The Workshop provides much more than one-on-one professional mentoring for aspiring authors. Yes, participants get four successful industry professionals working with them to showcase the uniqueness of their pitch and to establish the puzzle pieces of story question, voice, character, setting, theme, plot, and pace to make those all-important initial pages irresistible. But because the comments and revisions are visible to the public, the workshop participants also learn from the suggestions made to the other participants as well as from those made to them directly.
Best of all? These same learning opportunities are open to EVERY aspiring author. They're a hands-on master class in writing and revision and a fabulous chance to see how the editorial process works and how professionals and readers read.
Use the links below and read the comments and transformations on each manuscript in the October 2017 workshop to see what worked, what didn't work, and why. Additional workshops are also available below and in the sidebar.
The November 2017 Workshop opens for submissions at NOON on 11/4/17 with literary agent Alec Shane of The Writer's House and noted YA Author Robin Constantine. See here for details!
Guest Mentors
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Assigned Permanent Mentors
The mentors will be updated once assigned to each participant.
Learn more about our permanent workshop mentors here.
Holly Bodger is the author of 5 to 1 (Knopf, May 2015). She was a finalist in the YA category of the 2013 RWA Golden Heart and has been the logline guru for Miss Snark’s First Victim for several years. She owns too many hats, eats too much cheese and spends too much time complaining about the Canadian weather. She is represented by Lauren MacLeod of The Strothman Agency.
Martina Boone, the workshop founder, loves reading and writing romantic books set in magical places for adults and young adults. She is the award-winning author of COMPULSION and the Southern Gothic HEIRS OF WATSON ISLAND trilogy for young adult readers from Simon and Schuster/Simon Pulse, and the Celtic Legends Collection for adult readers, including LAKE OF DESTINY and BELL OF ETERNITY. She is also the principal blogger at our sister site, AdventuresinYAPublishing.com, a three-time Writer's Digest 101 Best Websites for Writers site, and the founder of YASeriesInsiders.com.
Heather Cashman has a Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry, but the lab reports always lacked the fantastical element Heather's imagination demands. Hypotheses turned into taglines and novels that range from Epic Fantasy to Contemporary Speculative Fiction. Agent Intern. Assistant to Brenda Drake and all things #PitchWars #PitMad #PitchMadness. Member, SCBWI.
Melanie Conklin is a writer, reader, and all-around lover of words and those who create them. Her debut novel for middle grade readers, COUNTING THYME, was published by Putnam & Sons in April, 2016. She lives in South Orange, New Jersey with her husband and two small maniacs.
Pintip Dunn is a New York Times bestselling author of YA fiction. Her first novel, FORGET TOMORROW, won the RWA RITA® award for Best First Book. In addition to the FORGET TOMORROW series, her other books include THE DARKEST LIE and GIRL ON THE VERGE. The paperback of her novel REMEMBER YESTERDAY released September 5th. Her next novel, SEIZE TODAY (Forget Tomorrow, #3) released October 3rd, 2017.
S. D. Grimm’s first love in writing is young adult fantasy and science fiction. She is represented by Julie Gwinn of the Seymour Agency and author of SCARLET MOON and the forthcoming SUMMONER. She currently has four books under contract, including the remainder of her YA fantasy series Children of the Blood Moon. When she’s not writing or editing, Sarah enjoys reading (of course!), practicing kickboxing and Brazilian jiu jitsu, training dogs, and binge-watching shows with great characters. Her office is anywhere she can curl up with her laptop and at least one large-sized dog.
Sarah Glenn Marsh writes young adult novels and children’s picture books. An avid fantasy reader from the day her dad handed her a copy of The Hobbit and promised it would change her life, she’s been making up words and worlds ever since. When she’s not writing, she’s most often engaged in pursuits of the nerd variety, from video games to tabletop adventures and dungeon crawls. She lives in Richmond, Virginia with her husband and four rescued greyhounds. FEAR THE DROWNING DEEP, her debut YA from Sky Pony, is now available. Her upcoming releases include ANNA STRONG (Abrams Kids) and REIGN OF THE FALLEN (Razorbill), out in 2018.
Lisa Maxwell is the New York Tim bestselling author of SWEET UNREST, GATHERING DEEP, UNHOOKED, and THE LAST MAGICIAN. When she's not writing books, she's an English professor at a local college. She lives near DC with her very patient husband and two not-so patient boys.
Stephanie Scott writes Young Adult for teens and those young in spirit. Her debut ALTERATIONS is set for release by Bloomsbury Spark. Her writing is also featured in WELCOME HOME, a YA anthology focused on adoption themed stories. Stephanie is an active member of Romance Writers of America and its online YA chapter YARWA, and a current writing mentor in online pitch contests. She enjoys dance fitness and cat memes, and Pinterest is driving her broke. One current life goal is to cosplay Hoth Leia from The Empire Strikes Back. Born and raised in Kalamazoo where there are no zoos, she’s a Midwest girl at heart. She now lives outside of Chicago with her tech-of-all-trades husband.
Wendy Spinale is the author of EVERLAND and UMBERLAND, both from Scholastic. She's a published professional journalist with the AOL/Patch Media’s Pleasanton Patch and an active member of both the California Writers’ Club and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. A former Disneyland Cast Member, she is familiar with the world of "make believe."
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Workshop Entries
The Believable Mona O'Naughton by Sam Everett
Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy Fantasy
Mentors: Amy Fellner Dominy, Heather Cashman, Melanie Conklin
Original Submission with Comments
First Revision with Comments
Final Revision with Comments
Agent's Comments
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Mentors: Amy Fellner Dominy, Holly Bodger, Sarah Grimm
Original Submission with Comments
First Revision with Comments
Final Revision with Comments
Agent's Comments
The Princess of Darkness by Audrianna Hoover
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Mentors: Amy Fellner Dominy, Martina Boone, Lisa Maxwell
Original Submission with Comments
First Revision with Comments
Final Revision with Comments
Agent Comments
Queen's Rook by Amy McGuire
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Mentors: Amy Fellner Dominy, Pintip Dunn, Wendy Spinale
Original Submission with Comments
First Revision with Comments
Final Revision with Comments
Agent's Comments
The Wayfarer's Chains by Latrice Willis
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Mentors: Amy Fellner Dominy, Sarah Glenn Marsh, Stephanie Scott
Original Submission with Comments
First Revision with Comments
Final Revision with Comments
Agent Comments
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Previous Workshops
- September 2017 Workshop with Lit Agent Lauren Spieller and Author/Editor Kate Brauning
- July 2017 Workshop with Lit Agent Gabrielle Piraino and Author Laura Williams McCaffrey
- June 2017 Workshop with Lit Agent Connor Eck and Author Becky Wallace
- May 2017 Workshop with Lit Agent Hillary Jacobson and Author Kit Allow
- April 2017 Workshop with Lit Agent Justin Wells and Author Jennifer Longo
- March 2017 Workshop with Lit Agent Wendi Gu and Author Catrina Burgess
- February 2017 Workshop with Lit Agent Kristy Hunter and Author Kelly Barson
- January 2017 Workshop with Lit Agent Lauren Spieller and Author Shea Berkley
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