Monday, January 20, 2014

Anaiah Press Pitch Contest

Anaiah Press have stopped by YAtopia today. You can pitch them until 11:59pm January 25th in the comments with the format below. You are welcome to pitch MG, YA, NA, or adult as long as it aligns with their submission guidelines

Title
Category/Genre
Word Count
50 Word Pitch



Between now and January 26, the editors will visit to check out your pitches and make requests in the comments, so make sure you check back to see if you've had a request. 

If you're not an editor with Anaiah Press, please don't comment on the pitches until after the final request date.

Anaiah Press publishes Christian Fiction. That doesn't mean that the stories need to be evangelical or preachy. But it does impact on how clean the content is within the story. 



What Christian Fiction Is? 

 Christian/ inspirational YA and NA fiction is inherently uplifting. It’s the kind of book that can elicit strong emotion, rock you to your core, or even bring out the tears. But, it will always leave you with a message of love, hope, inspiration, or faith. Sometimes, all of the above. The main difference between non-specific YA/NA and Christian YA/NA is the content. Our characters don’t generally have sex, do drugs, etc., unless some sort of redemption is the central theme of the story. Cursing is usually avoided unless it’s absolutely necessary for realism. 

 You won’t see witches or fallen angels as main characters or love interests, but that’s not to say they won’t be used as secondary or background characters. Vampires, werewolves, and the like are pretty much nonexistent in Christian fiction, but we do like mythical creatures (dragons, anyone?).

Christian fiction isn’t always preachy, in fact, outside of adult Christian romance, Christian fiction is rarely expressly evangelical. Usually, the message is implied, or put into perspective with fun, new worlds (like in the Chronicles of Narnia -- a Christian MG fantasy book series by C.S. Lewis). At Anaiah Press, the message can be express, or implied -- we like it both ways. 

KARA'S WISHLIST:

Kara's passion is romance and young love. Show her strong, unique characters with real-world problems and learnable life lessons. Love triangles, dystopian worlds, cowboys, modern day retellings of fairy tales, and stories with an element of suspense excite her. Her ultimate goal is to find a heart-pounding, tear jerking clean romantic suspense. She is sure to love any story that will put her through a range of emotions. Bonus points if you can move her to tears. 

ISABEL'S WISHLIST:

Isabel loves all things YA, but has a particular soft spot for fantasy of all kinds (high fantasy, second world fantasy, urban fantasy, etc.). Strong female protagonists are always appreciated, and well-developed relationships of all types (friendships, family, romantic love) are encouraged. Above all, Isabel is looking for stories that she can't put down and keep her thinking well after "THE END."


EDEN'S WISHLIST:

Eden would love to see some futuristic spec-fic, and some dystopian or sci-fi, written from the perspective of a strong male lead with a fresh voice. She's tired of the jaded, egotistical male MC’s. Show her a guy who knows how to be a gentleman, but is still strong/brave enough to save your life when it’s go time.

Two items on her personal wish list that haven’t come across her desk yet are a pirate-themed historical romance and a psychological thriller. She's still waiting for both of those.

Good luck!



20 comments:

  1. Title: Thimblerig's Ark
    Category/Genre: Upper MG/Fantasy
    Word Count: Complete 65,000

    Pitch:
    After having vivid nightmares of floods and unicorns, Thimblerig the groundhog comes up with the ultimate con: convincing some sucker animals that he can save them from the disaster to come - for a price. But when the flood comes, Thimblerig has to really save them, or he loses everything.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am writing a series of YA/MG fantasy books called The Vergrinn War. I have finished the first three, and their word counts are 26k, 62k, and 48k respectively.

    Pitch:
    The vergrinn have reappeared out of legends to threaten humanity. A teenage boy is catapulted into a series of adventures as he fights to protect everyone and everything he holds dear from this danger. The ultimate victory can only be achieved through love and self-sacrifice.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Title: THE LAST STORED
    Category/Genre: YA Fantasy
    Word Count: 93,000

    Amber, grieving the loss of her parents, finds out her life is a lie as she is visited by a young man named Cree, a Windrider, sent to bring her to a hidden world. Helped by Cree, Amber learns to love again and finds out who she truly is.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Title: THE LAST STORED
    Category/Genre: YA Fantasy
    Word Count: 93,000


    Amber, grieving the loss of her parents, finds out her life is a lie as she is visited by a young man named Cree, a Windrider, sent to bring her to a hidden world. Helped by Cree, Amber learns to love again and finds out who she truly is.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sonia, could please send a full query and first 3 chapters to me at: karaleigh.miller (at) anaiahpress (dot) com ?

    Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Title Rod of Reality
    Ya/Fantiasy
    78K

    The Rod Of Reality is missing. AJ, a mortal, and the Elf Princess Taqnaquill, set off to rescue it. They don't have a clue, but what could go wrong, two teenagers, battling monsters, while doing the dance of romance - the only thing at sake - the fate of two worlds.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Title Rod of Reality
    Ya/Fantiasy
    78K

    The Rod Of Reality is missing. AJ, a mortal, and the Elf Princess Taqnaquill, set off to rescue it. They don't have a clue, but what could go wrong, two teenagers, battling monsters, while doing the dance of romance - the only thing at sake - the fate of two worlds.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Title Rod of Reality
    Ya/Fantiasy
    78K

    The Rod Of Reality is missing. AJ, a mortal, and the Elf Princess Taqnaquill, set off to rescue it. They don't have a clue, but what could go wrong, two teenagers, battling monsters, while doing the dance of romance - the only thing at sake - the fate of two worlds.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Title: Valley Of Shadows
    Category/Genre: Adult/Historical S/F
    78,000 complete

    The Senator's daughter is abducted. Ted Cole, man from the future, sets out to find her on the prehistoric continent of Mu. He ventures into the land of Ambos, a country ruled by knights, and finds romance, intrigue, and battles in a civil war to save the woman he loves.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Title: Valley Of Shadows
    Category/Genre: Adult/Historical S/F
    78,000 complete

    The Senator's daughter is abducted. Ted Cole, man from the future, sets out to find her on the prehistoric continent of Mu. He ventures into the land of Ambos, a country ruled by knights, and finds romance, intrigue, and battles in a civil war to save the woman he loves.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Title: Troubleshooter For Earth
    Category/Genre: Adult/ Space Opera - Crossover
    Word Count: 74,000 complete

    Sometimes smuggler and full-time space pilot, Don Weiss, teams up with a mischievous fairy, to defend Earth. Their greatest challenge: locate and subdue the Vas, a race of spider aliens, bent on destroying our planet, and turn them into peaceful non-belligerents. The problem: the Vas do not exist.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Title: Troubleshooter For Earth
    Category/Genre: Adult/ Space Opera - Crossover
    Word Count: 74,000 complete

    Sometimes smuggler and full-time space pilot, Don Weiss, teams up with a mischievous fairy, to defend Earth. Their greatest challenge: locate and subdue the Vas, a race of spider aliens, bent on destroying our planet, and turn them into peaceful non-belligerents. The problem: the Vas do not exist.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Title: B.E.V.
    Category/Genre: Y/A - Dystopia
    Word Count: 79,000 Complete

    Hunter, lamed during a space alien attack, Kat, his girlfriend, and Bev, a wacky talking tank, race to free their fathers from a warlord. But when the ruler turns his wrath on them, they must battle to protect the town and people they love.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Title: B.E.V.
    Category/Genre: Y/A - Dystopia
    Word Count: 79,000 Complete

    Hunter, lamed during a space alien attack, Kat, his girlfriend, and Bev, a wacky talking tank, race to free their fathers from a warlord. But when the ruler turns his wrath on them, they must battle to protect the town and people they love.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Would the author of VALLEY OF SHADOWS please send a full query and the first 3 chapters pasted in the body of an email to: karaleigh.miller (at) anaiahpress (dot) com ?

    Thank you :-)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Would the author of B.E.V. please send a full query and first 3 chapters pasted in the body of the email to : karaleigh.miller (at) anaiahpress (dot) com ??

    Thank you :-)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Title: Gael Is Gaea
    Category/Genre: NA - Historical/Paranormal
    Word Count: 73,000 Complete

    Slave: Gail is hurled into the past. Mistaken identity sends her into servitude.

    Fugitive: Chosen as a sacrifice, Gail flees to the west coast of Africa seeking freedom. She discovers an oppressed native population instead.

    Savior: Gail leads an insurgent rebellion and becomes the mother of a nation.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Title: Gael Is Gaea
    Category/Genre: NA - Historical/Paranormal
    Word Count: 73,000 Complete

    Slave: Gail is hurled into the past. Mistaken identity sends her into servitude.

    Fugitive: Chosen as a sacrifice, Gail flees to the west coast of Africa seeking freedom. She discovers an oppressed native population instead.

    Savior: Gail leads an insurgent rebellion and becomes the mother of a nation.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Title: ALL THE DAYS ARE NIGHTS
    Genre: YA Historical/Paranormal
    Word Count: 65,000


    Emily, a pampered 16-year-old living in San Francisco in 1900 must go live with her sister in a coal town in the middle of winter. Along with the primitive conditions and the cold, Emily sees a ghost named the White Lady that reveals a mine explosion is about to kill hundreds of people in the tiny town. Emily, with the help of Will, a teenage coal miner, must figure out a way to save the miners' lives, even if it costs their own.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Hi Stephanie!

    Could you please send a query and the first 3 chapters pasted in the body of an email to: karaleigh.miller (at) anaiahpress (dot) com ?

    Thank you :-)

    ReplyDelete