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12 x 12 April 2020 Good News!

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It’s time for some good news! And who doesn’t need a little good news today? As picture book writers we have so much to celebrate this month because a whole new crop of 12 x 12 member books are out in the world! All of today’s good news was submitted before April 1st. Be sure to have your good news submitted by the 1st of the month for inclusion in that month’s Good News Post. A link to the Good News form can be found under Important Announcements in the 12 x 12 forum.

Help an author out! Click on the “Click to Tweet” links to share on Twitter. Request your local library carry these books. If you purchase one, please support your local independent bookstore. Write reviews on Amazon, GoodReads, and B&N. Your fellow authors will thank you!

Book Birthdays

Congratulations to Marta Magellan on the release of PYTHON CATCHERS (Pineapple Press)! (Click to Tweet)

Congratulations to Lisa Rogers on the April 1st release of HOUND WON’T GO from Albert Whitman & Co.! (Click to Tweet)

Congratulations to Laurie Smollett Kutscera on the April 1st release of MISADVENTURES OF A MAGICIAN’S SON  (Blue Whale Press)! (Click to Tweet)

Congratulations to Nancy Churnin on the April 1st release of  FOR SPACIOUS SKIES from Albert Whitman and Company! (Click to Tweet)

Congratulations to Teresa Robeson on the April 1st release of  TWO BICYCLES IN BEIJING (Albert Whitman and Company)! (Click to Tweet)

Congratulations to Nell Cross Beckerman on the April 7th release of DOWN UNDER THE PIER from Cameron Books! (Click to Tweet)

Congratulations to Katrina Moore on the April 7th release of GRANDPA GRUMPS from Little Bee Books! (Click to Tweet)

Congratulations to Heather Ferranti Kinser on the April 7th release of SMALL MATTERS from Millbrook Press! (Click to Tweet)

Congratulations to Keri Claiborne Boyle on the April 15th release of OTIS P. OLIVER PROTESTS from Sleeping Bear Press! (Click to Tweet)

Congratulations to Tara Luebbe on the April 21st release of RONAN THE LIBRARIAN from Roaring Brook Press! (Click to Tweet)

Congratulations to Andrea Denish on the release of EVERYBODY LOVES A PARADE from Boyds Mill Press! (Click to Tweet)

Signed! Look who has an agent!

Kate Allen Fox signed with Leslie Zampetti of Dunham Literary! Woohoo!

New Book Deals

Congratulations to Angela Dalton on the sale of RUBY’S REUNION DAY DINNER to Tamar Mays at HarperCollins! The book will be illustrated by Jestenia Southerland. Hooray!

Congratulations to Jessica Kulekjian on the sale of FIRST NOTES OF SPRING to Claire Stetzer at Bloomsbury! Jennifer Bower will illustrate.  Awesome!

Congratulations to Katelyn Aronson on the sale of POO-DUNIT? A FOREST FLOOR MYSTERY to Andrea Tompa at Candlewick! Stephanie Laberis will illustrate. Woohoo!

Congratulations to Keila Dawson on the sale of OPENING THE ROAD: VICTOR HUGO GREEN AND HIS GREEN BOOK to Naomi Krueger at Beaming Books! Huzzah!

Congratulations to Nancy Churnin on the sale of A QUEEN TO THE RESCUE: THE STORY OF HENRIETTA SZOLD to Marissa Moss at Creston. Hooray!

Congratulations to Nancy Roe Pimm on the sale of FLY, GIRL, FLY!: SHAESTA WAIZ SOARS AROUND THE WORLD to Naomi Krueger at Beaming Books! Woohoo!

Awards

Congratulations to Nancy Churnin on being named a Notable Book for a Global Society by International Literacy Association! WAY TO GO!

 

Congratulations to all our members on seeing their hard work pay off! We are so proud of you!

All of today’s good news was shared prior to April 1st. 12 x 12 members, if you have good news about a new book release, agent signing, book deal, or writing award, share it with us. Please submit your good news by May 1st to be included in our April Good News post. You can find the Good News form in the Important Announcements section of the forum.

Take care and be well!

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7 Responses

  2. What a fantastic list of new books! They all look amazing and I can’t wait to read them. Congratulations to all!

    Reply

  3. It’s so exciting to see how much happens in just one month! Congrats to the new parents, newly agented, recently contracted, and freshly awarded!!!

    Reply

  4. Congratulations to everyone! 12 x 12 is the place to be! A special shout out to Lisa, Laurie, Keila, and Nancy! I’m so happy to see friends succeed! It gives me, and I think everyone else, hope that we will too. Here’s to your next project!

    Reply

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Financial Need Scholarship Guidelines

All applications will be accepted ONLY via the Financial Need Scholarship form HERE.

The application period is November 1 – 30, 2025.

You will need the following items to complete the application form:

  1. Your bio, written in third person using no more than 250 words. Please include any writing credits.
  2. A short statement about why you write picture books and what you hope your work brings to the children’s book market in no more than 250 words and written in first person.
  3. A short statement describing the nature of the financial need/circumstances using no more than 250 words and written in first person.
  4. A photo of yourself that can be used in 12 x 12 social media posts and communications, if you are awarded a scholarship.
  5. A query letter for the picture book manuscript you are submitting with your application saved as a WORD doc (.doc or .docx) using this naming convention: FIN_FIRSTNAME_LASTNAME_QUERY_LETTER.doc or .docx (Replace the first and last name with your first and last name.)
  6. One picture book manuscript of 1,000 words or less, saved as a Word doc (.doc or .docx). The title, art notes, and/or backmatter do not count toward the manuscript’s word count.
  7. Do not include illustrations or photos with your manuscript. Author-Illustrators are encouraged to apply, but applications will be judged based on writing only.
  8. Use this naming convention for your Word doc: FIN_FIRSTNAME_LASTNAME_TITLE_OF_YOUR_MANUSCRIPT.doc or .docx (Replace the first and last name with your first and last name. Replace TITLE OF YOUR MANUSCRIPT with the title of your manuscript.)
  9. Pitches for two additional completed picture books.
  10. One or more of the following must be included with your application: your Instagram handle, your Bluesky handle, your Twitter/X handle, your Facebook profile, or your website URL.

 

Ready to apply? Click the button below and submit your application by November 20, 2025.

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Diversity Scholarship Guidelines

All applications will be accepted ONLY via the Diversity Scholarship form HERE.

The application period is November 1 – 30, 2025.

You will need the following items to complete the application form:

  1. Your bio, written in third person using no more than 250 words. Please include any writing credits.
  2. A short statement about how your work brings an underrepresented voice to picture books using no more than 250 words and written in first person.
  3. A photo of yourself that can be used in 12 x 12 social media posts and communications, if you are awarded a scholarship.
  4. One picture book manuscript of 1,000 words or less, saved as a Word doc (.doc or .docx). The title, art notes, and/or backmatter do not count toward the manuscript’s word count.
  5. Do not include illustrations or photos with your manuscript. Author-Illustrators are encouraged to apply, but applications will be judged based on writing only.
  6. Use this naming convention for your Word doc: DIV_FIRSTNAME_LASTNAME_TITLE_OF_YOUR_MANUSCRIPT.doc or .docx (Replace the first and last name with your first and last name. Replace TITLE OF YOUR MANUSCRIPT with the title of your manuscript.)
  7. A query letter for the picture book manuscript you are submitting with your application, saved as a WORD doc (.doc or .docx) using this naming convention: DIV_FIRSTNAME_LASTNAME_QUERY_LETTER.doc or .docx (Replace the first and last name with your first and last name.)
  8. Pitches for two additional completed picture books.
  9. One or more of the following must be included with your application: your Instagram handle, your Bluesky handle, your Twitter/X handle, your Facebook profile, or your website URL.

 
 

Ready to apply? Click the button below and submit your application by November 30, 2025. We can’t wait to read your application!

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