SLUSH PILE CHALLENGE July 2018


We are pleased to announce the July 2018 Slush Pile Challenge, set by Davinia Andrew-Lynch, of Andlyn Literary Agency. 


Image result for picture of davinia andrew-lynch
Davinia Andrew-Lynch

Andlyn is a boutique agency dedicated to children's fiction and content. Set up by Davinia Andrew-Lynch, the aim is to find authors whose material can not only exist on the page but can also find an outlet through other media territories. Davinia was previously an associate agent at a highly reputable film and television agency, and worked simultaneously as a freelance children's fiction editor and reader for various publishers, literary agencies, consultancies and scouts. The small and intimate nature of the agency means the services offered will be tailored to an individual's needs. This is not a 'one size fits all' agency, but a place for authors, illustrators and storytellers to nurture their talent and ultimately their careers. 

Davinia has given unagented members a choice of challenges. However, entrants are only allowed to enter ONE challenge. 


When entering either challenge, please submit a logline, one page synopsis and the first three chapters. 


THE CHALLENGE: 

MIDDLE GRADE: I'm looking to be scared. And not in a twee sense. Think Goosebumps, or Nickelodeon's Are you afraid of the Dark. How can the old favourites gets a little more ... twisted? Essentially I want to be taken back to my 11-year-old self - petrified to read the following page, but desperate to know what happens next. Words of caution though: AGE APPROPRIATE PLEASE! 
THE MANUSCRIPT MUST BE COMPLETED PRIOR TO SUBMITTING YOUR ENTRY. 

OR


YOUNG ADULT: Romance is the word of the day. And I want it to be comedic. No lovers horrifically scorned, no parting with sweet (and death) sorrow. Just your happy-go-lucky - universal - rom-com with enough jeopardy to keep us hooked but not have us blubbing out of sheer heartbreak. And let's have real teenagers, not thirty-year-olds in sixteen-year-old's bodies! 
THE MANUSCRIPT MUST BE COMPLETED PRIOR TO SUBMITTING YOUR ENTRY. 

THE REWARD:

Davinia will pick a winner. She will arrange to have a 30-minute meeting with the winner. It will be in person, via Skype or a phone call.


THIS COMPETITION HAS NOW CLOSED
 



TERMS AND CONDITIONS

WHO IS ELIGIBLE?


You need to be an un-agented, current SCBWI  member, and resident in either the  UK or Europe.

If you win a challenge, you will not be able to enter any other Slush Pile challenges.

To join SCBWI and take advantage of the many opportunities to: raise your profile, market your work, meet fellow writers, artists, the gatekeepers to publication, while being supported in the development and pursuit of your craft, visit scbwi.org

If between submitting your entry and the winner being announced, you gain representation from an agent, please contact us at competitions@britishscbwi.org


WHAT DO YOU NEED TO DO?

1      Check that you are a paid up member of SCBWI before submitting your entry by going to scbwi.org  Any entries received where member's details cannot be found on SCBWI records will not be included as a valid entry. 

2      Send in your entry as a single Word Document to competitions@britishscbwi.org  Submissions to the Slush Pile Challenge should not be sent direct to the agent/editor/judge.  

3       The document should only contain the material the judge has requested. Do not include your name, address of email address in your word document or the document name. The word document should be named in the following format - your title' July 2018 Slush Pile.doc

4      Please do not insert a header or footer in your submission. 

5       
In the email please write your full name as it appears in SCBWI membership records and your email address. Also include the title of your work.

6       Shortly after you have submitted your entry you will receive an email from the competitions email address stating, 'Your entry has been received.' If you do not receive this message please send an email to competitions@britishscbwi.org  . However, we cannot put entries through after the closing date unless your entry is received on or before the closing date. 

 7      Only the first entry will be considered. Please do not send revisions, multiple entries or multiple attachments. 

8       Any entries received after the closing date will automatically be disqualified. 


THE PROCESS


As soon as the competition is closed, it is necessary to generate a random selection using a computer program. All valid and verified entries received will be included irrespective of whether the entry was received on the date of the launch of the competition or on the closing date, or whether the entrant has previously had their submissions seen by an agent/editor/judge. This has to be done to ensure that there is no bias or pre-judging from SCBWI BI/SCBWI BI Words and Pictures editorial team when sending the entries for judging. The terms of the competition are that the judge agrees to read a minimum of fifteen entries from the number of submissions. In many cases the agent/editor/ judge requests to read more. When an agent/editor/judge requests to read fifteen or another proportion of the total entries, those chosen as the first ones to be read by the computer will be sent to him/her. Sometimes the judge may request a further selection of valid and verified entries before making their decision. When this occurs, to avoid bias, the next group of entries from the initial computer generated random selection will be sent to the agent/editor/judge. There are times when the judge requests to read all the entries and these are then forwarded to him/her. 

The judge will pick a winner and also tell us why.  Sometimes he/she may quote a few sentences or phrases from the winner's submission in the blog announcing the winner.  

The winner will be put in touch with the judge so they can arrange the 30-minute discussion, in person, by Skype, or on the phone.

Good Luck Everyone!


  
The Words and Pictures team are aware that our members write for different ages and genres. With this in mind, we endeavour to provide at least one Slush Pile Challenge a year that our un-agented members feel able to enter.  



Elaine Cline has been a SCBWI member for over five years and loves to write picture books, middle-grade and teen books. She lives by the sea and has two soft and silly cats.

Elaine is a member of the Words & Pictures editorial team, managing The Slush Pile Challenge. 

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