I’m Seeking Article Pitches for the 2016 Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market
I’m putting a call out for possible interview article ideas for the 2016 CHILDREN’S WRITER’S & ILLUSTRATOR’S MARKET. There are 4 types of articles in the book each year. (We usually tend to work with writers who are very familiar with the book and use its editions. Those types of writers are the best at pitching interesting material that directly appeals to its audience.)
Hi, writers
I'm putting a call out for possible interview article ideas for the 2016 CHILDREN'S WRITER'S & ILLUSTRATOR'S MARKET.
There are 4 types of articles in the book each year. (We usually tend to work with writers who are very familiar with the book and use its editions. Those types of writers are the best at pitching interesting material that directly appeals to its audience. Learn about the 2015 CWIM here.)
1. Interviews: Each year, CWIM interviews approximately 8 or so of today's successful authors and illustrators. These can be young adult authors, middle grade authors, picture book authors, and/or illustrators.
Author interviews usually consist of 14+ questions. There is no length limit on responses. All interviews run with an author bio (them), an interviewer bio (you), and 1-3 cover images of the author's books (them). It's great exposure for them and their books.
Timeline: We are looking to get all interviews done and turned in to me by the end of February, but we need to ID our interview subjects quickly, hence the time factor. The 2016 CWIM is released in September 2015.
2. Roundups: We also are game for roundups, which is something I personally love. Instead of asking 1 person 14 questions, you find 3-5 subjects and ask them all about 5 questions. A recent edition of CWIM did a Social Media Roundup, for example -- asking 4 authors and illustrators about how to connect with readers online.
3. Instructional articles on writing: We buy fewer of these, but if you have any upfront instructional articles on writing / publishing / craft / promotion, let me know. Anything very useful is always attractive, and the more people consulted for an article is nice.
4. Illustrator-focused articles: I am always looking for practical articles or interviews that can really help illustrators get work. All ideas are welcome, and more illustration-focused articles is a priority for me.
SUBMITTING: If you're interested, please pitch me at chuck.sambuchino [at] fwcommunity.com. Include no attachments. Instead of submitting book covers, for instance, like to web pages and Amazon pages. Note that if your article gets approval, it is you that reaches out to the article or author's publicist for confirmation to interview the author. You can conduct the interview by phone or e-mail. You are responsible for gathering proper author book images and the author's bio. If you have more questions about the process, I can explain as we go along.
PAYMENT: Payment varies depending on the type and scope of the article.
RESPONSES: I will try to get back to everyone by Jan 20, and respond to all inquiries, even if it's a pass.
best,
Chuck Sambuchino
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Here are the authors/illustrators we've interview in the past 7 years to avoid
MT Anderson
Sherman Alexie
Kathy Appelt
Katherine Applegate
Annie Barrows
Raymond Bean
Holly Black
Libba Bray
Meg Cabot
Rae Carson
Ally Carter
Cinda Williams Chima
Rachel Cohn
Debbie Dadey
James Dashner
Jessica Day George
Lauren DeStefano
John Green (has declined)
Ellen Hopkins
Becca Fitzpatrick
Rachel Hartman
Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Laurent Linn
Loren Long
Marie Lu
Kate Messner
Marissa Meyer
Garth Nix
Kristen O'Donnell Tubb
Sarah Ockler
Mitali Perkins
Tamora Pierce
Laura Resau
Beth Revis
Debbie Ridpath Ohi
Sherry Duskey Rinker
Veronica Rioth (has declined)
Maggie Steifvater
RL Stine
Wendy Toliver
Sarah Varoin
Lindsay Ward
Elizabeth Wein
Kiersten White
Jacqueline Woodson
Patricia C Wrede
Lisa Yee
Jane Yolan

Chuck Sambuchino is a former editor with the Writer's Digest writing community and author of several books, including How to Survive a Garden Gnome Attack and Create Your Writer Platform.