PB Party, 50 Precious Words, & a CP Meetup…OH MY!

What a whirlwind week it’s been!

A few weeks ago, I entered a manuscript into the annual PB Party contest. This is a highly anticipated and very competitive contest among the kidlit writing community. It only happens once a year and there is stiff competition. This year, nearly 1000 talented authors and/or illustrators entered.

A panel of judges combed through every entry and narrowed the list down to just 50 finalists.

I knew it was a long shot. But I went for it anyway. And, lo and behold—last Thursday evening, I found out that I was a finalist!!

This was my second year entering PB Party. I was not chosen as a finalist last year (although my critique partner Lindsey was!), but I’m so glad I didn’t give up and I tried again this year.

So, this week, I am currently in an agent/editor showcase with the other finalists. Over 60 literary agents and editors signed up to take part and they’ve been reviewing the entries all week. So far, one agent has requested my work. And I’m hopeful there may still be more requests before the week is done. There are no guarantees, of course. But, even if nothing comes of this, I feel honored that my work was recognized and chosen out of such a large pool of incredibly talented creators.

Meanwhile, as I was still basking in the excitement of my PB Party finalist status, winners were announced for the 50 Precious Words contest that I had also entered earlier this month. I found out that I was chosen as an Honorable Mention in that contest! There were nearly 750 amazing entries in that contest, so to get any recognition at all feels wonderful!

To top it all off, my friend and critique partner Lindsey just happens to have come to my area on vacation this week! So we finally got to meet in person for the first time (even though I feel like I’ve known her forever!). 😍😍😍 We enjoyed an oceanfront lunch and an afternoon on the beach together. And it topped my other wins this week by a mile! Seriously, it was absolutely the highlight of my week to meet my dear friend. ❤️

It’s easy to get down trying to make it in this business. There is a lot of rejection and ups and downs. Not to mention, I’ve been in a writing slump lately. So to have this much excitement lately despite it all has been an unexpected blessing. It’s been a great month!