Write and WIN $1,000, a critique, and more!

Soho Teen is getting so close to launch I can TASTE it (and, to tell you the truth, it's not all donuts and honey--but after all this is a mystery and thriller imprint and well...sometimes that don't taste good. But I digress).

To celebrate Soho Teen as well as our many great friends, we've launched a contest with Figment (a great writer/reader community, if you don't know!) linked to our February 2013 title, WHO DONE IT, an anthology featuring John Green, David Levithan, Libba Bray, Maureen Johnson...everyone! And edited by the wonderful Jon Scieszka (author of The Stinky Cheese Man!).

In the anthology, authors are suspected of killing the odious editor Herman Mildew and they must provide (hilarious) alibis absolving themselves to our editor/investigator Mr. Scieszka. To enter the contest, you have to do the same!

Here are the deets:

In 500 to 1,000 words, following the guidelines on Figment's site, write your alibi in Herman Mildew’s murder. You must be between 13 and 18 years old to enter.

And HERE are the amazing prizes!

• $1,000
• A one-page editorial letter from literary agent Suzie Townsend (New Leaf Literary Agency) who will read up to 8,000 words of your original work. Any form of writing will be accepted: short stories, excerpt from a novel, poems, essays, etc. Both published and unpublished work will be accepted for review.
• An invitation for the winner and a parent or guardian to the SohoTeen launch party in New York City on November 29, 2012, where the winner will get a personal half-hour chat with Jon Scieszka. (If the winner cannot attend, he or she will win a half-hour phone conversation with Jon.)
• Eight runners-up will each receive a copy of Who Done It?.

Enjoy!