Another Award for LJW Publishing's Meeting Lizzy

Meeting Lizzy has recently been the recipient of another award: The All American Mommy Award.

Moms everywhere can appreciate the opportunity to bring up tough topics with their teens and YA literature has presented a unique opportunity to do just that! For instance, Meeting Lizzy presents parents with the chance to broach the topic of teen dating violence with their kids in a safe environment before they're ever faced with the issue in their personal life or the lives of those they're close to during their teen years.

Check it out today: Meeting Lizzy at Barnes & Noble.com!

A Few Basic Answers to a Few (Often Asked) Questions

We often receive comments and requests from writers for general information on getting published. So the easiest way to provide the info needed was to gather it all into one short post and offer up to the masses.

Looking to write a novel, but need a bit of a push?
Check out the classes at your local community college? Does your public library system offer any creative writing workshops? Have you thought about joining a creative writing group in your area? Check out all the fantastic forums available online. The Yahoo groups are our favorite...and make sure to join one specific to your likes/the genre you will be writing about.

Have a novel or book and want to approach the right agent/publisher?
This is more difficult than many imagine. Our suggestion is to get your hands on the current Writer's Market book. Take advantage of their online tools. Keep track of your progress as you work way through the book choosing publishers and/or agents that work with books similar to the one in your hands.

How do you approach an agent/publisher?
Follow their RULES. There are no rules that blanket every agent or every publisher in the industry. The most magical and most frustrating thing about the book publishing world is that the "norm" isn't always acceptable at every publishing house. When you decide who you will be approaching read their listing in Writer's Market carefully and then double check it and get some more information online. Get a feel for their online presence and you'll have a pretty good of what their current philosophy and direction might be. Some houses/presses also suggest that you read some of their current titles prior to submitting any new work.

What are the basic requirements for manuscript submission?
As we mentioned previously there are exceptions to every rule, but most of the time you start your contact with a query letter. There are suggestions on just how to propose your idea in the first contact all over the Internet, but here's one option if you're looking for detailed guidance: Guide To Getting Published.

If you have someone show interest in your query, give them EXACTLY what they ask for immediately upon receiving the request! If they're looking for something like the manuscript you submitted they're most likely looking for it NOW and won't mess around if they're told to wait or aren't told anything at all.

How soon can I check in on the status of my submission?

This depends on the publishing house. Many will say they respond within a certain number of months and they really would probably rather not field phone calls about the status of a submission until after this date. Others are very open about suggesting that authors are welcome to call and discuss the status of their submission. Again...just know the standards of the house you're approaching so you don't leave a negative impression that could hurt your manuscript's chances of getting accepted!

Enjoy and good luck!

Moonbeam Children's Book Awards Results: Meeting Lizzy Recognized as a Young Adult Fiction Winner

2nd Annual Moonbeam Award Winners are Dedicated and Diverse

Traverse City, Michigan – What do a graphic novel about the Boston Tea Party, a
picture book about a hyperactive monkey, and an instructive book about children’s
vision impairments have in common? They’re all medalists in the 2008 Moonbeam
Children’s Book Awards, honoring the year's best children’s books, authors and
illustrators.

Judges chose 138 gold, silver and bronze medalists in 31 categories. The aforementioned Ropes of Revolution, by J. Gunderson; illustrated by Brent Schoonover(Stone Arch Books) was the Comic/Graphic Novel gold medalist, Monkey with a Tool Belt, written and illustrated by Chris Monroe (Carolrhoda/Lerner) won a silver medal in the 4-8 Year Old Picture Book category, and All Children Have Different Eyes, by Edie A. Glaser and Maria Burgio, Ph.D; illustrated by Doina Paraschiv (Vidi Press)was a bronze medalist in the Health Issues category.

The Moonbeam Awards are intended to bring increased recognition to exemplary
children’s books and their creators, and to support childhood literacy and life-long
reading. A wide range of children’s publishing categories from alphabet books to
young adult novels and including specialties like Children’s Poetry and Environmental
Issues were judged by expert panels of youth educators, librarians, booksellers, and
book reviewers. Award recipients receive gold, silver and bronze medals and stickers
depicting a mother and child reading and silhouetted by a full moon.

The Peacemaker Award for the best book promoting world peace and human tolerance went
to Extraordinary Women from the Muslim World, by Natalie Maydell and Sep Riahi; illustrated by Heba Amin (Global Content Publishing). That award is given in honor of Mattie J.T. Stepanek (1990-2004) whose message of hope and peace has inspired millions of people around the world, and was an impetus in the creation of these awards.

This year’s award-winning books present a diverse range of subjects and formats, and
the winning publishers are widely dispersed geographically. Moonbeam medals were
awarded to authors and publishers from 30 U.S. states, four Canadian provinces, and
four countries overseas. The cause of promoting childhood literacy knows no
boundaries, and the award winners illustrate that point well, coming not only from
long-established publishers and university presses, but from small presses,
foundations, museums, and self-published entrepreneurs.

“We congratulate this year’s award winners and applaud the role these books play in
enriching children’s lives,” says Moonbeam Awards founder Jerrold Jenkins, father of
four children ranging in ages 6 to 16. “Today’s world is a confusing place to grow
up, and children’s book authors and publishers have risen to the occasion, creating
books that not only celebrate the joys of childhood, but also help families deal with
its challenges. We created Moonbeam to reward the best of these books and bring them
to the attention of parents, booksellers, librarians – and to the kids themselves.”
Jenkins Group has been involved in book packaging, marketing and distribution since
1988, and many of its employees now have children and grandchildren who strongly
influence the company culture with their youthful exuberance and love of books.
Read a Moonbeam Award-winning book to your child today!

Complete contest results available on the Moonbeam site!

For more information on Awards or medalists contact:
Jim Barnes, Awards Director
www.independentpublisher.com / www.moonbeamawards.com
Ph: 1.231.933.4954 x1011

Official Bronze Winner for New YA Fiction

Meeting Lizzy by SarahBeth Carter is the recipient of the Bronze for new YA fiction from the Moonbeam Children's Book Awards. The program's award ceremony will take place during the ALA's Midwinter Gathering this January 2009 in Denver, Colorado. The gathering will be host to the Moonbeam Children's Book Awards as well as the Newbery and Caldecott Awards for the year.

SarahBeth Carter's "Readers Who Write" Author Event

LJW Publishing author, SarahBeth Carter, is currently offering a fabulous teen author event she calls, "Readers Who Write!" The event encourages teens to accept their natural ability to tell a story by looking at the world around them and their own daily activites for writing inspiration. Teens get ALL this within the typical 1-2 hour time period and in a manner that ensures that all attendees are having a good time!

One popular portion of the event is the 25 Words or Less Game in which each teen summarizes their favorite book in 25 words or less without noting the title or author. All the cards are then returned to the author or the host of the event and as a group we attempt to determine which books are being described. The game is finished off by each teen drawing a random card with book description, title and author (added after guessing) so they can broaden their reading horizons by reading the title suggested. You never know when you'll happen upon a writing style that will inspire you to reach for a higher level in your own writing.



The event is peppered with giveaways that could include any of the following: books (of course), DVDs, treats of gummy bears and/or gum, Panda Express gift cards and more. (All the prizes are directly related to SarahBeth's new YA release, Meeting Lizzy, which makes it all the more fun!)

To schedule your own "Readers Who Write" Author Event get in touch with LJW Publishing today!

Meeting Lizzy Chosen as Moonbeam Children's Book Awards Semi-Finalist!

SarahBeth Carter's new YA book release, Meeting Lizzy, is a Semi-Finalist in the Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards. Award recipients will not be final until Friday, October 24th of 2008 with one gold and one silver award for each category. The remaining semi-finalists will be reipients of the bronze!

The official announcement Moonbeam Children's Book Awards winners will occur in January 2009 at the same time as the Newbery and Caldecott Medal announcement. The announcements will be made at the ALA (American Library Association) Mid-Winter Gathering in Denver, Colorado with the award winning books on display throughout the conference from January 23-26, 2009.

Meeting Lizzy was published by LJW Publishing on September 19, 2008. The author's name is SarahBeth Carter and the book is distributed through Atlas Books/BookMasters. The ISBN for Meeting Lizzy is 978-0-9761986-6-6. The book is paperback with perfect binding and 232 pages and retails for $9.95. The book falls into the Fiction/Young Adult, Contemporary categories.

This recent YA release offers teens the chance to approach a dangerous and difficult situation from a safe position; an opportunity typical to many YA novels. 1 in 5 female high school students report being physically and/or sexually abused by a dating partner according to The Journal of AMA. Yet according to surveys conducted by the Family Violence Prevention Fund and Advocates for Youth, 81% of parents believe that teen dating violence isn’t an issue. The upcoming release, Meeting Lizzy, deals with teen dating violence in a way that teens can digest; while offering them characters and a story that will keep them reading.

Annotation: Meeting Lizzy

Lizzy slams into Cy’s life with the menacing shadow of “Beef Man” right behind her and Cy’s priorities fall apart to make room for a secret so big and so wrong that he can’t think of anything else.

The Author: SarahBeth Carter

SarahBeth graduated from ASU with an English Literature degree (preceded by a slew of majors that she thoroughly enjoyed experimenting with). When asked why she wrote a book based upon teen dating violence she said, “It wasn’t really premeditated. The characters seemed to pop up and then the story followed naturally. But it’s something that teens are affected by more than most of us realize. YA Lit gives them the chance to become aware of a dangerous issue prior to dealing with it on a personal level.”

For More Information:

For more information on the book, the author, or the publishing company contact Sarah Carter at sarah@larryjohnwright.com or visit LJW online at www.larryjohnwrightpublishing.com.

LJW Authors: Upcoming Events

SarahBeth Carter, our YA fiction author, is scheduled to pop up at a few libraries in AZ during Teen Read Week. We're still finalizing plans as well as the final schedule, but the first library to approach SarahBeth Carter, Buckeye Public Library, has everything set and will be hosting an event with SarahBeth on October 18th, 2oo8 from 10 am to 12 pm. Drop by if you're in the area!