Susan P. Bloom Children's Book Discovery Award
Congratulations to our 2019 Winners!
Anthony Lathrop, Captain Mavrik Takes A Holiday
Rebekah Lowell, The Road to After
Krista Surprenant, Remember Where You're From
Please join us for the award celebration where winners will present a brief selection of their work, followed by a reception. The celebration takes place on May 19, 2019, at 5 p.m. 5th floor School of Management Building, Simmons University.
RSVP to susanpbloomsubmissions@gmail.com by May 15, 2019
Discounted parking is available.
Past Winners:
Many Discovery Award winners are now published writers, including: Mackenzie Van Engelenhoven,Katie Bayerl, Rebecca Roan, Kristy Acevedo, Lisa Rogers, Adrienne Kisner, Kip Wilson, Jeanne Zulick Ferrulo, Michelle A. Cusolito, M.P. Barker, Annie Cardi, Heather Demetrios, Erin Dionne, Johanna Knowles, Ammi-Joan Paquette, Sara Pinto, Jame Richards, Anna Staniszewski, Tara Sullivan, Kim Ablon Whitney, and Janet Ruth Young.
2018
Orrin Hannratty, Shadowtide: An American Monster Story
Cassie Gustafson, Finding Erica Strange
Jane Hawksworth, Anna Wynne
Laura Quinlan, Alone Against the Wind
2017
Abi Cushman, Snow Day for Goat and Badger
Laurie Warchol, Dragonfly: Waiting for Wings
Kip Wilson, White Rose
2016
Adrienne Kisner, Dear Rachel Maddow
Sera Rivers, The Wicked Ones
Jeanne Zulick Ferruolo, Ruby in the Sky
Lisa Rogers, Mr. Marshall’s Red Wheelbarrow
Michelle A. Cusolito, Flying Deep
2015
Kristy Acevedo, Consider
Alice Caldwell, Sly as a Sheep
Sheryl DePaolo, The Child Star
2014
Rebecca Roan, Dragons Get Colds Too
Pamela Sonn, Jedediah Buxton, The Human Calculator
Mackenzie Van Engelenhoven, The Shadow Boys are Breaking
2013
Anna Boll, Control. Crush.
Katherine Quimby, Three Minutes Thirty
2012
Heather Demetrios, Streaming
Amitha Knight, Landwalker
2011
Annie Cardi, Queen of the Air
Tara Sullivan, Golden Boy
2010
Bette Anne Rieth, Greetings From the Miracle
Linda Zajac, Ice Birds in a Warming Land
Heather Jessen, I Won a Robot in a Raffle
2009
Maria Gianferrera, Terrific Tongues
Anna Staniszewski, The Tinkerers
J. James Keels, Starving Hysterical Naked
Shelagh Smith, A Mouthful of Straw
2008
Tamara Ellis Smith, A Marble Looks Like Home
Colleen Ellis, The Alphabet Looking Beyond the Letter
Tracy Miller Geary, The Summer of My Movie Star
Jame Richards, Three Rivers Rising
2007
Joanne Perkins, Ice Harvest
Cindy Faughnan, Sheldon
Joe Anastasio, The Mist
Katie Bayerl, Smart Girl
2006
Erin Dionne, Beauty Binge
J.C. Phillips for her Illustrations
Hollis Shore, The Curve of the World
Phoebe Sinclair, The Truth About Liaa
2005
Johanna Knowles, Lessons From a Dead Girl
Ammi-Joan Paquette, China Blue
Tara Nickerson, Letting Go
Mike Arena, The Man Who Jumped From Space
Call for Submissions 2019
New Deadline March 1
Each year the Children’s Book Committee honors emerging writers and writer/illustrators with the Susan P. Bloom Children’s Book Discovery Awards. Winners present their work to the public at Discovery Evening (May 2019). Editors at major publishing houses will read the winning manuscripts. In past years, editors from Knopf, Candlewick, and Houghton Mifflin have read the winning submissions.
Eligibility:
- Entrants must be residents of New England; may not have published a book in any genre including adult fiction and nonfiction; and may not have a book under contract to be published.
- Writers who have self-published are eligible, but the submitted work must be unpublished.
- Entrants who have agents may submit; similarly, entries that are out on submission to agents or editors are allowed.
- Writers who have edited books or done work-for-hire books are eligible.
- One entry only per person in one of the following four categories: picture books, novels, poetry, and nonfiction. Previous winners of the contest are not eligible.
Submission Requirements
All work should be—in both format and quality—ready for consideration by a publisher. The Committee does not determine ahead of time the number of winners or the categories to be represented.
Writing Sample: Text should be approximately 10 pages in length, double-spaced, though picture books may be shorter. Please include a cover page with the title, your contact info, and the category for which you are submitting.
- Picture Books: Send complete text. If you are a writer and not an illustrator, there is no need ot send along illustrations. Author/illustrators should include sample illustrations.
- Middle grade or YA Novels: Send one or two chapters, and a one page synopsis.
- Poetry: Send up to ten poems.
- Nonfiction: Send one or two chapters, plus a brief outline or table of contents.
Synopsis: Please include a brief synopsis of the writing sample.
Biographical Statement about your experience and interest in the field.
Submit a single file with documents in this order: Writing Sample, Synopsis, and Biography.
Email Submissions to: susanpbloomsubmissions@gmail.com
Children’s Book Committee: M.T. Anderson, Nandini Bajpai, Susan P. Bloom, Pat Lowery Collins, Erin Dionne, Debbi Michiko Florence, Susan Goodman,Brian Lies, Lisa Jahn-Clough, Liza Ketchum, Cathryn Mercier, and Kim Ablon Whitney.