Fantastic! Congratulations! We are not currently looking for republications, but the call will be open if you wrote a book that isn’t in your existing series.
November 1st isn't a deadline. We'll publish boy's stories for as long as people will buy them -- hopefully for years to come. If you don't have a boy's story done by November 1st, then take heart that you'll have at least the entirety of 2025 to get it done.
Oooh, now this is a good call. I have to find my boys old books to read (we love the Three Investigators and Encyclopedia Brown as well as Henry Reed). Also, boys books should be funny! Oh my gosh, never underestimate how important humor is! We're reading Detectives in Togas and it is hilarious. Also think of everything Beverly Clearly ever wrote.
'Twas The Mad Scientists' Club, in point of fact, and yes, many fond memories of that one. Particularly the time they haunted the house (with the dumbwaiter).
You're right: I remember the title the same way but the mistype above threw me off. And it's been ages since I heard of 'em at all (though my parents had the one battered paperback).
Treasure Island, and Tom Sawyer, are both good examples of the type I think. Maybe not Huck Finn.
And has anyone else enjoyed Booth Tarkington's "Penrod" trilogy?
Very excited to know this is going on. It's really hard to find middle-grade stuff that my sons might remotely be interested in, and I've had a backburnered idea for a long time that I could readily tackle.
Sounds cool, but I'm not sure about the restrictions. Besides that, the story I'm currently writing is actually both old-timey AND futuristic. I have clashing yet harmonious tastes. Hope you find somebody though! We need more boy's stories -- good ones, at that.
I mean, does the protagonist HAVE to be a middle-grader? I've gotten pretty tired of the "super kid team" trope of 3-5 kids having powers and abilities to fight the bad guy, with the inescapable romance between the male and female lead that the author TOTALLY ISN'T building up for later on.
Where in this announcement did you get the idea that the protagonist must have ANY powers or special abilities? Have you never heard of or read anything like The Boxcar Children? Or Where the Red Fern Grows?
Okay, good point, not specified about that. Maybe my comment wasn't called for. I was just letting off some steam I have about the book industry and how so many publishers opt for the "cool" story that they assume their audience will like, and I guess I got carried away. But I still want to know, is the middle-grader protagonist optional? I don't think a young readers series has to be about young people necessarily. But I understand if that's not what this publisher is looking for. And yes, I have read The Boxcar Children! It is a very good children's book. And I've heard of Where the Red Fern Grows, maybe I'll find a good audiobook for it at some point. I think another good example of that would be Hatchet by Gary Paulsen.
Oh trust us, we get it - we're a little sick and tired of the Artemis Fowls, the Last Kids on Earth, the Harry Potters, the etc etc. Something along the lines of Tom Sawyer or The Sandlot, or even Johnny Quest would be a breath of fresh air! Ordinary kids, even when they're put into extraordinary situations, are still ordinary in all but virtue and bravery - my daughter loves the book Marymae and the Nightmare Man for example. Kids don't need "powers" to affect their world - it's become 100% a crutch
Yes, exactly!! That makes me think of G.K. Chesterton's words in Orthodoxy: "The old fairy tale makes the hero a normal human boy; it is his adventures that are startling; they startle him because he is normal. But in the modern psychological novel the hero is abnormal; the centre is not central. Hence the fiercest adventures fail to affect him adequately, and the book is monotonous. You can make a story out a hero among dragons, but not out of a dragon among dragons."
Yes, the protagonist can be older, just preferred not adults, so the kids can relate to them. We are going to market these to boys aged ten and up, which is what makes them middle-grade.
Interesting. I've got an idea bouncing around in my head. What's the general consensus on fantasy swashbucklers? Because I heard an anecdote from a grizzled old seaman in a tavern in Tangris about the son of El Senora de Mare which might be wirth stretching into a novel.
Nice! Something I can possibly do...
I have a children's book out. The Rooster Rider, available at Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.com.
https://www.amazon.com/Rooster-Rider-Sean-Valdrow-ebook/dp/B09QRKD17P/ref=sr_1_1?crid=GIOOPN094I5L&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.qdzIxpNrU4YsN-H3jXtCjw2cthNLN-L_gWW3TIQ9jEjqgyEGfCDyQzrBJzXYqqj3eDno5jkEv3MPPSpp66QkwU_E1zTmchQSpDMpFWpgK-etZY3gpumfAKtSrrrgMpb5OvXuOqKXj-Tad75n-yibj3R6jUQEjvCRD7ZfhkBvdwFxKkFO1nIJ8IwXTz5_cz_xj3fQ1thCS8J49fKfNtalHCQGZVtCL3OvGiamxZbnrJo.-1loTm3OTJvPDSj3SJ9UFXM6zfSXrskh38QDcoV89Qc&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+rooster+rider&qid=1726331946&sprefix=the+rooster+rider%2Caps%2C190&sr=8-1
I am also in edit on the sequel: The Rooster Rider, GutRipper's Revenge.
Both are in line with what you describe. It's self-published. If you want to pick it up for publication, I will happily discuss the matter.
Fantastic! Congratulations! We are not currently looking for republications, but the call will be open if you wrote a book that isn’t in your existing series.
Well, so much for that. Thank you.
We start Open Call for the boy's books on 01 NOV 2024.
We'll have the details regarding how to submit for that call in a Substack post on that date.
Appreciate your interest!
Ian Mc Murtrie, CEO
Raconteur Press
Thank you.
Nov 1st? You’re not giving us a lot of time.
That is when the call opens, not closes. It will remain open until we have the books we need for 2025.
Oh, ok. So it will close when you get… say 3 that you want to publish?
It will not close.
We will continue to accept and publish boy's stories as long as they sell.
Ian Mc Murtrie, CEO
Raconteur Press
Good to know. Thank you. I have three small boys and I would love to write something for them.
November 1st isn't a deadline. We'll publish boy's stories for as long as people will buy them -- hopefully for years to come. If you don't have a boy's story done by November 1st, then take heart that you'll have at least the entirety of 2025 to get it done.
Ian Mc Murtrie, CEO
Raconteur Press
Oooh, now this is a good call. I have to find my boys old books to read (we love the Three Investigators and Encyclopedia Brown as well as Henry Reed). Also, boys books should be funny! Oh my gosh, never underestimate how important humor is! We're reading Detectives in Togas and it is hilarious. Also think of everything Beverly Clearly ever wrote.
Detectives in Togas! I had forgotten that! Yes, humor is a vital ingredient.
I SO need to come up with something that will fit this concept!
Hey! Somebody else has heard of the Mad Science Club!
(FWIW, that was my first exposure to the physics of ballooning, and where I discovered the word "dumbwaiter," and what such a doohickey was.)
'Twas The Mad Scientists' Club, in point of fact, and yes, many fond memories of that one. Particularly the time they haunted the house (with the dumbwaiter).
You're right: I remember the title the same way but the mistype above threw me off. And it's been ages since I heard of 'em at all (though my parents had the one battered paperback).
Treasure Island, and Tom Sawyer, are both good examples of the type I think. Maybe not Huck Finn.
And has anyone else enjoyed Booth Tarkington's "Penrod" trilogy?
Very excited to know this is going on. It's really hard to find middle-grade stuff that my sons might remotely be interested in, and I've had a backburnered idea for a long time that I could readily tackle.
I want to write children’s books! That would make me so happy!
Does the Wilderking trilogy by Johnathan Rogers fit what you’re looking for?
Sounds cool, but I'm not sure about the restrictions. Besides that, the story I'm currently writing is actually both old-timey AND futuristic. I have clashing yet harmonious tastes. Hope you find somebody though! We need more boy's stories -- good ones, at that.
I mean, does the protagonist HAVE to be a middle-grader? I've gotten pretty tired of the "super kid team" trope of 3-5 kids having powers and abilities to fight the bad guy, with the inescapable romance between the male and female lead that the author TOTALLY ISN'T building up for later on.
Where in this announcement did you get the idea that the protagonist must have ANY powers or special abilities? Have you never heard of or read anything like The Boxcar Children? Or Where the Red Fern Grows?
Okay, good point, not specified about that. Maybe my comment wasn't called for. I was just letting off some steam I have about the book industry and how so many publishers opt for the "cool" story that they assume their audience will like, and I guess I got carried away. But I still want to know, is the middle-grader protagonist optional? I don't think a young readers series has to be about young people necessarily. But I understand if that's not what this publisher is looking for. And yes, I have read The Boxcar Children! It is a very good children's book. And I've heard of Where the Red Fern Grows, maybe I'll find a good audiobook for it at some point. I think another good example of that would be Hatchet by Gary Paulsen.
Oh trust us, we get it - we're a little sick and tired of the Artemis Fowls, the Last Kids on Earth, the Harry Potters, the etc etc. Something along the lines of Tom Sawyer or The Sandlot, or even Johnny Quest would be a breath of fresh air! Ordinary kids, even when they're put into extraordinary situations, are still ordinary in all but virtue and bravery - my daughter loves the book Marymae and the Nightmare Man for example. Kids don't need "powers" to affect their world - it's become 100% a crutch
Yes, exactly!! That makes me think of G.K. Chesterton's words in Orthodoxy: "The old fairy tale makes the hero a normal human boy; it is his adventures that are startling; they startle him because he is normal. But in the modern psychological novel the hero is abnormal; the centre is not central. Hence the fiercest adventures fail to affect him adequately, and the book is monotonous. You can make a story out a hero among dragons, but not out of a dragon among dragons."
Yes, the protagonist can be older, just preferred not adults, so the kids can relate to them. We are going to market these to boys aged ten and up, which is what makes them middle-grade.
Okay! I think I'm good in that case. I don't prefer to write 50k word novels, and I don't think my story quite fits with what you're describing.
Children’s novels tend to be shorter, yes.
I have a project that fits your parameters nicely.
Interesting. I've got an idea bouncing around in my head. What's the general consensus on fantasy swashbucklers? Because I heard an anecdote from a grizzled old seaman in a tavern in Tangris about the son of El Senora de Mare which might be wirth stretching into a novel.