Resources for Young Writers
Books:
Tracey E. Dils. Young Author's Guide to Publishers. Ohio: Raspberry Publications, Inc., 1996. Contains information on writing, revising, and submitting. Includes book publishers, magazine publishers, and contests for young writers.
Kathy Henderson, The Young Writer's Guide to Getting Published. Cincinnati: Writer's Digest Books, 2001. Explores the publishing process, including practical information such as how to format a manuscript. Features profiles of editors and published young writers. Contains 100+ market and contest opportunities.
The New Moon Books Girls Editorial Board, New Moon: Writing. New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 2000. Includes fun writing-related activities, and profiles of authors and editors. Also lists publications that accept submissions from young writers.
Joe Rhatigan, In Print! 40 Cool Publishing Projects for Kids. New York: Lark Books, 2003. Includes ideas and instructions for innovative self publishing projects. Also contains information on the writing process, getting published, and kid-friendly markets.
William Strunk Jr., E. B. White, Roger Angell, The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition. Pearson Higher Education, 2000. Excellent reference book on grammar and writing style.
Web sites:
2:25 P.M. is a NYC-based student writing program. The web site contains a good resources section, including student publishing opportunities and possible warning signs of writing scams.
American Library Association: Excellent question and answer section about intellectual freedom and censorship. This site also includes fun facts, like a list of the top ten most reread books.
Bookjobs.com: This web site was created by the Association of American Publishers to help provide information to students who are interested in working in publishing. It contains a wealth of information, including company profiles, links to publishing study programs, a guide to which majors may fit best with which publishing departments, and a glossary of publishing terms. Free registration provides additional access to job and internship information.
ByLine Magazine: Monthly print magazine for writers. Each print issue contains student contests. Other contests are available online, along with writers' resource information.
Robin Friedman: Friedman is the author of How I Survived My Summer Vacation… And Lived to Write the Story and the picture book, The Silent Witness. Her web site includes a "For Writers" section, as well as numerous interviews with editors.
Girls' Life: Girls younger than eighteen can submit articles, poetry, and short fiction to: Website Editor, Girls' Life Magazine, 4517 Harford Road, Baltimore, MD 21214 or email submissions to webmaster@girlslife.com.
Dan Gutman: Children's author Dan Gutman offers advice in his Tips for Young Authors.
Kate Harper Designs: This web site contains information about a greeting card contest for kids that is used to select new quotes for their greeting card line. Writers must be 12 years old or younger. Site includes contest rules, some past winners, and ideas for generating new quotes.
Kelly Milner Halls: Halls has written several books, including Dinosaur Mummies: Beyond Bare-Bone Fossils, Albino Animals, and Dino-Trekking. Her web site features includes an extensive section on "Young Writer Resources."
Kid Magazine Writers: Web site for children's magazine writers. Includes a "Kids Write" section that features markets and other information for young writers.
Publishing Trends: This web site features articles about book publishing. Archives of past articles are also available.
Stone Soup: This magazine is published every two months, and has been in print for the last thirty years. Stories, poems, book reviews, and illustrations are contributed by writers and artists under the age of thirteen. Guidelines, as well as highlights from past issues, are available online.
Teen Ink is "a monthly print magazine, website, and a book series all written by teens for teens." They accept submissions of less than 2500 words from writers 13 to 19 years old.
Teen Voices: Quarterly magazine "written by, for and about teenage and young adult women." Accepts submissions from writers and artists under eighteen. A list of suggested topics is available online.
Writer Beware: This web site, provided by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, contains valuable information for writers of all genres about avoiding common writing scams.
Writer's Digest: Writer's Digest holds monthly contests for kids under thirteen. There are no fees for these short contest entries. Prizes include gift certificates and books about writing. More details are available at the web site.
Writing-World.com: Features a searchable contest database. Contests for young writers can be found by searching on the category "Youth" in the "Contests" section. An article about checking the legitimacy of contests is included at www.writing-world.com/rights/contests.shtml.
The Young Naturalists Award, sponsored by the American Museum of Natural History, is an annual "research-based essay contest for students in grades 7-12 to promote participation and communication in science." For other academic competitions, visit Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth .
Young Playwrights, Inc.: YPI runs two playwriting contests for writers 18 years old or younger. One is a national contest and the other is for NYC students.
The Young Writer's Club
accepts stories, poems, film reviews, book reviews, and other types of writing. They generally publish all submissions. The site contains topics and activities to get writers started.
Young Writers' Clubhouse contains resources such as frequently asked questions about writing, a list of keys to writing success, and inspirational information about other young writers.
© Copyright 2005 - 2007 Yvonne Ventresca and some excerpts from her book, Publishing, by Lucent Books.
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