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Announcing Our 2023 RYS Contest Winners


FIRST PLACE / FICTION PICTURE BOOKS

Kelly Kates - The Princess and the Crocodile

Above the Slush Submission - Agent Dan Cramer

Above the Slush Submission - Karen Kirkpatrick

One hour Consultation with Lynne Marie prior to submission to editors

PLUS One-half hour Consultation with Lynne Marie

Query Letter Critique

Mini Rate Your Story PB Membership from October - November 30, 2023

*Includes All Webinars and Recordings in our Member Resource Group

Book from Jude Mandell (Best Rhymer)


FIRST PLACE / NON-FICTION PICTURE BOOKS

Brittany Richman - Dreams Take Flight, Deaf Pilot Nellie Zabel Willhite

Above the Slush Submission - Agent Dan Cramer

Above the Slush Submission - Agent Karen Kirkpatrick

One hour Consultation with Lynne Marie prior to submission to editors

PLUS One-half hour Consultation with Lynne Marie

Query Letter Critique


FIRST PLACE / MG and YA NOVELS

Lyndsey Reeve - The Race for Excalibur

Above the Slush Submission - Agent Dan Cramer

First 10 Pages and Query Critique by Agent Karly Dizon / Fuse Literary

SECOND PLACE / FICTION PICTURE BOOKS

Mariana Rios - Martina’s Tooth Dilemma

Above the Slush Submission - Feather Flores / Atheneum

Above the Slush Submission - Helen Wu / Yeehoo Press

Dragon Swag from Helen Wu / Yeehoo Press


SECOND PLACE / NON-FICTION PICTURE BOOKS

Sharon Dalgleish - Saving Fluffy, the True Story of a Great White Shark

Above the Slush Submission - Agent Dan Cramer

Above the Slush - Helen Wu / Yeehoo Press


SECOND PLACE / MG AND YA NOVELS

Dana Edwards - The Start Over Plan

Consultation with MG/YA Author Linda Joy Singleton

First 5 Pages Critique with Stacey Ramey, Author

Above the Slush Submission - Michele McAvoy / The Little Press

THIRD PLACE / FICTION PICTURE BOOKS

Claire Freeland - Munro Mouse

Manuscript Critique from Jill Nadler, Author

Above the Slush - Helen Wu / Yeehoo Press


THIRD PLACE / NON-FICTION PICTURE BOOKS

Stacey Gustafson - Giant Boy

Choice of 2 Books (3 Choices) from Nancy Churnin

Above the Slush - Adam Blackman / Cardinal Rule Press


HONORABLE MENTIONS / FICTION PICTURE BOOKS

Janel Caverly - The Hole in Badger’s Heart

Book or Critique from Becky Scharnhorst, Author

Karen Kovach - Olivia and the Underwater Circus

Above the Slush with Michele McAvoy / The Little Press

Stacey Gustafson - Gumball, Therapy Dog Extraordinaire

Book or Critique from Erin Dealey, Author

Laura Sprtel - All the Sweeter

Above the Slush with Feeding Minds Press (Julia Recko)

Leslie Anne Hewson - Slug and Caterpillar

Above the Slush - Michele McAvoy / the Little Press

Judy Sobanski - Funny Bunny

Critique from Laura Fornier

Donna Marx - The Alphabet Rug Dilemma

Above the Slush - Adam Blackman / Cardinal Rule Press

Lisa Horn - Logan and Cyrus

Critique from Jill Dana


HONORABLE MENTIONS / NON-FICTION PICTURE BOOKS

Maria Kim - Family Ties

Above the Slush - Feather Flores / Atheneum

Above the Slush - Adam Blackman / Cardinal Rule Press

Judy Cooper - The Highwaymen

Above the Slush Submission - Feather Flores / Atheneum

I am Mozart, Too Book by Audrey Ades

Mona Pease - A White House Pardon by Rebecca Raccoon

Twice As Nice Critique from Lynne Marie and Heather Macht



If you were not a finalist, you should still be pleased at yourself for putting your work out there. Pat yourself on the back for having the courage to enter. Importantly, please utilize the feedback given to bring your story to the next level and thereby further yourself on your path to publication. If you are having a hard time navigating the feedback, please check out our services at www.rateyourstory.org for options. In addition, our Director, Lynne Marie is offering an initial reduced rate consultation to discuss your manuscript at a reduced rate of $25 (one per person). Please contact her directly at ThePictureBookMechanic@gmail.com if interested.


TO CLAIM YOUR PRIZE: Please e-mail RYS.CyberOffice@gmail.com with your prize designation in the subject line (for example: First Place Fiction Winner). In the body of the e-mail, please include:


Name

E-mail

Street Address

City, State, Zip

Telephone # (Required for Mailing Packages via USPS)


We will forward these prize claims to the appropriate parties to connect you with them. In some cases, the donors will e-mail directions back to us which we will forward to you. In other cases, they will contact you directly.


All Prizes must be claimed within thirty days of the date of this post (October 5th) and must be claimed according to the prize donor's wishes. Any requests made after November 5th (2023) will be deleted without a response. No exceptions, so please be diligent in claiming your prize.


In particular, any prizes from Lynne Marie / the Picture Book Mechanic (www.thepicturebookmechanic.com) must be claimed before November 30, 2023.


Feel free to grab the badges from this page and post them on your website or social media. We would appreciate at link back to www.rateyourstory.org/contest


Should you achieve success with your entry, contact us at RYS.CyberOffice@gmail.com

and share the details. We are happy to announce any news and continue to promote your titles via our social media.


If you missed our Building Blocks posts, feel free to mine the archives and continue to share any that resonate via social media. As always feel free to comment and support our mission and our donors.


NOTICE: Manuscripts were judged, and prizes awarded, by a Team of Judges considering a number of factors, including whether the guidelines were followed, whether the submission told a story, how well it told a story, the quality of the writing, the potential of the story and who we believed the prize would most benefit. If any prize or category was omitted, it was because we could not find a submission that we felt merited the distinction for one reason or another. We read the stories again and again until we came to a consensus on the winners. In the case of the additional prizes, we considered who would most benefit and/or what the editor or agent was looking for in submissions. All decisions are final.


Thank you everyone, for participating. And congratulations to the many winners. We wish you the best on your path to success!




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