MeeGenius!, a bookstore and reading platform that offers enhanced picture books (including word highlighting, audio playback and auto-play), is looking for great children's book submissions and will award one grand prize winner an ebook publishing contract along with a top-of-the-line iPad (64GB + 3G). Four runners-up also win a contract along with an iPod Touch. Authors Laura Dave, Jane Green, and Allison Winn Scotch will serve as judges, along with MeeGenius founders Wandy Yeap Hoh and David Park.
Material submitted for the contest must be suitable for a 3- to 8-year-old audience and must include illustrations. The deadline is October 31st and winners will be awarded in January. After publication, author/illustrator will receive 30% of net revenues from the book's sale. MeeGenius! may also choose non-winners for publication (with the same revenue deal). Click here for complete contest rules.
"We have two main customers--Parents & Kids and Authors & Illustrators," says David Park. "With the April launch of our website, iPhone and iPad apps, we built something for Parents & Kids, now with the launch of the authoring platform we've built something for our other customer base--Authors & Illustrators. We thought what better way to celebrate the launch of the authoring platform than to have a book contest to find some new and wonderful children's books."
To find out more about MeeGenius! and their contest, check them out online:
Does this strike anyone else as spec work? How can you write and illustrate a book for nothing, only the promise that IF it wins, you'll get 30% of sales?
ReplyDeleteSCBWI should be wary of encouraging authors/illustrators to do things that may serve to have their members taken less seriously.
Also - many of the books on the MeeGenius site look amateur at best. Let's leave contests for the amateurs, and if you want to be a professional, act like one. Respect your work (and the work of your peers trying to make a living at this) enough to not give it away for free!
I am the Co-CEO of MeeGenius and I think I should clarify the terms to avoid any confusion. All submissions are eligible to be published, regardless if it is the winner (or runner-up) or not. If a submission is published, it will receive the same terms as the winners - 30% of net sales. If the submission is not a winner and/or does not get published, nothing has change for the author/illustrator - he or she (or they) still retains the rights to the manuscript.
ReplyDelete