Welcome to the MG/YA Opportunities post! Find all of the monthly opportunities on the MG/YA support page! All opportunities are available to anyone with an internet connection.
To view upcoming monthly and recurring opportunities, visit the MG/YA SUPPORT resource page.
Hey writers,
This month, I invite you to:
- Pick one resource or opportunity. Think about what you’re working on right now and pick something that will help you make progress with that work!
- Share which resources you utilized in the past month in the comments. Let’s share terrific resources. The kidlit writing community consistently lifts each other up, and this blog can be another space for just that.
Will you join me on this journey?
DECEMBER HAPPENINGS
Holiday Writing Contest (free)
Write a holiday story between 300 – 400 words, appropriate for ages 12 and under, following prompt for the current year. Prize for the winner! Hosted by children’s author Susanna Leonard Hill.
- Lessons Learned on the Path to Publication– December 9, 2023: Join SCBWI San Diego for this informative webinar featuring several 2023 debut authors and illustrators sharing their experiences as newly-published creators.
- “How to Do an Interview!” a webinar with Elizabeth Pagel-Hogan– December 11, 2023: Are you writing a biography? Do you need to interview a subject matter expert for your article, story, or book? Author Elizabeth Pagel-Hogan will share with you tips and techniques on how to request and conduct an interview. In this webinar, she’ll help you brainstorm on how to connect with interview subjects, offer tips on how to prepare for the interview, suggestions for the actual interview, and answer your questions about following up after the interview. Member Ticket: $10 / Non-Member Ticket: $15
THE LOFT ($) The LOFT LITERARY CENTER offers a variety of courses each month, but not all are specifically for kidlit writers.
- Descriptive Language– Descriptive language is a writer’s most powerful tool for creating what John Gardner called the best fiction—a vivid and continuous dream. Readings and writing exercises will focus on the importance of specificity, how to deftly work with adverbs and adjectives, describing with all five senses, and how to effectively communicate emotion. We will experiment with making the strange familiar and the familiar strange. We will read and discuss excerpts from the work of writers such as Jesmyn Ward, Lucia Berlin, Isaac Babel, Arundhati Roy, David Mitchell, and Chekhov.
- Decolonizing Fiction– This class will focus on challenging the notion of there being an ideal and normative writing craft method. It centers on an anti-colonial worldbuilding approach to telling our stories, and why that approach is so important to the publishing industry today.
- Havens: Secret Refuges Revealing Character’s True Selves with Ashley Wilda– The importance of havens, both in “real” life and in our stories, is obvious. But what even is a haven? And how can we create them in our own stories. Whether you write Middle Grade or Young Adult fiction, this workshop will enable you to not only craft your own havens but leverage their full potential in your character’s journey.
Thank you!
This month is my last Middle Grade and Young Adult Opportunities. As you all know as writers, life is busy and time is precious! With two young children and a full-time teaching job, I am reallocating time to new projects. Thank you for your support and for sharing your experiences. I’ll still post book reviews on the blog when the opportunity arises and I look forward to connecting soon!
Have a terrific end of 2023. Lexi
Months of a Year Banner Illustrations by Lexi Donahue Featured Image Line Art by Valenty, Can Stock Photos
WRITERS' RUMPUS 
Thanks for all the info. Happy holidays to you.
LikeLike