I'm so excited for today! It's the release day for DEFY THE DARK, a collection of stories by awesome writers including Carrie Ryan, Malinda Lo, Rachel Hawkins, and one of my critique partners, the fabulous Valerie Kemp. I've read Valerie's story, STILLWATER, and it's incredible...I can't wait to read the whole book.Valerie is doing a giveaway of Defy the Dark and discusses what inspired her story. Hurry, because you only have until Friday the 21st to enter!
From Goodreads: It features 16 stories by critically-acclaimed and bestselling YA authors as they explore things that can only happen in the dark.
You can order the book
here. Also, if you don't win Valerie's giveaway, you have another chance to win next week. I'm giving this book away too, because I have something big to share with everyone...so check back for details next Tuesday the 25th!
You may remember way back in January when I announced that I would have a short story appearing in the upcoming HarperTeen anthology DEFY THE DARK, that I said there'd be more exciting news about how YOU could be in the anthology too. Well, that day has finally arrived!
HarperTeen and Figment have opened up the DEFY THE DARK Short Story Contest.
This cover is NOT FINAL, but isn't it pretty?
The contest is open to any unpublished writer, or published writer who has earned less than $2000 from their writing. All you need to do is write a 2000-4000 word story of any genre that mostly takes place at night, or in the dark.
You can be creative with this. It doesn't have to be dark and scary. A girl sneaking out at night to meet her secret crush fits just as well as those creepy things that go bump in the night.
You have until September 1st to write an upload your story to Figment. The winner gets:
- The winner will get paid and have their story published in DEFY THE DARK!
- Two second place winners will also win cash prizes from HarperCollins and have their stories published on the Defy The Dark website.
So what are you waiting for? Get all the contest details at the Figment.com DEFY THE DARK contest page!
Back in January I announced that I was going to be published(!) alongside some of my MOST FAVORITE authors in the HarperTeen anthology DEFY THE DARK, edited by Saundra Mitchell but I couldn't tell you who they all were. Well today I can spill the beans. And what's more, I can also share with you the exciting contest that could make YOU the eighteenth author!
So, first things first, here are the authors appearing in DEFY THE DARK:
- Sarah Rees Brennan
- Tessa Gratton
- Rachel Hawkins
- Christine Johnson
- Valerie Kemp (eee!)
- Malinda Lo
- Myra McEntire
- Saundra Mitchell
- Sarah Ockler
- Jackson Pearce
- Aprilynne Pike
- Dia Reeves
- Beth Revis
- Carrie Ryan
- Jon Skovron
- Courtney Summers
So you see why my head basically exploded when I found out.
BUT that's not even the best part, because
HarperTeen and
Figment have teamed up to hold a contest to find one more story for the anthology. That's right. YOU could have YOUR STORY published alongside those AWESOME WRITERS! The details aren't all out yet on just how the contest will work, but you can sign up
here at Figment to be notified the moment they're released.
You can also learn more about the DEFY THE DARK, the writers, and
see sneak peeks of their stories at the newly launched
DEFY THE DARK website. The sneak peek at my story, STILLWATER is
here, you know, if you're interested.
Yay! Thanks Kristi! I'm so excited! And I can't wait for next week's big news, too!
You're so welcome! I'm happy to be part of spreading the love. :)