Open Coop
Innovative and successful UK children's publisher Chicken House has announced an open submission day:
FOR ONE DAY ONLY THE COOP WILL BE OPEN FOR ALL WRITERS WITH A COMPLETED NOVEL FOR CHILDREN AGED 8-12.
Got the date for our one day amnesty scribbled in your diary? Good!
Now, in response to some of your queries by email and Twitter, here is a little more info to help you make the most of the opportunity:
WHAT DO I SUBMIT AND HOW?
We are looking for novels aimed at children aged between 8-12 years. Send us five chapters of your completed novel (they don't have to be the first five), plus your pitch. Send your chapters and pitch as attachments via email to opencoop@doublecluck.com.
WHAT IS A PITCH?
Your pitch should partly explain what the book is about and partly explain why you think your book would appeal to children. It's your chance to tell us what your idea is and to sell it to us. You can include a line or two about yourself too, if you like.
HOW LONG IS A NOVEL?
As a rough guide, most of the novels we publish are somewhere between 30,000 and 90,000 words in length. We do not publish poetry, short stories or collections of short stories.
DO I HAVE TO LIVE IN THE UK TO SUBMIT MY WORK?
Submissions from overseas are absolutely welcome. Submissions must have been written in English in the first instance. If you are submitting from overseas, do take care to submit your work between 00.01am and 12.00Midnight GMT on the 25th January.
HOW STRICT IS THIS ONE DAY THING?
Your email and attachments must arrive in our inbox between 00.01am and 12.00midnight (GMT) on Saturday 25th January 2014. Submissions received before or after this time period will not be considered.
MD Barry Cunningham said: "Although we already run the Times competition [an annual competition to find an unpublished children's writer to be signed up by Chicken House], everyone is a bit gloomy in January so I thought wouldn't it be fun to open submissions to everyone."
Chicken House is also looking for authors who might be scared of entering the annual Times competition, he added.
"We went for that age range because there is so much teen publishing about I'm always worried we are neglecting the heartland of children's books," said Cunningham.
To enter opencoop@doublecluck.com.
