Millie van Grutten of
RCW Literary Agency set and judged the October 2024 Slush Pile Challenge.
Millie van Grutten
Millie’s challenge: “I’d like to set a
picture book challenge that can really appeal to the younger readers,
500 words or less. I’m looking for a bold and punchy text that does a lot with a little word count and that is funny. I’d love a book with a big character(s) at its heart, and I am always keen to see a bit of an interactive element in there too e.g.
a search-and find, what is…?, who is… ?”
Although Millie only asked to see the text for this challenge, she is open to illustrated texts and illustrator/authors.
We received 49 entries from members across the British Isles and Europe for this competition. In agreement with SCBWI, Millie read a random sample of 30 entries.
This is what Millie told us when announcing the results:
“Enormous thanks to everyone that submitted for the October slush pile – there was so much to enjoy in there and the submissions were strong.
My winner for this Slush Pile Challenge is
ONE LONELY STICK INSECT by
Jenny Moore. A search-and-find counting book that sees funny little stick insects increase in number every time you turn the page, but keep your eyes peeled as they aren’t always easy to spot when disguised in whacky and wonderful locations!
For me, this one hit the brief pretty perfectly – it had a brilliant interactive element, and I loved that the text really utilised the page turns to the text’s advantage. Each spread moved on seamlessly to the next so that the text really flowed, and the rhyme worked beautifully over each page.
I adored the variety of images and silliness of each scenario in which we found the increasing number of stick insects, I thought that an illustrator would have a super time playing around with this text, while a reader would have a total hoot trying to find the stick insects in more and more wonderfully silly scenarios. Ultimately this was a brilliant counting book for younger readers with a fun search-and-find element. A funny and accessible counting book that was really targeted for that younger age group and above all, it was a real pleasure to read out loud. Congratulations!
Thank you so much to all the other entries, it was a joy to see the breadth of stories and characters that writers had come up with and the humour that came across in so many of them. As we near the end of the year, it’s always lovely to read something that makes you laugh (or any time of year for that matter!).”
Congratulations to
Jenny Moore from all of us at
Words & Pictures.
Thank you to everyone who entered. Keep writing and we hope you will be encouraged to try your hand at appropriate competitions.
*Header image: Ell Rose and Tita Berredo
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Millie van Grutten works as an agent with a particular interest in illustrators and picture books. One of her earliest memories is reading Lauren Child’s Clarice Bean – she adored seeing Clarice Bean tucked up in the airing cupboard amongst the knickers and socks whilst reading her comics and escaping her wonderfully eccentric family.
Little did she know that one day she would have the enormous pleasure and privilege of working in the world of children’s book writing and illustration. Narrative in both text and illustration have always been important to her. Millie’s degree was in Classics and she loves the great stories of Virgil and Homer; to her there’s no better example of narrative than the ancients – packed with suspense, jammed with emotion and all within the perfect structure. It’s these sort of qualities she look for in both illustrations and texts – so not much to live up to then …
Millie relishes the opportunity to champion the work of illustrators and authors alike – and to fight for their space on the bestselling shelves.
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Elaine Cline has been a SCBWI member for over eight years and loves to write picture books, chapter books and middle-grade. She loves writing about food. She lives by the sea and has a dog. Elaine is a member of the
Words & Pictures editorial team, managing The Slush Pile Challenge for writers.
Connect with Elaine on
X/Twitter
Connect with Elaine on
Bluesky: @elaineccline.bsky.social
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Ell Rose is the Illustration Features Editor of Words & Pictures.
Contact them at illustrators@britishscbwi.org
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Tita Berredo is the Illustrator Coordinator of SCBWI British Isles and the Art Director of Words &
Pictures.
Contact her at: illuscoordinator@britishscbwi.org
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