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
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!
