Books for Darfur! And A Competition for new (American) YA writers

Today, I got this request. It seems like a very good deal and support for a good cause. The bad news is that you have to live in the US to enter, but with luck there are some US folk reading this, so I thought I'd put it up on my blog anyway. I work with a lot of African students, including plenty of Sudanese, and knowing what they've been through, I'd like to cheer this cause. Even if you don't win the competition, the anthology seems well worth buying. Just follow the link and decide for yourself.


Dear The Great Raven, 

Can you share this new Essay Contest for Aspiring Writers of YA/middle grade fiction with the readers of your blog?  Thanks if you can.  Please contact us if you have any questions.  Lorraine Kleinwaks, Book Wish Foundation, 571-281-3117.
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Win a literary agent or acclaimed author's feedback on your unpublished manuscript for young adult or middle grade readers.  This rare opportunity is being offered to the six winners of an essay contest recently announced by the literacy charity Book Wish Foundation.  See http://bookwish.org/contest for full details.

You could win a manuscript critique from:

• Laura Langlie, literary agent for Meg Cabot

• Nancy Gallt, literary agent for Jeanne DuPrau

• Brenda Bowen, literary agent and editor of Karen Hesse's Newbery Medal winner Out of the Dust

• Ann M. Martin, winner of the Newbery Honor for A Corner of the Universe

• Francisco X. Stork, winner of the Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award for The Last Summer of the Death Warriors

• Cynthia Voigt, winner of the Newbery Medal for Dicey's Song and the Newbery Honor for A Solitary Blue

All that separates you from this prize is a 500-word essay about a short story in Book Wish Foundation's new anthology,What You Wish For.  Essays are due Feb. 1, 2012 and winners will be announced around Mar. 1, 2012.  If you win, you will have six months to submit the first 50 pages of your manuscript for critique (which means you can enter the contest even if you haven't finished, or started, your manuscript).  You can even enter multiple times, with essays about more than one of the contest stories, for a chance to win up to six critiques.

If you dream of being a published author, this is an opportunity you should not miss.  To enter, follow the instructions athttp://bookwish.org/contest.

Good luck and best wishes,

Logan Kleinwaks
President, Book Wish Foundation

What You Wish For (ISBN 9780399254543, Putnam Juvenile, Sep. 15, 2011) is a collection of short stories and poems about wishes from 18 all-star writers: Meg Cabot, Jeanne DuPrau, Cornelia Funke, Nikki Giovanni, John Green, Karen Hesse, Ann M. Martin, Alexander McCall Smith, Marilyn Nelson, Naomi Shihab Nye, Joyce Carol Oates, Nate Powell, Sofia Quintero, Gary Soto, R.L. Stine, Francisco X. Stork, Cynthia Voigt, Jane Yolen.  With a Foreword by Mia Farrow.  Book Wish Foundation is donating 100% of its proceeds from the book to the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, to fund the development of libraries in Darfuri refugee camps in eastern Chad.