Elephant Rock Books will kick off its second annual Helen Sheehan YA Book Prize.
The contest is open to YA authors with unpublished manuscripts. The prize includes $1000 and a contract with Elephant Rock Books. Judges include: Meghan Dietsche Goel; children’s and young adult book buyer at BookPeople in Austin,TX; Anne Rouyer, supervising young adult librarian at the Mulberry Street Branch of The New York Public Library; and Kelly Jensen, associate editor and community manager for Book Riot.
Here is more about what the judges are looking for from the site:
What we’re after: quality stories with heart, guts, and a clear voice. We’re especially interested in the quirky and the hopeful and the real. We are not particularly interested in genre fiction and prefer stand-alone novels, unless you’ve got the next Hunger Games. We seek writers who believe in the transformative power of a great story, so show us what you’ve got.