In my Writing 4 Children column in the national writing magazine Writers’ Forum this month #212 Jun 2019, I discover more about the unique biennial competition for children’s book writers to get their manuscripts in front of agents and publishers.
Undiscovered Voices is run by volunteers from the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and sponsored by fiction book packager Working Partners. The competition is open for submissions on the 1st June 2019. The winners will be included in the 7th anthology out in 2020. The anthology will be sent to every agent and publishers in the world of children’s books in the UK and US. It is also available as a free download from www.undiscoveredvoices.com.
The feature contains excellent advice and tips for children’s authors who are considering entering the competition from each of the UK volunteer organisers: Catherine Coe, Jenny Glencross, Benjamin Scott, Simon James Green, Rosie Best and Sara Grant.
“Undiscovered Voices is not just a competition, but a supportive and friendly community. The UV team are aware it feels like an intimidating process, but want people to be reassured that the publishing industry is essentially just full of people who love books and who want nothing more than to discover new writers. Everyone is rooting for you to be successful.” UV team
The judges for the 2020 anthology are:
- Helen Boyle, Literary Agent, Pickled Ink
- Aimée Felone, Co-founder of Knights Of
- Annalie Grainger, Senior Commissioning Editor, Walker Books
- Stephanie King, Commissioning Fiction Editor, Usborne Publishing
- Polly Nolan, Literary Agent, Greenhouse Agency
- Alice Sutherland-Hawes, Children’s Agent, Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency
- Clare Wallace, Literary Agent, Darley Anderson Children’s Book Agency
This is such an excellent opportunity for unagented and unpublished children’s authors. Don’t miss it.
Much To Do About Writing 