Young Adult Fiction Market: Mirrorstone
May 11th, 2007 by DanO
Back when I was in college as an English major, I was accepted as a summer intern in the Editorial department of one of the few Los Angeles based book publishers, an independent non-fiction house. I spent that summer reading unsolicited manuscripts, looking for that unpolished gem that I could recommend to the editors. Three months of wading through meandering prose, non-existant story lines and unintelligible ramblings I was only able to recommend one submission: The History of the Wheel. Shortly after that, I was foisted on to the Marketing department.
My point is that there is a reason publishers don’t usually accept unagented/unsolicited work. Agents act as a filter for the publishers who are trying their hardest to deliver a quality product to their demanding public (i.e. you). Keeping this in mind, understand when I tell you what a rare opportunity it is that a fiction publisher is open to submissions from anyone.
Wizards of the Coast has a long history of launching many a fantasy novelists career. They take on unpublished, unagented writers and give them a chance to either write in one of their existing novel franchises (Dragonlance series, etc.) or to start a new fantasy series. As of this writing, they are not accepting new writer submissions for their adult fantasy line, but they are open for their other line.
Mirrorstone is the Young Adult fantasy fiction imprint of Wizards of the Coast. They accept unagented and unsolicited manuscripts. Here is a brief excerpt of what they are looking for:
Mirrorstone is interested in considering proposals for chapter books, standalone novels, and series fiction, aimed at children and young adults ages 6-9, 8-12, or 12 and up. We will consider most forms of speculative fiction: high fantasy, low fantasy, horror, science fiction, or mystery. We are not interested in realistic fiction. We are currently not interested in picture books or picture book series.
Mirrorstone is currently accepting submissions from writers interesting in writing novels within the Dragonlance: The New Adventures series (epic high fantasy).
We also will consider series proposals for YA and middle grade on a case-by-case basis. We are not currently accepting submissions for Star Sisterz or Knights of the Silver Dragon, and we do not publish picture books.
Check out the Mirrorstone site for FAQ’s, Application PDFs and more detail about what they are and are not looking for.
