Congratulations to Lily Frusciante, selected by Marietta Zacker, for the 2017 SCBWI-IL Many Voices Outstanding Manuscript Prize for her manuscript
The Troublemakers
– Beginning February 15, 2017, manuscripts may be emailed to Sara Shacter (illinois-ara@scbwi.org). See “Manuscript Guidelines” below.
– Manuscripts must be received by midnight on March 15, 2017. The application period is now closed. Look for an announcement about the 2018 prize in January.
– A panel of authors will choose the top 25 manuscripts to be forwarded to Marietta Zacker. The winner will be announced April 29th, 2017, at SCBWI-Illinois’ spring program — 2017 Spring Thaw-– Pitch Perfect . Winner need not be present.
Manuscript Guidelines to be announced
– Manuscript must feature a diverse main character or be written by a diverse author
– No more than five pages, double-spaced, Times or Times Roman 12-point font (for a novel, an additional, one-page synopsis may follow your five pages); your name should not appear on any of these pages — no headers, please
– One-inch margins
– If the manuscript is co-authored, BOTH authors must be SCBWI-Illinois members.
– On a separate page, following your manuscript/synopsis (NOT as a separate document), please include this information:
- your name
- your phone number
- the title of your manuscript
- the type of manuscript (e.g. picture book, middle-grade novel, YA novel, etc.)
- 50 words or less, outlining your own diverse background (NOTE: if your manuscript is a picture book and you envision the illustrations depicting the character as diverse in some fashion – especially if this fact is not indicated in the text – please say so)
– Poetry: This includes rhyming picture books, picture in verse, and stand-alone poetry collections. Poetry submissions should conform to the guidelines above. However, they may be single-spaced, with a double space between stanzas, per industry standards. Stand-alone collections (i.e. a group of poems intended to be published as one book) must have a page break at the end of each poem.
– One manuscript per person
The Many Voices Outstanding Manuscript Prize will evolve over time. The 2016 and 2017 prizes were funded by a generous SCBWI-Illinois member. If you would like to contribute to future prizes, please email us at illinois@scbwi.org.
Writing Diverse Characters: sources
