Welcome to KidLit Cares, an online talent auction to benefit the Red Cross relief effort to help communities recover from Hurricane Harvey and related flooding. Agents, editors, authors, and illustrators have donated various services to be auctioned off to the highest bidder, with donations being made directly to the Red Cross disaster relief fund. You can read more about KidLit Cares here. Now, on to the auction!

Molly O’Neill is a literary agent with Waxman Leavell Literary Agency. For the past fifteen years, she has held various roles inside the publishing industry. Prior to becoming an agent, she worked as an Editor at HarperCollins Children’s Books, where she acquired Veronica Roth’s juggernaut Divergent series, among many other fantastic projects; as Head of Editorial at Storybird, a publishing/tech start-up; and in School & Library Marketing at both HarperCollins and Clarion Books. She loves the creative process and early-stage project development, is invigorated by business strategy and entrepreneurial thinking, and is fascinated by the intersections of art, commerce, creativity, and innovation. Learn more about her work at mollyoneillbooks.com or via Twitter.
Up for grabs is an hour-long phone call with Molly to talk about anything publishing-related you can imagine. If you want to talk about your current work-in-progress or a manuscript you’ve completed, she’ll review one picture book manuscript, or up to 20 pages of a MG/YA novel in advance of your call. Or, you can:
- Spend the time discussing more general submissions questions to help you understand how the publishing process works;
- chat about specific struggles and techniques relating to craft;
- Discuss marketing/publicity concerns;
- Brainstorm strategies for whatever the next step in your career might be;
- Get a publishing professional’s perspective on your website/social media efforts;
- Get a dose of creative inspiration by talking about book recs and creative practices that might help you reach your writing goals more effectively;
- Or whatever else you can think of!
Opening bid: $50
Auction ends:Thursday, September 7, 2017 at 9pm EST.
Any bids submitted in comments after that time will be void. (Please note: bidding at the last second isn’t a good idea. Websites get overloaded & there’s always a chance that your bid might not post on time. So please bid your best offer with plenty of time to spare.)
If you’d like to bid on this auction, check the current high bid and place a higher bid by leaving your name and bid amount in the comments, along with some way to contact you (email, FB or Twitter…I’m not fussy.) Winners will be notified when the auction ends and should be prepared to make an online donation to the Red Cross Hurricane Harvey Disaster Relief fund in the amount of the high bid at that time. After you’ve made your donation, you’ll forward your receipt to me, and I’ll put you in touch with the person who donated the service you won so that the two of you can work out the details about how and when. All services will be provided at the convenience of both the person making the donation and the auction winner, but this should happen within three months of the auction’s end unless something else is agreed upon by both parties.
Good luck, and thanks for bidding!





Leeza is a published children’s book illustrator and sometimes, author. She noodles around her art studio playing with paints and printmaking, while her sleepy cat Jaspurr snoozes on.
Julie Hedlund has donated a Gold-level membership in the 12 x 12 Picture Book Writing Challenge, to guarantee a spot for 2018.
Elizabeth Harding, Vice President and agent at Curtis Brown, Ltd., is donating a full manuscript critique for one aspiring middle-grade author, along with a 15-minute phone call. The winner of this auction will receive a critique of their MG manuscript in the form of a three- to five-page editorial letter.
Monica Brown, the award-winning author of Waiting for the Biblioburro, Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match/no combina, Maya’s Blanket/la manta de Maya and the Lola Levine Chapter book series (
Heidi Schulz is the New York Times Bestselling author of MG novels Hook’s Revenge and Hook’s Revenge: The Pirate Code and the hilarious picture book Giraffes Ruin Everything. Heidi is offering a critique of your full MG novel (up to 70,000 words). After you receive your notes, Heidi will also follow up with a 30 minute Skype or phone call to discuss or answer your publishing questions.
Picture book and middle grade author, Kat Yeh, is offering a special Critique Package for an aspiring pb or mg author.
Stephanie Ruble is an author / illustrator, and the illustrator of EWE AND AYE, written by Candace Ryan. Learn more about Stephanie and see more of her art at:
Opening bid: $50