Delacorte Yearling Contest

They do, mbroadway, yes. So if anyone has a manuscript that they didn't get the chance to send to this contest and fits the new contest's requirements (suitable for readers ages 12 to 18), enter it in the "Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers" here. (It's the second contest listed.)

Good luck to you too, Miggle!

I got my letter today . This was the first time I have submitted any manuscript to anyone, so I am pleased that I made it this far into the contest judging. (I'm assuming the later the rejection letter comes the longer I made it through eliminations. I don't know if that's right or wrong.) I can see some places to improve it and prep it for submitting to some other houses. Good luck to those left in the running!

I went to their site and took a look at there 'previous winning titles and authors'. I noticed in some years there was no prizewinner. Hmm, I'm amazed. I guess they just didn't like anything they got that year.

Sorry about the RL, miggle.

I'm still waiting. Every trip to the mailbox is an exercise in steeling myself for the worst.

There's two of us left out of 24 on the Blueboards.
http://www.verlakay.com/boards/index.php?topic=35684.300

Hopeful...

I'm still waiting too. Surely they wouldn't make us wait so long and then not choose a winner, right? I mean, if they weren't going to pick a winner this year, wouldn't they have announced that earlier? I try not to think about it too much, but it was hard enough to wait until Oct 31...

Got my letter today... Hope it's one of you!

Still waiting and dying slowly every day! I was fine until October 30th but since then everyday has me jumping at the phone and afraid to check the mail! lol
So many panicky scenarios play out in my head that they never got it, it's lost, misplaced, etc.

And to top it off my horoscope says that on the 15th I'm supposed to hear good news about my work involving children. AAAAAAAAHAAHAHAHAAAAH!

I'm getting really excited for you, PenguinScribe! I'm routing for you.

Thanks, GirlwiththeBraids. I'm dying ovah here waiting. Still panicking about it being lost, misplaced or never arrived! Seriously haven't slept much and trying to remember to Breathe (it's out then in, right...lol)

I feel so idiotic taking myself so seriously and losing my mind over this...lol

Has anyone heard anything? Just called a left a message at Delacorte for Rebecca to ask where and when to get information on who/what/how/where/why (oh god why) LOL Going bonkers, bananas and bizarro....

lalalalalalalalalala la!

Penguinscribe said:

Has anyone heard anything? Just called a left a message at Delacorte for Rebecca to ask where and when to get information on who/what/how/where/why (oh god why) LOL Going bonkers, bananas and bizarro....

lalalalalalalalalala la!

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I empathize, penguinscribe. I'm still waiting too. I hope nothing's gotten lost somewhere. I'd sure hate to call and find out they sent my RL back in July. Or worse yet, can't seem to find my entry.

Hope Rebecca can shed some light for us.
Unlike

We are two panicky Penguins! Hopefully, she will call back and will have some information. I keep thinking they never got it, or it's lost or what-have-you...I'm sure you can relate!

Personally, I never expected to place in the contest. I thought it would be a good way to get read at DelaCorte and Random House and that the book would find placement there after the contest was over.

Penguinscribe said:

We are two panicky Penguins! Hopefully, she will call back and will have some information. I keep thinking they never got it, or it's lost or what-have-you...I'm sure you can relate!

Personally, I never expected to place in the contest. I thought it would be a good way to get read at DelaCorte and Random House and that the book would find placement there after the contest was over.

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I sent mine certified with tracking, so I know it got there. What happened after is a big mystery. Just heard of someone else who sent theirs and called in Nov and was told by Delacorte they had no record of it.

JUST POSTED ON THE DELACORTE SITE:

NO PRIZE WINNER FOR 2009!

http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/writingcontests/

Plus, they're discontinuing the Yearling contest!

What a huge disappointment!

There was a posting today: NO WINNER and the contest will not be held again in future years.

http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/writingcontests/#middlegrade

ETA: Pengwinz, you beat me to it!

My guess is that the contest was just too time-consuming for staff.

Thank you both for posting the results. 'What a huge disappoinment' even feels like a grand understatement! Good luck with your future projects and I hope you all have a great year.

Man, that's a bummer! Good luck with your manuscript, though, PenguinScribe. I still think you can get it published!

Hey GirlwiththeBraids, I love your positive vibe. I've wrapped up all my 'disappoinment' with the DelaCorte Contest and pushed it into a positive direction. I've already fired off a few queries and am using the 'emotional aspect' of losing/not hearing/whathaveyou to write the truest most heartfelt letters yet. I'm excitied and charged up about finding a Literary Agent and think it's now the best way to go about finding my little penguin book her place in the universe.

I wish everyone a great New Year. I'm gonna have one and it's gonna be all my fault! lol

I think its a good call to end the contest, especially if they continue to not find what they were looking for...

Do you think they even read them? I want to believe they did. I can't decide if I'm happy they didn't pick a winner, because then I didn't lose to anyone or whether it's worse because it means that it wasn't like they liked mine but had other ones they liked better, but rather they thought we were all crap...

I would like some closure of some sort. Either receive a rejection letter or be told in a statement on the website that there were too many entries, or what have you. It's frustrating to not know what happened with your specific entry and to not know if it was read, considered or even there.

Basically what they were doing was opening up a brief widow of accepting non-agented submissions. It wasn't really a contest. They were just seeing if there were any books out there that would fit their publishing house. I'm sure they read them as much as they read any submissions (which is, they read it until they realized it wasn't for them).

abctriplets said:

Basically what they were doing was opening up a brief widow of accepting non-agented submissions. It wasn't really a contest. They were just seeing if there were any books out there that would fit their publishing house. I'm sure they read them as much as they read any submissions (which is, they read it until they realized it wasn't for them).

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While I've heard that they do pull entries they're interested in publishing separately from the contests, I'm not so sure they hold the contest for this purpose. A publisher as big and reputable as RH will have more than enough agented submissions to meet their needs, and the overall quality will be much higher than those subbed through the contest (which, face it, is little different than the slush).

Where I think they've failed is in inadequately defining what they're looking for. By not doing so, they've opened themselves up to practically everything under the sun. In this economy, they just wouldn't have the resources to evaluate entries as in years past. It's unfortunate that they're discontinuing it at a time when MG and tween books seem to be garnering more interest.

As with penguinscribe, I too would like closure on my entry. It doesn't change my plan going forward if they lost it (same as a rejection), but would be good to know if they're thinking about taking it on after the new year.

Well, got my RL today. "Dear Writer, Thank you for participating... We are sorry to tell you... (signed) The Editors."

Interestingly, instead of my MS title page, they sent back my cover letter with an intriguing handwritten notation on it: "Hold SE 11/24," which I can only interpret as there was some interest. I'm guessing SE is senior editor (!) Stephanie Elliott, so this makes me feel pretty good, especially given the timing of the RL. I found an interview on Stephanie here, where she talks about about the acquisition process and her thoughts on MG vs YA (this might help clarify why a lot of the MG entries may not have been a fit).

Now if I can just parlay this newfound excitement (whether deserved or not) into getting an agent.

Thanks to everyone who entered, and good luck to us all. Penguinscribe, let us know what happens with yours.

That's really cool, Pengwinz! The cover letter I sent them only came back with a grease stain. (I don't know if I should feel honored that they at least read my cover letter or if I should be disgusted they didn't care about it that much that they ate over it.)