Children’s Novel Writing Contests
Delacorte & Milkweed Offer Prizes for First Novels
Delacorte Press and Delacorte Dell Yearling award book contracts and cash for new children's novelists; Milkweed Editions awards extra cash to a new Milkweed author.
Even for children’s writers, it’s hard to break into the big publishing houses. Inundated with submissions, publishers have turned to agents, contacts from writer’s conferences, and contests to screen out some of the wanna-be writers. Here are three contests to give new novelists an extra boost: the Delacorte Dell Yearling contest for middle grade novels; the Delacorte Press contest for young adult novels; and the Milkweed Prize for Children’s Literature, for middle grade novels.
None of the contests requires an entry fee, but all three reserve the right not to award the prize, and there have been several years where the quality of entries resulted in no winner. On the other hand, some years have both a regular winner and an honor award. The bar is set high, and studying past winners will show you what careful writing and editing can create, even the first time out.
Delacorte Dell Yearling (previously known as the Marguerite de Angeli Contest)
- Prize: Book contract, $1500 cash, $7500 advance on royalties.
- Open to US and Canadian writers who have not published a middle grade novel.
- Contemporary or historical setting for 9-12 year old readers.
- 96-160 typed, double-spaced pages.
- Postmarked between April 2, 2007 and June 30, 2007.
Previous Delacorte Dell Yearling winners:
- Prizefighter en Mi Casa, by e.E. Charlton-Trujillo
- Some Kind of Pride, by Maria Testa
- The Victory Garden, by Lee Kochenderfer (honor book)
- A Letter to Mrs. Roosevelt, by C. Coco de Young
Delacorte Press
- Prize: Book contract, $1500 cash, $7500 advance on royalties.
- Open to US and Canadian writers who have not published a young adult novel.
- Contemporary setting for 12-18 year old readers.
- 100-224 typed, double-spaced pages.
- Postmarked between October 2, 2007 and December 31, 2007.
Previous Delacorte Press winners:
- Skin Deep, by E.M. Crane
- Notes on a Near-Life Experience, by Olivia Birdsall
- Wings, by Julie Gonzalez
- Ostrich Eye, by Beth Cooley
Milkweed Prize for Children’s Literature
- Prize: $5,000 advance
- For 9-13 year old readers.
- Any setting or genre.
- Any manuscript submitted to Milkweed Editions is automatically entered in the contest.
Previous Milkweed winners:
- Trudy, by Jessica Lee Anderson
- Perfect, by Natasha Friend
- Parents Wanted, by George Harrar
- The $66 Summer, by John Armistead
Read, read, read, and practice, practice, practice. And when your manuscript is as perfect as can be, go to the Random House/Delacorte or Milkweed Prize websites for the complete contest requirements. Follow instructions exactly - when they say "100-224 pages," don't cut it short by even one page. And of course, once the manuscript is in the mail, start working on your next one. And good luck!
