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!

Jennifer Laughran is a senior agent at Andrea Brown Literary Agency, the largest and oldest children’s book only agency in the US. She’s offering a query and full picture book critique (or first 10 pages of a MG or YA), with a 15-minute phone consultation.
Opening bid: $50
Auction ends: Tuesday, September 5, 2017 at 8pm 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!





Megan Frazer Blakemore will offer a manuscript critique of 25 pages (plus a 1-2 page synopsis) of your YA or MG novel, plus signed copies of three of her books. Megan is the author of five middle grade novels including The Water Castle and The Firefly Code, as well as three young adult novels, including the upcoming Good and Gone. She is a school librarian in Maine where she lives with her family.
Author Ali Benjamin has donated a classrom, library, or book club Skype visit, up to 1-hour, with 10 signed/ personalized books included.
Marieke Nijkamp has donated a full critique (up to 100k words) of a YA manuscript, any genre. Marieke is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of This Is Where It Ends (Sourcebooks Fire) and the forthcoming Before I Let Go.
Brian Herberger is offering ten signed copies of his novel
Roshani Chokshi, the New York Times bestselling author of The Star-Touched Queen and A Crown of Wishes, has donated a 20-minute Skype visit for a school, library, or book club. Her middle grade debut, Aru Shah and The End of Time, comes out with Rick Riordan Presents/Disney Hyperion in Spring 2018. Her debut, The Star-Touched Queen, was a finalist for the 2016 Andre Norton Award and Locus finalist for Best First Novel. Roshani lives in the south where she has a luck dragon that looks suspiciously like a Great Pyrenees.
Katie Slivensky is offering a 45 minute Skype visit to your school or library (author presentation+Q&A session), as well as 10 signed hardcover copies of her debut middle grade novel, THE COUNTDOWN CONSPIRACY, for library or classroom use. Katie is a science educator with over a decade of experience presenting to museum, school, and library audiences. She is the author of MG sci-fi adventure, THE COUNTDOWN CONSPIRACY (HarperCollins Children’s).
Brenda Ferber, award-winning author of middle grade novels and picture books, has donated a classroom/library Skype visit on or around Valentine’s Day. She’ll read The Yuckiest Stinkiest Best Valentine Ever and take a few questions, too. In addition, she’ll provide the winner with autographed copies of Yuckiest Stinkiest for each student in the class. (up to 30 books)
Author Jenn Bishop is offering a full critique of your MG or YA manuscript! Jenn is the author of the middle grade novels 14 Hollow Road and The Distance to Home, a Junior Library Guild selection. She is a graduate of Vermont College of Fine Art’s acclaimed MFA program.
Author (and literary agent!) Holly McGhee is offering sets of two of her picture books – 15 signed copies of Come with Me, illustrated by Pascal Lemaitre, signed by both author and illustrator, & 15 signed copies of Matylda, Bright & Tender with Skype visit from Author