Open Submissions to Penguin Publishing Australia Young Adult Division

PENGUIN IS ACCEPTING UNSOLICITED MANUSCRIPTS FOR YOUNG ADULT NOVELS WITH A ROMANTIC ASPECT!!!

HAVE A READ BELOW FOR MORE DETAILS:

The Books for Children and Young Adults department is changing the way we accept unsolicited manuscripts. 

Here at Penguin BCYA HQ, we’re as determined as ever to publish fresh new voices and original stories. So starting in January, we’re introducing a new way to accept your submissions. To help focus your writing and our searching, we’ll only be accepting certain types of books at certain times. Confusing? Not at all!

Plan ahead using our handy guide below, and you can have your manuscript ready and polished at the very moment we’re focusing on your particular genre or age group.

January is a free-for-all, so anything goes, but in February…

It’s getting hot outside, and at Books for Children and Young Adults we’re steaming up because it’s Romance time! From 14th February until 5pm on 30th April, we invite you to Make. Us. Swoon. As long as there’s something romantic about your manuscript, we want to read it. But keep in mind – our books are for people who aren’t yet Adults (ie 18 and under, if you get our drift…)

First kiss, worst kiss, unrequited longing or total pash-a-thon – we don’t mind, as long as your story pulses with a beating heart of love. From sneaky crushes to awkward  blushes, intra-robot metal mashing to sparks-are-flying- braces-smashing – any genre, any age group, we’re up for it.

If you’re looking for some inspiration, check out our Top 5 Literary Couple Crushes…

• Ramona and Howie from the Ramona books: Sure, they were eight, but everyone knows boys and girls can never just be friends… or can they?
• Elspeth and Rushton from the Obernewtyn series: All that mind-probing…
• Nick and Nora from Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist: We dare you to get to the end of that night in NYC and not hope those little hipsters end up 2gether 4eva.
• Leslie and Jesse from Bridge to Terabithia: Not a kiss between them, but as romantic and heartbreaking as they come. Cue weeping.
• Mr Darcy and Elizabeth: Okay, it’s a cliché, but there’s a reason why chat about these two never dies off for long, and only 50% of it is to do with Colin Firth diving into That Lake in That Shirt.

For all the technical bits on how to submit, see our guidelines in January. 

HANDY GUIDE FOR 2013

January Free-For-All

From the 1st to the 31st – that’s one month only! – we’re accepting any/every length/genre of manuscript written for young people (that’s babies up to young adults). Start our year with the inevitable bang that will occur when our eyes hit your words.

February 14th – end of April
Romance for Young Adults (YA)
Will you be our Creative Valentine? From Feb 14th to the end of April, we’ll only be reading your Teen Romance submissions, and we’d be much obliged if you’d make us swoon.

May
Not accepting submissions.

June 1st – July 31st
Middle Readers (that’s 9 – 12 year olds)
Excitement, confusion, adventure, delusion, friendships, hardships, spaceships, sailing ships – the middle readers category is one of the most diverse and beautiful fields you can plant a story in. We can’t wait to reap what you’re sowing. Harvest season is Winter – June 1st to July 31st.

August
Picture Books
For the month of August only, we’ll be going on a book hunt for picture-book texts that stick in our minds and lodge in our hearts. Hopefully we’re going to catch a big one. Will it be yours?

September
Not accepting submissions.

October Free-For-All
Yes, that time again. No holes barred before Christmas!

November/December
Books are closed while we all take a break and prepare to be surprised and delighted by the new year’s submissions. 

And watch out for YA Week! We’re going to spring it on you like a pop quiz or a freshly inked tattoo revealed at a family reunion. Keep checking the website and be prepared...

So start counting down – we have! Happy writing,
BCYA HQ