StoryGodmother Newsletter #17
Hello!
Hope this all finds you well and enjoying autumn. I’m just finishing editing on The House At The Edge Of Magic book 4 (final one in the series! Waaaaah!) and juggling many other projects. So I’m quite looking forward to winding down for Christmas! (If having six children means you wind down for Christmas...)
WRITING MAGAZINE CHILDREN'S BOOK PRIZE UPDATE
Just a quick update. Entries are currently being read and it’s hoped the longlisting will take place in the next few weeks. More info when I have it! Good luck to all who have entered!
MENTORING
Some people have reported that they have struggled to submit a form on my Story Godmother website. Apologies if you have had trouble with this. I’m not sure why this is happening! If you would like to apply for mentoring (or know someone else who would), please feel free to email me directly on sparkles@storygodmother.co.uk
The closing date for applications is 30th November 2023
A quick reminder about the scheme. It’s free of charge for authors who are currently unagented and not yet published (in the traditional sense) and I am looking for mentees to work with over a 5-month period, one starting in March 2024 and one starting in August 2024.
This year I’m looking for someone who consider themselves to meet at least one of the following:
• Lives with challenging long-term health conditions
• Age 50+
To apply, please email me over:
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A short cover letter explaining the kind of books you like to write, what you’d like to get out of the mentoring, how you meet the criteria, and any relevant writing experience
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Please include a sample of your work – please read carefully. Send EITHER a completed picture book text (600 words or less) OR an opening chapter of a book for 5-9 year olds (maximum 1000 words).
*** NB: PLEASE DO NOT ENTER ANYTHING WHICH IS SUBMITTED FOR THE WRITING MAGAZINE CHILDREN’S BOOK PRIZE ***
CLOSING DATE: 30th November 2023
For more information, see this page on my website.
EVENTS & COURSES
Story Godmother Courses
Teaching is all done for 2023! Thank you to everyone who has come along to the free Story Godmother webinars or the various workshops and courses along the way.
2024 is going to be a bit of a shake-up with new opportunities and ways to meet writers’ needs. I hope to launch teaching videos so you can access top-class, affordable teaching when and where is convenient for you. Really excited about this! I’m also hoping to run some longer online evening courses, such as the Chapter Book course, Middle Grade course as well as others. I’m continuing to link up writers directly with publishers and editors, so please keep your eyes open for those opportunities.
If there is anything special you would like to receive teaching on, please do let me know at sparkles@storygodmother.co.uk
Writing Chapter Books
First up in January is the return of my popular Writing Chapter Books Course (£75). It runs from Tues 9th January until Tues 20th February (with a week off on Tues 13th February) and explores everything you need to know about creating and writing chapter books. We will also be joined by an industry professional during the course. Tickets are available on Eventbrite now.
GOODBYE TWITTER
I am winding down my Twitter/X account. You may or may not have noticed I’ve been less active there – hard to tell with the algorithmic changes, perhaps! I will check notifications there but won’t be actively posting. It used to be a very enjoyable platform, so thank you to all of you who followed me and joined in the chat and the Writing Cheers. The good news, though, is that I am still around on other social network platforms.
You can find or follow me here:
Facebook: AmySparkesAuthor
Insta: sparkes_amy
BlueSky: amysparkes.bsky.social
Mastodon: @storygodmother@wandering.shop
Linkedin: Amy Sparkes
RESOURCES
END NOTES
If there’s anything you’d like covered in the newsletter in the Resources section, please do let me know at sparkles@storygodmother.co.uk and I’ll see what I can do.
Thanks very much!
Story Godmother.