Thank you everyone for entering our giveaway this month. Your enthusiasm was amazing! We wish we could give a critique to each of you!

In fact we were so blown away by your energy, we ended up giving away three bonus prizes! Whether or not you won a critique today, stay tuned at the end of this post for a self-critique checklist.

Now without further ado, here are the winners:
1.) Jefna Cohen wins a fiction/prose critique with Brenda Maier
2.) Valeria Wicker wins a picture book dummy critique with Melanie Linden Chan
3.) Elizabeth Curry wins a fiction/prose critique with Margaret Greanias
4.) Rita Russell wins a rhyming fiction or nonfiction biography critique with Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow
5.) Deborah Belle wins a fiction/prose critique with Melissa Stoller
6.) Dee English wins a fiction/prose critique with Jessie Oliveros
7.) Beth Elliott wins a critique (no type specified) with Tina Cho
8.) Jen Jasinksi wins a fiction/prose critique with Aidan Cassie
9.) Kay Baillie wins a nonfiction biography in prose critique with Beth Anderson
10.) Kristin Donohue wins a critique (no type specified) with Viviane Elbee
11.) Stephanie Ward wins a prose or rhyming critique with Chris Mihaly
12.) Tina Kirchner wins a fiction/prose critique with Shanda McCloskey
13.) Jen Bagan wins a critique (no type specified) with Kate Narita
14.) Jen Garrett wins a fiction/prose critique with Cate Berry
15.) Katie Engen wins a fiction with facts/prose critique with Traci Sorell
16.) Teresa Traver wins a fiction/prose critique with Kerri Kokias
17.) Jess Carroll wins a critique (no type specified) with Hannah Holt
18.) Amanda Davis wins a nonfiction/prose critique with Andi Diehn
19.) Tracy Nordquist Babler wins a critique (no type specified) with Monica Clark-Robinson
20.) Ronna Mandel wins a critique (no type specified) with Patricia Valdez

BONUS PRIZES!
21.) Jena Benton wins a critique (no type specified) with Vivian Kirkfield
22.) Chambrae Griffeth wins a writing journal!
23.) Angela Dahle wins a writing journal! 

​Winners will be contacted by email by their critique match this week, so be on the lookout. Remember all the critiques are for picture books in English with fewer than 1,000 words. All prizes must be claimed by the end of 2018.
 
Now here’s a quick self-critique checklist for picture book beginnings: 
 
Highlight the first three sentences of your story.

• Will the opening hook the reader? If the only thing the reader saw was the first three sentences, would they feel compelled to keep reading? Try to make it as tight and strong as possible.

 
Now, highlight the first 150 words of your story. In the first 150 words do you establish:

• your main character?
• what your main character wants?
• What is keeping your main character from what he/she wants?

 
If not you might have some extra information, you don’t really need or your stakes might need further refining. Picture books are short and getting shorter. It’s important to keep the story focused.
 
That’s all for now. We’ll have more opportunities, giveaways, and contests as the year advances, and we will be contacting the winners of this month’s giveaway shortly.
 
Happy writing trails everyone!
 
{{{HUG}}}

Dana Wulfekotte has created an adorable book trailer for RABBIT & POSSUM. Watch and enjoy!

***UPDATE: Giveaway closed. Thank you for entering. Winners will be announced Monday, February 26th. ***

It’s February! Valentine’s Day will be here soon, and that means it’s time for a H.U.G.
 
​Huge
Uplifting
Giveaway!!!
 
Specifically, we are giving away 20 picture book critiques! T-w-e-n-t-y!!! Wooo!
 
To enter, fill out the Rafflecopter below and leave a comment on this post. In your comment, please include your name and tell us if your manuscript is fiction/nonfiction and verse/prose. We’ll do our best to match winners with authors with similar works.
 
You can also earn a bonus entry by sharing on social media using the hashtag #epic18HUG.
 
As debut authors, we are looking forward to giving back a small part of what has been given to us.
 
Authors sponsoring this giveaway include: Aidan Cassie, Andi Diehn, Beth Anderson, Brenda Maier, Cate Berry, Chris Mihaly, Hannah Holt, Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow, Jessie Oliveros, Kate Narita, Kerri Kokias, Margaret Greanias, Melanie Linden Chan, Melissa Stoller, Monica Clark-Robinson, Patricia Valdez, Shanda McCloskey, Tina Cho, Viviane Elbee, and Traci Sorell.
 
(Fine print: only picture books up to 1,000 words and written in English. Critiques will provide mostly high-level feedback. This is not a line-edit, although critiquing styles may vary from person-to-person. One free critique per person and critiques must be used by the end of 2018.)

Please submit your entries by February 22, 2018. Thanks for entering, and good luck!