After a successful first run, publisher Jeanne Martinson from Wood Dragon Books is already looking ahead to the second year of the Young Author Competition, which aims to give teenage authors in the local library region the opportunity to publish their own book.
Martinson and the Wood Dragon team have narrowed down the inaugural competition’s submission to two finalists, who will be named later when book release announcements are made this fall.
Both students will see their manuscripts published in print, audiobook and eBook format, provided they are completed over the summer in time for the soft launch date set for after Christmas.
Martinson said the tentative plans are to host book launch events at the Penny University Bookstore in Regina and at the Moose Jaw Public Library, ideally with a book signing opportunity with the authors.
In the meantime, Wood Dragon Books is gearing up for the second year of the competition for teen authors, following the success of the first round of interest.
Due to feedback from participants, Martinson said that the second annual competition will have a few small changes.
“This was really our pilot year, and we [realized] that we need to give the writers more time,” said Martinson. “We did get some great feedback saying that the time frame was too tight.”
For starters, the submission timeline will be extending to allow young authors more time during each step of the process. The first submission deadline for the 2021 contest will be June 30 of this year, requiring a plot outline and the backstory for one main character.
The next deadline for those on the shortlist to move forward will be on Sept. 30, from which a final selection of authors will then start working toward a fall manuscript deadline and a holiday launch date.
Martinson said that the age parameters will also be changing, as she will drop the lower age requirement and open the competition to any teens who are enrolled in high school, located within the Palliser Regional Library zone and have a library card, and aged 18 or younger by the first submission deadline.
“If we get a student in Grade 8, going into Grade 9 who’s got a brilliant idea, we don’t want to hold them back with that lower age limit,” said Martinson.
The inaugural young author competition saw plenty of submissions, said Martinson, and proved that there are teens out there with the drive to write.
There was even lots of interest from students outside of the Palliser library region, but Martinson said that the competition’s goal has always been to provide a publishing opportunity to teens in this area of the province.
“The support from the library system and school systems has just been phenomenal [and] the whole last year, we’ve been building those relationships,” said Martinson. “And that was one thing we just came back on as a team, is that we are committing to building authors in this region.”
Martinson is encouraging local teens to start thinking about their potential manuscripts, as the submissions inbox is now open until the end of June — and she’s hoping the second iteration of the competition will be as satisfying as the first.
More information on submission requirements and processes can be found at wooddragonbooks.com.
