Today, we are revealing quite a bit: Here's the itinerary for the tournament:
May 13th-17th: Call for submissions
Top 64 revealed: May 24th
Round 1: May 28th-June 3rd, Voting window closes at 8PM
Winners announced: June 4
Round 2: June 5th-9th, Voting window closes at 8PM
Winners announced: June 10th
Email mentors assigned entries: June 10th
Revamped query emailed back: June 12th (by 8PM)
Round 3: June 14th-18th, Voting window closes at 8PM
Winners announced: June 19th
Round 4: June 20th-23rd, Voting window closes at 8PM
Winners announced: June 24th
Agents browse and make requests: June 24th-June 25th
Round 5: June 26th-27th
Winners announced: June 28th
Final Round: June 29th
Winner announced: June 29th
Wrap up: July 1st
Jennifer Goloboy of Red Sofa Literary
Jessica Sinsheimer of Sarah Jane Freymann Literary Agency
Jennifer Mishler of Literary Counsel
Jordy Albert of The Booker Albert Literary Agency
Julia Bannon of L. Perkins Agency
Rebecca Scherer of Jane Rotrosen Agency
Juliet Mushens of The Agency Group
Jamie Bodnar Drowley of Inkling Literary Agency
Claire Anderson-Wheeler of Anderson Literary Management
And we're expecting more!!! Every age category in the contest (MG, YA, NA, and Adult), is represented by one of these agents! An incredibly diverse list (if you don't count the number of agents whose names start with J's).
AND THERE IS MORE.
This Mini-Contest is now OVER! My winner is Jodi's "Princess and the Pee-Stick." There were so many AWESOME nicknames, though. But I just really want to know more about this princess :D Congrats, Jodi! Check the other blogs to see who they picked to win!
Wrap up: July 1st
One week after the close of the tournament, we will invite agents back again to make requests on the top sixteen queries. Agents, did you say? HERE THEY ARE!!
The Agents (10 of them!):
Jenny Bent of The Bent AgencyJennifer Goloboy of Red Sofa Literary
Jessica Sinsheimer of Sarah Jane Freymann Literary Agency
Jennifer Mishler of Literary Counsel
Jordy Albert of The Booker Albert Literary Agency
Julia Bannon of L. Perkins Agency
Rebecca Scherer of Jane Rotrosen Agency
Juliet Mushens of The Agency Group
Jamie Bodnar Drowley of Inkling Literary Agency
Claire Anderson-Wheeler of Anderson Literary Management
And we're expecting more!!! Every age category in the contest (MG, YA, NA, and Adult), is represented by one of these agents! An incredibly diverse list (if you don't count the number of agents whose names start with J's).
AND THERE IS MORE.
This Mini-Contest is now OVER! My winner is Jodi's "Princess and the Pee-Stick." There were so many AWESOME nicknames, though. But I just really want to know more about this princess :D Congrats, Jodi! Check the other blogs to see who they picked to win!
Want to win a FREE PASS into Query Kombat?
Meaning, you don't have to worry about making past our cuts for the top 64 submissions?
Here's whatcha gotta do:
Here's whatcha gotta do:
1. Follow this blog.
2. Comment your Query Kombat entry nickname below. Make it related to the manuscript you are submitting to this contest.
I'll announce the winner on the following Friday :DD So you have until Thursday, 9:00 pm EST to submit your entries to this blog.
What do I mean by Query Kombat entry nickname?
I mean the name you will be called during the contest. Your 'team name'. (This is all like March Madness and stuff, after all).
2. Comment your Query Kombat entry nickname below. Make it related to the manuscript you are submitting to this contest.
I'll announce the winner on the following Friday :DD So you have until Thursday, 9:00 pm EST to submit your entries to this blog.
What do I mean by Query Kombat entry nickname?
I mean the name you will be called during the contest. Your 'team name'. (This is all like March Madness and stuff, after all).
That's all you have to do!
And, of course, you'll improve your chances to win astronomically if you briefly explain the reason behind your name. I have to pick the most creative nickname, and I won't know what is creative and what is not if I don't know the meaning behind the names.
And, of course, you'll improve your chances to win astronomically if you briefly explain the reason behind your name. I have to pick the most creative nickname, and I won't know what is creative and what is not if I don't know the meaning behind the names.
Now, you'll have three chances to win if you subscribe and comment on each of our three host blogs. (Michelle and Writer's Outworld). You will get a fourth entry every time you use the #QueryKombat hashtag on Twitter. So get Tweeting! I am here on Twitter.
Nicknames have to be short and related to your story in some way. And by short, I mean fifteen characters or less.
So go go go!!!!!! Get them free passes, or you'll have a tougher time trying to beat out hundreds of other submissions during the actual submission window!
Good luck, guys! And have fun thinking up those nicknames!
Even if you are not participating in this contest, what would be YOUR manuscript's nickname?
Nicknames have to be short and related to your story in some way. And by short, I mean fifteen characters or less.
So go go go!!!!!! Get them free passes, or you'll have a tougher time trying to beat out hundreds of other submissions during the actual submission window!
Good luck, guys! And have fun thinking up those nicknames!
Even if you are not participating in this contest, what would be YOUR manuscript's nickname?
Very cool! I'll announce it for you tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteYAY! I'm excited for Query Kombat. It sounds like it will be a fun contest!
ReplyDeleteI'm nicknamed my novel Rocketeer because he is a superhero and my book is about a kid that gets abducted by aliens and is given a superpower.
Also it fits with my day job as an Aerospace Engineer (Rocket Scientist) ;)
Thanks for being one of the lovely hosts.
This sounds like such a great contest! Thanks for helping to put this together this awesome opportunity for writers. I'm super excited to see how it goes.
ReplyDeleteMy novel's nickname is Killer Kiss. The book starts with my seventeen-year-old protagonist accidentally killing his girlfriend with a kiss, so you can understand why I thought it fitting. :)
Thanks again for this wonderful opportunity!
Hey SC! Thanks so much for putting this wonderful contest together. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm really looking forward to it. The nickname for my novel is "Spirit Slayer." It's about a girl named Dare who has to figure out how to lay a murderous ghost to rest!
My nickname is Beelzebub Basher. The name should be obvious. Okay, here's a little background. First, I sold my soul to the Devil for a book deal (don't judge, when you are just one out of a-billagillion wanna be authors, one needs to resort to drastic measures) Second, the Devil requests that I write his biography (he wants me to show the World how caring and benevolent he really is. He seems to have had a lot of bad press since that apple and garden fiasco) Third, he plans to use some kind of devilish trickery to hypnotize the World's population t believe whatever I write in His new biography. Fourth, I guess you will just have to read the book to find the reason for the nickname.
ReplyDelete:) This sounds awesome!
DeleteI love Jenny Bent--she is super awesome. Hey, on May 1st I'm posting an interview with my agent, MacKenzie Fraser-Bub of Trident Media... http://amyjarecki.blogspot.com Come over and check it out (May 1st after the A-Z Challenge is over)!
ReplyDeleteDeadGuy'sDatingGuide
ReplyDeleteThe real book title is "How to Date Dead Guys"
And I chose this nickname because I thought it would be a fun thing to twitter.
Thanks for all your work with this contest!
These things are so nerve-wracking. Good luck to everyone!
ReplyDeleteVery excited about this. Thanks for putting this together!
ReplyDeleteMy nickname is going to be Lightning Slinger because the main character, who really doesn't want to have magic powers, shoots lightning based spells out of his revolvers.
My YA novel's nickname is Genie Smackdown.
ReplyDeleteBecause when genies are dying...someone's gotta lay the smackdown.
Thanks for this! You guys are awesome :)
My YA's nickname would be HeadscarfJazz.
ReplyDeleteMy MC's name is Yasmeen, which is the Arabic version of Jasmine. The story is about the obstacles and opportunities come with wearing a headscarf.
Princess and the Pee-stick
ReplyDeleteBetcha' can't guess what happens to my MC....
First off, thank you so much for putting this together!
ReplyDeleteI've been debating it, but I think I'm going to stick with Prophylactic Decapitations. A few decapitations take place in my manuscript - some prophylactic, some not.
I've been enjoying reading through the other nicknames - this contest should be a lot of fun!
My nickname is Odyssey2-Homer meets Pippi
ReplyDeleteIt's an MG fantasy that tells the story of Michael Homer, who sets off on an epic adventure in a stolen tall ship with Anatolia Strongarm (inspired by Pippi Longstocking) to seek treasure, fight monsters and save his family from destitution.
My novel's nickname is Gypsies, Tramps, & Thieves.
ReplyDeleteNow I need to decide if I want to enter the novel as WC or NA, leaning towards NA.
My entry will be:
ReplyDeleteMORTAL PROM KORT SHENANIGANS
Wanted a name that would pay homage to the Mortal Kombat style contest, drop my title, and I always appreciate a chance to use the word shenanigans.
@amilouiseallen
I originally was going to go with “A Tale of Two Narrators” but in the interest of sticking to the 15 character guidelines, my nickname is going to be “Phantasmagoria.”
ReplyDeleteMy novel deals with the blurry areas where nightmares start to bleed into reality. I also like to say it’s Alice in Wonderland with guns, so this seemed appropriate.
May is so far away…
@StephenTBW
My nickname will be: BMW
ReplyDeleteIt stands for Bourne for More Work. Bourne because my MC has a lost memory. More Work because, well... my dog's nickname is Work, and my little brother's nickname is Extra Work, and my MS's nickname is More Work. I know it sounds bad, but I mean work in a good sense because I love all three of them! Oh, and BMW because the novel is fast-paced.
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Echo E. Firebird
ReplyDeleteE.L. Konigsburg's novel From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler was not simply one of the reason why I began writing, but it's also the reason why the main character of my novel Firebird, Echo, lives in the New York Public Library after running away from home. Inspired by the book she read as a child, Echo stops by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Finding the Met's security a little too thorough, she opts instead to make the NYPL her home. America's brave librarians have fought valiantly to keep security cameras out of libraries to protect their readers' rights so all Echo has to do is avoid the night guard. The nickname is an homage to the book that inspired both me and my character to do the things we do.
My short book could fall under either MG or YA and is titled You Come Too (after the poem of the same name by Robert Frost). The main characters are Frog and Dog, and is mainly about their uncommon friendship and its trials. My nickname for the contest is Frost's Frog. Looking forward to the opportunity to compete!
ReplyDeleteSo excited for this contest! Thanks for holding it!
ReplyDeleteMy novels a YA Fantasy about a girl named Faiyth who can't seem to control the powerful magic she has. There's a darkness inside her, one that she does know the origins of. This darkness makes her unintentionally hurt those around her with magic.
So I'm going to nickname mine Gotta Have Faiyth.. (random George Michael song playing in my head)
Control Freak and the Demon Monkey.
ReplyDeleteSo there's a circus where everyone is controlled by the man behind the scenes who first kidnaps the performers when they utter a certain phrase. He has a monkey that really likes to bite one of the 15 year old MC's...
YA Low Fantasy
my manuscript's nickname will be H2OhNo! because the title is What the Water Gave Us, and what the water gives is not a good thing, hence the oh no!
ReplyDeleteDon't know if I'll be ready, but if I am, my novel's nickname would be: Blood, Sweat, and Tears. Simply because my MC experiences all of that trying to get back to normal in this novel. And his band experiences enough of it as well.
ReplyDeleteHopefully I'm ready by the time QK comes around...will depend if the person critiquing my partial is done or not =)
My Query Kombat nickname will be ForbedenLove. I know this sounds incredibly cheesy but my YA sci-fi thriller romance is called The New Eden Chronicles and focuses on a forbidden love between the two narrators.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to this contest--sounds crazy and fun! Thanks!
I think I'll go with Kombat Kikewile because I like the spirit of the Query Kombat and because the secret my MC discovers is known by a native term: Massache Kikewile (loosely translated as "wicked evil").
ReplyDeleteMy Query Kombat nickname is WithoutElower. My MC is a Without--as far as anyone knows she can't do magic--she's Without. And her long-lost last name is Elower.
ReplyDeleteThanks for organizing the contest.
And they shall know my entry as Dr. Thermo.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it sounds like a James Bond Villain; my MC has her doctorate and her super power is thermodynamics (Yup, I've got my nerd badge on the left side of my chest--where my heart should be).
My nickname for this contest will be "Paladin Peter".
ReplyDeleteThe main character in my book "The Paladin's Code" is a young paladin who contains a lot of my own personality, and even more of who I would want to be if I had been born into his world.
My Kombat title (and best weapon ever) will be IRCE which stands for the Interstellar Remote Control of Everything, which my mc uses to fight off two shape-shifting aliens to save his best friends -- and worst enemy.
ReplyDelete"The Hookers" will be my Query Kombat nickname. Curious yet? 8-)
ReplyDeleteThe two MCs in my NA contemp are not actual hookers (I know, you're so disappointed--maybe for the next novel, huh?), but they are (for most of the story) two college students who can't keep their hooks out of each other. The original title was HOOKED ON YOU.
My Query Kombat nickname is SWAY ME BUBLE because it's a Persuasion redux and the Captain Wentworth character is a Michael Buble-esque singer.
ReplyDeleteMy nickname is...Born-again Virgin!
ReplyDeleteIn my new adult MS, my 20-year-old MC, after a two-year dry spell, is dubbed as such by her roommate. So on a year abroad in Scotland, she's determined to gain re-admittance to "the club"!
Go, fight, win!
ReplyDeleteHa, I get a point cuz I'm already a follower. Neener. I've come up with one nickname over on Michelle's...so here is another The Klutz Wins.
ReplyDelete