MAILBOX MONDAY!

Mailbox Monday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Marcia over at The Printed Page. 

Since I missed the last few Mondays, I have a few to blab about!!  WOOT! 

Here they are in all their georgous bookiness:

(WOAH!  Has this ever happened to you?  You are literally typing your post for Mailbox Monday and the doorbell rings... Fed Ex delivering another book!!!  I am soooo happyyy!!!)

The following books were sent to me by Michelle  and Anneliese from SIMON AND SCHUSTER CANADA... THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH!!!  I will say, once again, that Simon and Schuster Canada are very good to me, and I am honoured and blessed that they send me books for review. 

• It's Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han  YA available in April
• Claire De Lune by Christine Johnson  YA Available May 18th
• Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready  YA available May 18th
• She's So Dead to Us by Kieran Scott   YA Available May 25th
• The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
• Eternal on the Water by Joseph Monninger (I started this last Thurs and am LOOOVING it!)
• A book that I have been told to keep strictly under wraps until closer to the publication date, which is sometime in May.  The only thing I will say is that it is YA and looks AMAZING!  So, watch for it!  I'll label the post "Mystery YA novel Revealed!"

Last week, I recieved a VERY exciting email asking me if I would like to review a new book.  It is exciting because the email was from PENGUIN PUBLISHING!   I had applied to review for them a few months ago and was just so thrilled and honoured to now be on their roster of bloggers that they send out ARC's too.  THANK YOU PENGUIN! 

The book that was sent to me and arrived literally a moment ago is:

MISTRESS OF ROME by Kate Quinn   Available April 6th 2010. 
THANK YOU, KAITLYN!

I suddenly have A LOT of review books to read, as I have some from awhile ago that I am still working my way through... ACK!   I have now placed the stack in priority of A) books that I've had for awhile and have not yet reviewed, B) books with an imminent release date C) and books with a release date in May.  So, I am not doing much recreational reading at the moment!  But I must say that so far the books FEEL very much like recreation as I am really liking them or loving them.

What's in YOUR mailbox this week?

YA ASPIRING AUTHORS COULD WIN A CHANCE TO GET DISCOVERED!

This is SUPER EXCITING news!!!    In honor of the annual writing competition, Nanwrimo, some of the biggest names in publishing (Random House, HarperCollins, Harlequin, Source Books, and Penguin) has teamed up with  New Yorks' extremely popluar Gotham Writers' Worshop,  to bring you the YA Author contest that just might be your big break!

Here are the details (from the official Press Release provided by Source Books):

 Get in front of TOP YA Editors and Agents with ONLY the first 250 words of your YA novel!

Have a young adult novel—or a YA novel idea—tucked away for a rainy day? Are you putting off pitching your idea simply because you’re not sure how to pitch an agent? No problem! All you have to do is submit the first 250 words of your novel and you can win both exposure to editors, and a one-on-one chat with one of New York’s TOP literary agents Regina Brooks.

Regina Brooks is the founder of Serendipity Literary Agency and the author of Writing Great Books for Young Adults. Brooks has been instrumental at establishing and building the careers of many YA writers, including three-time National Book Award Honoree and Michael Printz Honoree Marilyn Nelson, as well as Sundee Frazier—a Coretta Scott King Award winner, an Oprah Book Pick and an Al Roker book club selection. As an agent, she is known for her ability to turn raw talent into successful authors.

ADDITIONALLY: The top 20 submissions will all be read by a panel of five judges comprised of top YA editors at Random House, HarperCollins, Harlequin, Sourcebooks and Penguin. All 20 will receive free autographed copies of Writing Great Books for Young Adults by Regina Brooks. Of the 20, they will pick the top five submissions and provide each author with commentary. ONE Grand Prize Winner will win a free 10-week writing course courtesy of the Gotham Writer’s Workshop.

Please submit all entries via the contest website at http://www.writingclasses.com/ContestPages/YAPitch.php. One entry per person; anyone age 13+ can apply. Open to the U.S. & Canada (void where prohibited). Entries for the YA Novel Discovery Contest will be accepted from 12:01am (ET) November 1 until 11:59pm (ET),

NOVEMBER IS NaNoWriMo

In honor of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo.org)—an international event where aspiring novelists are encouraged to write an entire novel in 30 days—this contest is meant to encourage the aspiring YA author to get started on that novel by offering an incentive for completing the first 250 words.

So apply now! http://bit.ly/1PYGaN

JUDGING

YA literary agent Regina Brooks, along with editors at Sourcebooks, will read all of the entries and determine the top 20 submissions. These submissions will then be read by Dan Ehrenhaft, head Acquisitions Editor at Soucebooks Fire; Alisha Niehaus, Editor at Dial Books for Young Readers (Penguin); David Linker, Executive Editor at HarperCollins Children’s Books; Michele Burke, Editor at Knopf Books for Young Readers (Random House); and Evette Porter, Editor at Harlequin. These judges will whittle the top 20 down to four winners and a grand prize winner—all five will be provided commentary on their submissions.