YouWriteOn was launched in January 2006 as an online writing circle to help new writers gain critical feedback on their work and improve their chances of getting published. Each month, YouWriteOn's top ten rated opening chapters receive feedback from professional editors working for major publishing houses. [1]
To participate, writers upload their opening chapters. The chapters are randomly assigned by YouWriteOn to be peer critiqued and rated based on a variety of criteria: character, plot, pace & structure, use of language, narrative voice, dialogue, setting, theme and ideas.
On the first day of each month the five highest rated chapters receive a free professional critique. [2]
The literary professionals involved with the site who provide feedback for the highest rated opening chapters of YouWriteOn members each month include editors for Bloomsbury Publishing, Random House and Orion Publishing Group. [3]
At the end of each year, YouWriteOn's literary professionals judge the best opening chapters from the previous twelve months and choose the Book of the Year.
The Afrika Reich by Guy Saville, overall winner in 2007, was published by Hodder & Stoughton in 2012.
Katherine Webb, author of bestselling novel The Legacy, was discovered on youwriteon.com by publisher Orion after being, rated as a Top Ten story on youwriteon by members. The Legacy became an Amazon bestseller and Channel 4 TV Book Club winner. [10]
Book of the Year (2007) finalist Douglas Jackson won a six-figure, two-book deal for his novel The Emperor’s Elephant. It was published, as Caligula, by Transworld Publishers in 2008 and Jackson went on to publish several sequels. [11]
Third place winner in the children’s category (2007), Bob Burke, secured a deal with The Friday Project for his book The Third Pig Detective Agency.
The Bufflehead Sisters by 2nd place runner-up (2007) Patricia Delois was the #1 recommended novel in Maine Sunday Telegram's '10 must reads for Christmas', and was described as 'the most stunning work of imagination published by a Maine author this year'. [12]
The Apothecary’s Daughter by Charlotte Betts, overall winner in 2010, was published by Piatkus in 2010. [13]
A Kill in the Morning by Graeme Shimmin, overall winner in 2013, was published by Transworld Publishers in 2014. [14]
A Prayer for Owen Meany is the seventh novel by American writer John Irving. Published in 1989, it tells the story of John Wheelwright and his best friend Owen Meany growing up together in a small New Hampshire town during the 1950s and 1960s. According to John's narration, Owen is a remarkable boy in many ways; he believes himself to be God's instrument and sets out to fulfill the fate he has prophesied for himself.
Sir Alexander "Sandy" McCall Smith is a Scottish legal scholar and author of fiction. He was raised in Southern Rhodesia and was formerly Professor of Medical Law at the University of Edinburgh. He became an expert on medical law and bioethics and served on related British and international committees. He has since become known as a fiction writer, with sales in English exceeding 40 million by 2010 and translations into 46 languages. He is known as the creator of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. The "McCall" derives from his great-great-grandmother Bethea McCall, who married James Smith at Glencairn, Dumfries-shire, in 1833.
Lee Hoffman, born Shirley Bell Hoffman, was an American science fiction fan, an editor of early folk music fanzines, and an author of science fiction, Western and romance novels.
The Writers' Trust of Canada is a registered charity which provides financial support to Canadian writers.
Lulu Press, Inc., doing business under trade name Lulu, is an online print-on-demand, self-publishing, and distribution platform. By 2014, it had issued approximately two million titles.
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle is a historical novel by the American author Avi published in 1990. The book is marketed towards children at a reading level of grades 5–8. The book chronicles the evolution of the title character as she is pushed outside her naive existence and learns about life aboard a ship crossing from England to America in 1832. The novel was well received and won several awards, including being named as a Newbery Honor book in 1991.
Hazel Grove High School is an 11–18 mixed secondary school and sixth form with academy status in Hazel Grove, Stockport, Greater Manchester, England.
The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) is a nonprofit, 501(c)3 organization that acts as a network for the exchange of knowledge between writers, illustrators, editors, publishers, agents, librarians, educators, booksellers and others involved with literature for young people.
Martin Waddell is a writer of children's books from Belfast, Northern Ireland. He may be known best for his picture book texts featuring anthropomorphic animals, especially the Little Bear series illustrated by Barbara Firth.
The Children's Book Award is a British literary award for children's books, run by the Federation of Children's Book Groups and previously known as the Red House Children's Book Award. Books published in the U.K. during the preceding calendar year are eligible. It recognises one "Overall" winner and one book in each of three categories: Books for Younger Children, Books for Younger Readers, and Books for Older Readers. The selections are made entirely by children, which is unique among British literary awards.
Joyce Dunbar is an English writer. She primarily writes books for children, and has published over seventy books. Dunbar is perhaps best known for Tell Me Something Happy Before I Go To Sleep, This Is The Star, and the Mouse and Mole series. She is the mother of the children's writer-illustrator Polly Dunbar.
The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution is a 2009 book by British biologist Richard Dawkins, which was released on 3 September 2009 in the UK and on 22 September 2009 in the US. It sets out the evidence for biological evolution, and is Dawkins's 10th book, following his best-selling critique of religion The God Delusion (2006) and The Ancestor's Tale (2004), which traced human ancestry back to the dawn of life.
Peer critique, a specialized form of critique, is the common practice of writers reviewing and providing constructive criticism of each other's work before that work is turned in for credit or professional review. Writers in many genres and professions including fiction writers and technical writers use some form of peer critique as part of their process of writing. It is also commonly used as an instructional technique in school writing settings. Peer critique may also be referred to as peer review, writing groups, writing circles, or writing workshop.
Dancing the Dream is a 1992 book of poems and reflections written by American singer and recording artist Michael Jackson, his second book following his 1988 autobiography Moonwalk. The book also contains an assortment of around 100 photographs of Jackson.
The Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really True is a 2011 book by the British biologist Richard Dawkins, with illustrations by Dave McKean. The book was released on 15 September 2011 in the United Kingdom, and on 4 October 2011 in the United States.
A Monster Calls is a low fantasy novel written for young adults by Patrick Ness illustrated by Jim Kay and published by Walker in 2011. Set in present-day England, it features a boy who struggles to cope with the consequences of his mother's illness. He is repeatedly visited in the middle of the night by a monster who tells stories. Dowd was terminally ill with cancer when she came up with the idea for the story, and died before she could write it.
The Romantic Novel of the Year Award is an award for romance novels since 1960, presented by Romantic Novelists' Association, and since 2003, the novellas, also won the Love Story of the Year.
Wonder is a contemporary children's novel written by R. J. Palacio and published on 14 February 2012. Wonder is in part inspired by an incident where the author's son started to cry after noticing a girl with a severe facial deformity. Inspiration was also pulled from Natalie Merchant's song of the same name. Several spin-offs have been published, including 365 Days of Wonder: Mr. Browne's Book of Precepts, We're All Wonders, Auggie and Me, and White Bird. A film adaptation was released in 2017, and a spin-off sequel film followed in 2024.
Graeme John Shimmin, is a British science-fiction novelist and blogger.
Founded in 2001, the Florida Writers Association (FWA) is a nonprofit 501(c)(6) serving writers of all genres and all levels. FWA provides a professional atmosphere, a vast networking system, and valuable tools to succeed in today's publishing industry. It is an all-volunteer organization. It describes its purpose as "Writers Helping Writers".