Tag: Authors

UV2020 Honorary Chair, Candy Gourlay, speaks!

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Undiscovered Voices is delighted that the amazing Candy Gourlay agreed to be our honorary chair for UV2020. She recorded this heartfelt and uplifting video to celebrate the success of this year’s finalists.

Thank you so much Candy for taking the time to make such a wonderful tribute.

We’re excited as this year’s finalists take the next step in their writing careers. We’ll be posting updates as we hear from them. For now, we want to congratulate them once again.

  • Annaliese Avery – The Invention of Night
  • Yvonne Banham – Tulip Finola Barnacle
  • Sharon Boyle – Pupil K
  • Anna Brooke – Sean & The Franken-Bogey
  • Dr Adam Connors – The Genius Machine
  • Clare Harlow – The Shape Of A Girl
  • Urara Hiroeh – The Air We Cannot Breathe
  • Helen MacKenzie – Hagstone
  • Michael Mann – Ghostcloud
  • Angela Murray – The Sea Lord’s Curse
  • Laura Warminger – The Great Prime Minister Swap
  • Harriet Worrell – The Good Child Serum

You can learn all about our finalists here: http://www.undiscoveredvoices.com/?page_id=1106

UV2020 finalists announced!

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Huge congratulations to the twelve incredibly talented writers selected for UV2020 from nearly 250 submissions from SCBWI members in the British Isles and Europe.

The UV2020 finalists

  • Annaliese Avery
  • Yvonne Banham
  • Sharon Boyle
  • Anna Brooke
  • Dr Adam Connors
  • Clare Harlow
  • Urara Hiroeh
  • Helen MacKenzie
  • Michael Mann
  • Angela Murray
  • Laura Warminger
  • Harriet Worrell

Find out more about the selected writers here.

Download your free copy of UV2020 here.

The Undiscovered Voices team endeavours to create an anthology that showcases the variety of writing available from SCBWI members in the British Isles and the Europe. The goal of the anthology is not only to help the selected authors to find agents and editors, but also to promote the quality of work abounding in SCBWI in Europe.

The stories were considered anonymously and selected by a distinguished panel of industry experts:

  • Helen Boyle, Literary and Illustration Agent at Pickled Ink
  • Annalie Grainger, Senior Commissioning Editor at Walker Books
  • Stephanie King, Commissioning Fiction Editor at Usborne Publishing
  • Polly Nolan, Literary Agent at Greenhouse Literary Agency
  • Alice Sutherland-Hawes, Children’s Agent at Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency
  • Clare Wallace, Literary Agent at Darley Anderson Children’s Book Agency

UV2020 Longlist and Honorary Chair Announcement

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We are thrilled to share the longlist of writers who will be considered for the Undiscovered Voices 2020 anthology. We also are pleased to announce that Undiscovered Voices alumni, dedicated SCBWI volunteer and award-winning author Candy Gourlay will serve as the honorary chair for Undiscovered Voices 2020. 

UV2020 Longlist

These talented writers were selected from nearly 250 submissions from SCBWI members in the British Isles and Europe.

  • Angela Murray
  • Abi Moore
  • Dr Adam Connors
  • Aliss Langridge
  • Anna Brooke
  • Annaliese Avery
  • Annie Edge
  • Attiya Khan
  • Becky Danks
  • Cara Lovelock
  • Carry de la Harpe
  • Clare Harlow
  • Harriet Worrell
  • Helen MacKenzie
  • Jane Dudeney
  • Jenny Ireland
  • Jon Tilley
  • Laura Warminger
  • Lucy Marsden
  • Lucy O’Hair
  • Michael Mann
  • Sarah Fulton
  • Sharon Boyle
  • Stuart White
  • Urara Hiroeh
  • Yvonne Banham
  • Zoe Jane Cookson

The twelve novel extracts that will be featured in the Undiscovered Voices 2020 anthology will be announced in mid-January.

The Undiscovered Voices team endeavours to create an anthology that showcases the variety of writing available from SCBWI members in the British Isles and the Europe. The goal of the anthology is not only to help the selected authors to find agents and editors, but also to promote the quality of work abounding in SCBWI in Europe.

The stories were considered anonymously and selected by a distinguished panel of industry experts:

  • Helen Boyle, Literary and Illustration Agent at Pickled Ink
  • Annalie Grainger, Senior Commissioning Editor at Walker Books
  • Stephanie King, Commissioning Fiction Editor at Usborne Publishing
  • Polly Nolan, Literary Agent at Greenhouse Literary Agency
  • Alice Sutherland-Hawes, Children’s Agent at Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency
  • Clare Wallace, Literary Agent at Darley Anderson Children’s Book Agency

More about Candy Gourlay

Candy Gourlay was born in the Philippines, grew up under a dictatorship and met her husband during a revolution. Her novel Bone Talk was recently shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal and the Costa Prize – it is set in the moment when headhunting tribes in the Philippines come face to face with American invaders. Her picture book, Is It a Mermaid, illustrated by Francesca Chessa, was nominated for the Kate Greenaway Medal. Her books have been shortlisted for the Branford Boase, Waterstones, Blue Peter and Guardian Children’s Book Prize. Both her novels Shine and Tall Story have won SCBWI’s Crystal Kite Award. Her fingerprints are all over SCBWI’s online presence, from its jurassic list-serve days to its current experiments in livestreaming events. She is currently devising events and opportunities for published members as co-organiser of SCBWI’s Pulse strand. She lives in London with her family.

Thanks to Candy for championing the anthology and congratulations to the talented longlisted writers!

 

All the best,

The Undiscovered Voices Team

UV2020 judging panel reveals their top tips!

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Meet this year’s stellar judging panel and discover their top tips for any writer thinking of entering this year’s Undiscovered Voices!

Our amazing judging panel are:

  • Helen Boyle, Literary and Illustration Agent at Pickled Ink
  • Aimée Felone, Co-founder of Knights Of
  • Annalie Grainger, Senior Commissioning Editor at Walker Books
  • Stephanie King, Commissioning Fiction Editor at Usborne Publishing
  • Polly Nolan, Literary Agent at Greenhouse Literary Agency
  • Alice Sutherland-Hawes, Children’s Agent at Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency
  • Clare Wallace, Literary Agent at Darley Anderson Children’s Book Agency

We are open for submissions from 1st June 2019 until 15th July 2019. During this period there will be a link on this website to complete the submission process.

After the 15th July, you will no longer be able to enter the contest.

Undiscovered Voices is run thanks to the kind support of Working Partners Ltd.

Getting Ready for UV2020 – Guest Blog with Sarah Merrett

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In our first guest blog by past finalists, Sarah Merrett (UV2018), whose extract was called The Darlington Miracles, talks about how being short-listed opened doors for her and shares tips to get your extract in shape before you’re ready to submit. 

Preparing your UV submission: things to ask yourself

So, you’re thinking of entering Undiscovered Voices 2020. Should you go for it? Most definitely. It was the best decision I ever made for my writing career. Becoming a winning finalist in 2018 was the stuff of dreams. It really opened doors for me. I had agents asking to see my book without even sending out a query. Lots of agents. I was lucky enough to be offered representation from my dream agency before the UV launch party had even started. I still pinch myself sometimes.

I hope that’s tempted you into giving this a go. After all, you have nothing to lose. So what now? How do you prepare your submission to make it the best it can possibly be? Here are a few questions you might like to ask yourself:

Your first line

  • Is your first line attention grabbing enough? Does it entice your reader by posing a question such as why, what or how?
  • Analyse the opening lines of some successful children’s books. Why are they strong? How do they lure you in?

Your opening scene

  • Could your opening scene be improved by adding more drama, excitement or mystery?
  • Have you shown the unique and interesting aspect of your main character?
  • What’s at stake for the main character if they don’t achieve their goal?
  • Have you portrayed strong emotions?

Your first chapter

  • By the end of chapter one, what has happened to lure your reader into the next chapter?
  • Have you ended with a strong enough hook or cliffhanger?

Your extract

  • Have enough story events happened in your extract?
  • Are things moving along quickly enough?
  • Where have you ended your extract? Is this stopping point the best place in order to leave your reader wanting more?

Your pitch

  • What makes your story different to others in the same genre?
  • You don’t need to summarise the entire plot of your book. Give a sense of the story and its genre, what’s special about it, and give an intriguing hook

And finally

  • Edit, edit, and edit again
  • Put your story away for as long as you can bear, then read it with fresh eyes. Weak areas should become much clearer after a break
  • Proofread, and if possible, get someone else to proofread too
  • Submit and give yourself a well-earned treat
  • Try not to stew over the outcome. Why not start your next story? It’s a great way to set aside your emotions for your competition entry

Very best of luck!

Sarah Merrett

UV2018 Finalists Announced!

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SCBWI British Isles is proud to announce the promising, unpublished writers and illustrators who have been selected from a record number of submissions to be included in Undiscovered Voices 2018.

SCBWI congratulates the following authors and illustrators whose work will be featured in the anthology:

  • Annie Walmsley – Writer
  • Dale Hannah – Writer
  • David Hall – Writer
  • Deborah Sheehy – Illustrator
  • Emily Jones- Illustrator
  • Emma Mason – Writer
  • Hannah Mosley – Illustrator
  • Jacob Turner – Illustrator
  • James Crosland-Mills – Illustrator
  • Janet Catherine Gibson Pickering – Illustrator
  • Kate Read – Illustrator
  • Kathryn Kettle – Writer
  • Katie Hayoz – Writer
  • Laure Allain – Illustrator
  • Matthew Olson-Roy – Writer
  • Monika Baum – Illustrator
  • Nicola Penfold – Writer
  • Peta Freestone – Writer
  • Rachel Lovatt – Illustrator
  • Sally Walker – Illustrator
  • Sandy Horsley – Illustrator
  • Sarah Merrett – Writer
  • Serena Patel – Writer

The Undiscovered Voices anthology is available to download for free from www.undiscoveredvoices.com. A printed copy of the anthology also will be available to purchase from Lulu: http://www.lulu.com/shop/scbwi/undiscovered-voices-2018/paperback/product-23456467.html

The stories and illustrations were submitted anonymously and selected by a distinguished panel of industry experts:

UV 2018’s Judges:

  • Chrissie Boehm, Artful Doodlers
  • Claire Cartey, Holroyde Cartey
  • Erzsi Deak, Hen & Ink Literary Studio
  • Lauren Fortune, Scholastic
  • Clelia Gore, Martin Literary Management
  • Andrea Kearney, Bloomsbury Publishing
  • Sarah Leonard, Orchard Books
  • Joanna Moult, Skylark Literary Agency
  • Polly Nolan, The Greenhouse Literary Agency
  • Gillie Russell, Aitken Alexander Associates
  • Hannah Sheppard, DHH Literary Agency
  • Kirsty Stansfield, Nosy Crow
  • Will Steele, Usborne Books
  • Nghiem Ta, Walker Books

Because the anthology is also designed to be a learning tool for up-and-coming children’s writers and artists, quotes from the judges – discussing the merits of each piece – are included at the end of each illustration and extract.

Working Partners Ltd, a London-based company that creates series fiction for children and teens, provided the financial support that made this anthology possible.

Congratulations to this year’s Undiscovered Voices writers and illustrators!

Undiscovered Voices Writers and Illustrators Longlist Announced 

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We are pleased to announce the longlist of writers and illustrators who will be considered for the Undiscovered Voices 2018 anthology. These talented writers and illustrators were selected from a record-breaking number of submissions from SCBWI members in Europe. 

  • Alice Stallard
  • Andrea Fautley
  • Annette Edge
  • Annie Walmsley
  • Ashley Taylor
  • Becky Hamilton
  • Catherine Lindow
  • Charlotte Reid
  • Claire Rollinson
  • Dale Hannah
  • Daniel Greaves
  • David Hall
  • Deborah Sheehy
  • Elizabeth Joseph-Brahy
  • Emily Jones
  • Emma Mason
  • Esther Harvey
  • Georgina Kirk
  • Glen Deakin
  • Hannah Mosley
  • Hazel Murrell
  • Helen Simmons
  • Imogen Foxell
  • Jacob Turner
  • James Crosland-Mills
  • Janet Catherine Gibson Pickering
  • Jennifer Hicks
  • Jessica Chuan Ping Lai
  • Joe Callanan
  • Julia Tuffs
  • Kate Read
  • Kathryn Kettle
  • Katie Hayoz
  • Laure Allain
  • Lily Grigorova
  • Lorraine Cooke
  • Louisa Glancy
  • Matthew Olson-Roy
  • Mireille Lachausse
  • Monika Baum
  • Morgan Jackson
  • Natasha Ellis
  • Nicola Penfold
  • Peta Freestone
  • Rachel Lovatt
  • Sally Walker
  • Sandy Horsley
  • Sarah Merrett
  • Serena Patel
  • Stephen Burgess
  • Susan Harris
  • Suzanne Dore
  • Tera Pruitt
  • Wendy Storer
  • Zoe Saunders

The shortlist of writers and illustrators to be featured in the Undiscovered Voices 2018 anthology will be selected from the list above and announced in early January. 

As ever, the quality of submissions was extremely high and the judges had a very difficult time deciding on a longlist.  

The Undiscovered Voices team endeavours to create an anthology that showcases the variety of writing and illustration available from SCBWI members in the British Isles and the European Union.  The goal of the anthology is not only to help the selected authors and illustrators to find agents and editors, but also to promote the quality of work abounding in SCBWI in Europe. 

The stories and illustrations were submitted anonymously and selected by a distinguished panel of industry experts: 

  • Chrissie Boehm, Artful Doodlers 
  • Claire Cartey, Holroyde Cartey 
  • Lauren Fortune, Scholastic  
  • Andrea Kearny, Bloomsbury Publishing 
  • Sarah Leonard, Orchard Books 
  • Joanna Moult, Skylark Literary Agency 
  • Polly Nolan, The Greenhouse Literary Agency  
  • Gillie Russell, Aitken Alexander Associates  
  • Hannah Sheppard, DHH Literary Agency 
  • Kirsty Stansfield, Nosy Crow 
  • Will Steele, Osborne Books 
  • Nghiem Ta, Walker Books

Congratulations to the talented Undiscovered Voices longlisted writers and illustrators! 

All the best, 

The Undiscovered Voices Team 

Rosie Best, Catherine Coe, Jenny Glencross, Sara Grant, Simon James Green, Patrick Miller, Anne-Marie Perks, Loretta Schauer, Benjamin Scott and Tioka Tokedira 

Undiscovered Voices 2018 – now open for submissions!

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SCBWI and sponsors Working Partners are delighted to announce that submissions for the sixth Undiscovered Voices competition are now open. Undiscovered Voices helps fresh, new voices in children’s literature find agents and publishers.

The Undiscovered Voices anthology will include twelve fiction extracts – from early readers up to young adult novels – and twelve black-and-white illustrations. The anthology will be published in February 2018 and sent free of charge to editors, art directors and agents whose focus is children’s literature. The book is produced with the financial support of Working Partners Ltd, a London-based company that creates series fiction.

Submissions will be accepted between 1st July and 15th August 2017 via an online submissions process. There is no submission fee, but only unagented and unpublished members of SCBWI living in the UK and Europe (writing in the English language) are eligible.

From the five previous anthologies, Undiscovered Voices featured authors and illustrators have received publishing contracts for more than 200 books. The authors have been nominated for and won an amazing array of literary prizes: including the Carnegie Medal, Waterstone’s Children’s Book Prize, Branford Boase Award, Blue Peter Award, the SCBWI Crystal Kite Award, and over 30 regional awards.

The following judges will select the extracts and illustrations to be included in the anthology:

  • Chrissie Boehm, Artful Doodlers
  • Claire Cartey, Holroyde Cartey
  • Lauren Fortune, Scholastic
  • Andrea Kearny, Bloomsbury Publishing
  • Sarah Leonard, Orchard Children’s Books
  • Joanna Moult, Skylark Literary Limited
  • Polly Nolan, The Greenhouse Literary Agency
  • Gillie Russell, Aitken Alexander Associates
  • Hannah Shepard, DHH Literary Agency
  • Kirsty Stansfield, Nosy Crow
  • Will Steele, Osborne Books
  • Nghiem Ta, Walker Books

Click here to enter your writing submission and here to enter your illustration.

Before You Click Submit, Part 3 – Eight Ways to Make Sure Your Submission Hits the Mark

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As we get closer to the opening of UV submissions, we’re posting tips to make sure your submission stands the best chance of making it into the anthology.

Eight Ways to Make Sure Your Submission Hits the Mark

Shine by Candy Gourlay

Award-winning author and one of the first UV finalists Candy Gourlay has kindly given us eight incredible and direct tips to make sure your submission is ready to wow our judges:

Tip 1: Intrigue starts with your first chapter. No explanations. Make your reader desperate to find out what happens next.

Tip 2: Voice. Everyone talks about looking for a voice. Voice only happens when your characters have come alive. How do you do that? Inhabit your character and build the plot from within.

Tip 3. Setting is context AND character, not information. Stop describing and start characterising. If your setting is alive, your reader will read on.

Tip 4. Cause and effect. If cause and effect is not happening then your chapter is static and your reader has probably died of boredom.

Tip 5. Don’t be anxious to make sure that your reader understands your story in the first three chapters. First chapters intrigue and lead your reader on. They are not there to explain. Trust the judges – they are reading a LOT of first chapters and I’ll bet a lot of them are explaining rather than exciting.

Tip 6. Select the eggs you’re going to offer in the basket. YOU DON’T HAVE TO PUT EVERYTHING INTO THE FIRST CHAPTER. You are more likely to engage a reader with a choice selection.

Tip 7. Make sure you identify WHO you’re writing for and that your sample is appropriate to your target readership. Oh, and here’s a guess … most people submitting will probably be writing YA. Ask yourself, is this the one that will help me stand out in the herd?

When you are editing down your chapter samples, don’t cut for word number, cut for MEANING and DRAMA.

Tip 8. When you are editing down your chapter samples, don’t cut for word number, cut for MEANING and DRAMA. I know so many people who edit down without realising that they are losing the deliciousness of their writing. This means you will have to be wise and practical about choosing what you winnow out of your text.

Check back soon for more top writing tips before you submit.

Candy Gourley was a finalist in UV2008. She has been a journalist, press photographer, web designer, short film maker, radio presenter (well, once) and fake American accent voice talent. She once helped overthrow a dictator (with several million other people). She has now forsworn revolutionary activity to become a children’s author. She is the award-winning author of Tall Story and Shine.  www.candygourlay.com

Getting Ready for UV2018 – Guest Blog with Jane Hardstaff

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In the third of a series of guest blog by past finalists, Jane Hardstaff, talks about the twisty-turny route to becoming a published author, and almost not entering Undiscovered Voices 2012!

When I was sixteen years old, I had a weekend job as a waitress in a hotel in the small market town where we lived. The hotel restaurant was the place you ate if you were old-school posh. It had a veneer of class (avocado vinaigrette, Dover sole and grouse in season), but underneath it was kind-of seedy with many unpleasant tasks for a waitress. It was my job to pick the flies out of the vinaigrette with a teaspoon. To descend to the creepy cold store, always worried I’d lock myself in. To clean up after the very hairy hotel dog. Every Friday and Saturday night, I’d arrive home stinking of grease and cigar smoke and I guess you could say this was a pretty uninspiring job. I wasn’t being mentored on some amazing internship. I was hiding from the sleazeball barman and developing an addiction to prawn cocktail.

At sixteen years old I had no particular ambition to be a writer. All I knew was I didn’t want to be a waitress. Fast forward a couple of decades. I’d travelled a twisty-turny route through several jobs, discovering along the way that the one thing that made me happy (and also weirdly unhappy) was writing.

If you are wondering (as I did) whether to enter Undiscovered Voices, then you probably should.

What has any of this got to do with Undiscovered Voices? I guess what I want to say is, it can take a long time to find your voice. And it can take just as long to pluck up the courage to get it out there. If you are wondering (as I did) whether to enter Undiscovered Voices, then you probably should. You are probably your own worst critic. Enter, because you have nothing to lose. And if you’re not longlisted, keep going. Write a better book. Write the book only you can write.

It may take half a lifetime to get there, but it will be worth it.

 

The Executioner's Daughter
The Executioner’s Daughter by Jane Hardstaff

Jane Hardstaff (UV 2012) is the author of The Executioner’s Daughter and River Daughter (published by Egmont UK and Lerner Books USA). Longlisted for the Branford Boase, winner of the Salisbury Schools Book Award and selected for USBBY Outstanding International Books List 2017.

 

Submissions for UV2018 will open on 1st July 2017 and will close 15th August 2017. Why not sign up here for a reminder when submissions open?