SLUSH PILE CHALLENGE WINNER Rebecca Rouillard

Rebecca Rouillard

 

Rebecca Rouillard, winner of the April 2024 Slush Pile Challenge, tells us why she entered the competition and about her experience of discussing her submission with Deirdre Power,

Assistant Agent for Caroline Walsh of David Higham Associates.

 

 

Rebecca won this challenge by submitting the following:

 

“First chapter, pitch and synopsis for tween/early teen novels in any genre, aimed at a core readership of 10-14 year olds. I’d specially love to see contemporary/realistic fiction but am open to anything aimed specifically at this age group. The manuscript had to be complete before entering the competition.”

 

 

Deirdre stated: “After an incredibly tough decision the winner I’ve chosen is Nightingale Academy by Rebecca Rouillard. 

I was hugely impressed by the pitch and the author’s positioning of the work in between two prominent authors working in the same space – one slightly younger and one older – so this emerged as a really obvious bridge for them, which is a really clever way to pitch a book and gave me such a clear sense of the author’s vision for this story.

 

As an opening it’s really strong – it sets up a lot of intrigue, even parts of life that seem normal to the protagonist are interesting enough to raise a lot of questions in the reader and I really wanted to keep reading to get a better sense of this world and how it works, which is a great achievement for an opening chapter. 

I really liked how full this world felt, how rich and detailed, and I could already see the rest of the world unfolding alongside the plot, which is a great thing to be able to see for the first chapter. I love murder mysteries, especially for this age group, and I think the tone is important in setting the stage for them – it’s so clear that the author has a really solid idea of where they want to go and what they want to convey.

 

There’s also a lot of focus on friendships and relationships and how these change as we move into our teen years – I think for me that’s a huge aspect for writing for this tween group and I love that the author has worked it in without sacrificing the plot and its momentum. I also really admire the work that’s gone into making this an organically inclusive and diverse text.

 

All in all my philosophy is that the job of the first chapter is to make the reader want to keep reading. I think this had so much detail that I wanted to know more about and I found it so easy to be in the protagonist’s head.”

 

 

Rebecca:

 

"Deirdre’s challenge was ‘first chapter, pitch and synopsis for tween/early teen novels in any genre, aimed at a core readership of 10 to 14-year-olds.’

 

I was immediately drawn to this challenge as I am particularly passionate about this frequently unacknowledged category. In my experience any books that fall into this ‘teen’ category are pushed down towards MG or up to YA as these are both more lucrative and defined markets.

 

I am a school librarian and as such I am very aware that the way books are marketed makes it difficult to find teen books. KS3 pupils are looking for books that feel like a step up from primary school, but some of them are not ready for the dark or explicit content prevalent in upper YA. (I use YA stickers as content trigger warnings in my school library.) 

But it is not only about content or character age – book length is also an issue. I know many of my Year 7 pupils love crime fiction, but they don’t have the stamina for a Holly Jackson book – it’s just too long.

 

I am also the shortlisting panel chair for the 11+ age category in the Spark! School Book Awards so I’m currently spending all my time reading submissions and trying to find these ‘teen’ books. They are out there but it is tricky to identify the ones that really encapsulate these incredibly exciting, formative years.

 

And so it was refreshing to find an agent specifically looking for books for this age group.

 

The pitch I submitted was not a new idea, it was a completed manuscript that I was already in the process of submitting to agents. Deirdre particularly mentioned contemporary/realistic fiction, Nightingale Academy was definitely not that, but I thought I’d give it a go anyway. This MS is not only in between age categories, it is also in between genres – a cosy murder mystery set in a space boarding school. (I think we’re due a sci-fi/space stories resurgence!)

 

I met Deirdre in June via Zoom for our one-to-one session. I did mention upfront that I am little tired and jaded, having been previously represented by an agent and having had two books die on submission to publishers. (Co-incidentally, when I first met my previous agent I told her that I wanted to write a book set in space one day…and she told me I should definitely never do that!)

 

Deirdre was incredibly warm and encouraging. She was positive about my opening chapter and made a couple of helpful suggestions about the visual effect of sentence length. She was also effusive about my synopsis and suggested a couple ways to sharpen and tighten the pitch for maximum effect. 

We also had an interesting discussion about the need for teen books and the reality that most agents and publishers are still reluctant to take them despite calls from librarians, teachers and parents for these books. At the end of the call she did also offer to read the full manuscript.

 

Nightingale Academy is still out on sub to various agents, (including Deirdre), but winning the Slush Pile challenge was a welcome and much-needed boost in the midst of the painful and time-consuming submission process.

 

Huge thanks to Deirdre for your kind, encouraging words and your time, and to Elaine and the Words and Pictures team for all your hard work running the Slush Pile Challenge. I would encourage everyone to take advantage of the fantastic opportunity that this challenge offers…who knows, you might just win!"

 

 

A special thanks to Deirdre Power, Assistant Agent to Caroline Walsh of David Higham Associates for setting the competition, judging it and providing such valuable feedback to Rebecca.

 

 Photo: Rebecca Rouillard

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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 handle is: @elaineccline