SLUSH PILE CHALLENGE July 2024 Results
Callen Martin of Bell Lomax Moreton set and judged the July 2024 Slush Pile Challenge.
Callen’s challenge: “Please can I have the first full chapter of a book aimed at readers aged 8+, (from Middle Grade upwards to YA/NA)? I know that some authors will have Prologues but if I could have their official Chapter One that would be really exciting to read.” Callen requested that the manuscript be completed before entering the competition.
We received 41 entries from members across the British Isles and Europe for this competition. Callen read all of the submissions. This is what Callen told us when announcing the results:
“Thank you to everyone who entered the Slush Pile Challenge this month. From historical tales to thrilling mysteries and worlds of magic, it was a real joy to judge this competition – though it certainly wasn’t an easy competition to judge! I applaud each of the authors that submitted their opening chapter. Across the board, I found the entries to be engaging and really admired how each author led with the child’s-eye-view perfect for their intended readership and age group. As a reader, I felt immediately placed within the worlds and contexts of each story, quickly on side with our protagonist, and swept up in the unfolding events of the narrative. I particularly loved how most of the entries ended their first chapters on a propulsive last line that stayed with me long after I’d finished the chapter itself, and launched me, almost like a plane on a runway, into thoughts and questions about how and where I thought the story would go, past this point. It’s these questions, this invite to be inquisitive, that makes readers desperate to read on. This is a vital aspect of writerly craft, especially in a time where, research shows, child and young people’s attention spans are shorter now than ever before, with so much else outside of the book that they are reading vying for their attention. Achieving this captivation is by no means an easy feat!
As I read and reread the entire collection of entries, I found myself returning again and again to one story in particular – one story that I couldn’t stop thinking about in those quiet moments where our creativity runs away from us and our mind wanders down the path of ‘What If?’ – and this story was ASTRO PONIES by Libby Hartwell. It’s for this reason that ASTRO PONIES is my stand-out winner!
From its very first line, ASTRO PONIES was a joy to read, managing both to be excitingly new in setting and concept, and familiar enough to ensure that the reader is firmly on board, able to keep up with the fast-paced events of the story that quickly unfold. Though I’ve only read the opening chapter, ASTRO PONIES struck me as a wonderful Lower Middle Grade Paw Patrol-esque story, with ponies, that just so happened to be set in space... What a wonderful and immediate concept that was clear from just this opening chapter! While, within this novel’s opening, there was lots of narrative excitement and action, and plenty of description to bring the (outer)world to life in my mind’s eye (the humour and clever wit throughout was an absolute joy to read!), what really captivated me about ASTRO PONIES was its balance between plot and narrative – it’s high stakes moments and those that were tender, more character-led. It’s this balance – this balance between concept and action, and character heart (character interactions, relationships and arc) – and how it is that these two, key threads of a story interact on a page that truly captivates me about the world of children’s fiction. In ASTRO PONIES, I really feel as if I have a sense of the wider plot of the story and who Casey, Calamity and Butch are as characters (and as ponies), understanding the roles that they play both within the story itself and the expansive world they inhabit.
Congratulations to our winner!
To each of the authors that have entered this competition – I applaud you for you craft and your creativity, and wish you the very best of luck with your writing. To say that multiple entries in this competition had me hooked is beyond an understatement!”
Congratulations to Libby Hartwell from all of us at Words & Pictures. We hope you are well on your way towards getting your writing published.
Thanks to everyone who entered. Keep writing and we hope you will be encouraged to try your hand at appropriate competitions.
Callen Martin joined Bell Lomax Moreton in April 2023 to assist Lauren Gardner across her list. He worked previously at another literary agency as an Agency Assistant & Partnerships Manager and, in the freelance space, as a manuscript assessor, sensitivity reader and writing competition judge. Now, as of 2024, he is actively building his own list and covering Lauren Gardner's maternity leave with the full support of the wider team.
Callen grew up in foster care and graduated Bath Spa University’s MA in Writing for Young People in 2019 becoming the first care-experienced person in the history of East Sussex to study at Postgraduate level. As a queer, working class man, Callen is passionate about representation in publishing; especially that of the care system.
Areas of Interest
Callen’s first bookish love will always be Children’s, (for readers aged 7+), YA and New Adult/Crossover fiction, across all genres, in all formats. In these areas he is swept away by diverse, heroic, fun and captivating titles that balance their strong characterisation and emotional depth against plots that he, and young readers, just have to keep turning the pages of. In children's fiction he's drawn to stories that will leave kids desperate to read one more chapter before bedtime, begging their parents/guardians/carers to let them do just that.
“Though it’s definitely a book’s unique premise and hook that intrigues me, it’s the voice of the characters and their emotional depth – their heart – that I fall in love with. That's what I stick around for.”
Passionate about the editorial side of agenting, Callen is looking for potential not polish. He is very happy to be surprised by the books submitted to him. For more guidance on his taste and a non-exclusive list of his current areas of interest please see the website.
*Header image: Ell Rose and Tita Berredo
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Elaine Cline has been a SCBWI member for over eight years and loves to write picture books, middle-grade and teen books. She lives by the sea and has one dog.
Elaine is a member of the Words & Pictures editorial team, managing The Slush Pile Challenge. Her X (twitter) handle is @elaineccline
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Ell Rose is the Illustration Features Editor of Words & Pictures.
Find their work at https://fourfooteleven.com
Contact them at illustrators@britishscbwi.org
Tita Berredo is the Illustrator Coordinator of SCBWI British Isles and the Art Director of Words & Pictures. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter or www.titaberredo.com
Contact her at: illuscoordinator@britishscbwi.org.
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