-Thon contests going on right now!

Tempted: A House of Night Novel by P.C. & Kristin Cast
Lockdown: Escape from Furnace by Alexander Gordon Smith
Dragonfly by Julia Golding
Nothing Like You by Lauren Strasnick

Charmed and Dangerous: The Rise of the Pretty Committee (prequel) by Lisi Harrison
The Espressologist by Kristina Springer
Flash Burnout by L.K. Madigan
Destiny's Path by Frewin Jones

Angels Lie by Melissa de la Cruz
Hold Still by Nina LaCour
Front and Center by Catherine Gilbert Murdosk
The Other Side of Blue by Valerie O. Patterson

Feel free to fill in your contest info in the Mister Linky.

Please use the Mister Linky as instructed.
Your Name: Put your prize here & deadline date!
Your URL: Put a DIRECT link to your contest.

Have a young adult novel—or a YA novel idea—tucked away for a rainy day? Are you putting off pitching your idea simply because you’re not sure how to pitch an agent? No problem! All you have to do is submit the first 250 words of your novel and you can win both exposure to editors, and a one-on-one chat with one of New York’s TOP literary agents Regina Brooks.

Regina Brooks is the founder of Serendipity Literary Agency and the author of Writing Great Books for Young Adults. Brooks has been instrumental at establishing and building the careers of many YA writers, including three-time National Book Award Honoree and Michael Printz Honoree Marilyn Nelson, as well as Sundee Frazier—a Coretta Scott King Award winner, an Oprah Book Pick and an Al Roker book club selection. As an agent, she is known for her ability to turn raw talent into successful authors.

ADDITIONALLY: The top 20 submissions will all be read by a panel of five judges comprised of top YA editors at Random House, HarperCollins, Harlequin, Sourcebooks and Penguin. All 20 will receive free autographed copies of Writing Great Books for Young Adults by Regina Brooks. Of the 20, they will pick the top five submissions and provide each author with commentary. ONE Grand Prize Winner will win a free 10-week writing course courtesy of the Gotham Writer’s Workshop.

• Please submit all entries via the contest website at http://www.writingclasses.com/ContestPages/YAPitch.php.
  
• One entry per person; anyone age 13+ can apply.
  
• Open to the U.S. & Canada (void where prohibited).
  
• Entries for the YA Novel Discovery Contest will be accepted from 12:01am (ET) November 1 until 11:59pm (ET),

In honor of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo.org)—an international event where aspiring novelists are encouraged to write an entire novel in 30 days—this contest is meant to encourage the aspiring YA author to get started on that novel by offering an incentive for completing the first 250 words.

So apply now! http://bit.ly/1PYGaN

JUDGING:
YA literary agent Regina Brooks, along with editors at Sourcebooks, will read all of the entries and determine the top 20 submissions. These submissions will then be read by Dan Ehrenhaft, head Acquisitions Editor at Soucebooks Fire; Alisha Niehaus, Editor at Dial Books for Young Readers (Penguin); David Linker, Executive Editor at HarperCollins Children’s Books; Michele Burke, Editor at Knopf Books for Young Readers (Random House); and Evette Porter, Editor at Harlequin. These judges will whittle the top 20 down to four winners and a grand prize winner—all five will be provided commentary on their submissions.

Are you an author that has an event coming up? Let me know and I can mention it on a future post of YAC!

Have a suggestion of something you'd like to see on YAC? Or something you've seen that you'd like me to include every time, let me know.

Thanks! Have a great weekend!