First Page Contest #4: Middle Grade Fiction -- Judged by Agent Morgan Hughes of Fineprint Literary1/11/2026
 FREE CONTEST FOR WRITERS!
Welcome to First Page Contest. Contest #4 -- for writers of Middle Grade Fiction (all types). If you write in this age category, keep reading and submit your work! This free contest ends on Jan. 31, 2026. Here’s how it works: We invite an awesome literary agent to judge the contest. The agent picks the genre(s) they want to judge. Writers in that genre are invited to send in their first page as part of the competition. Winners get a fabulous critique from your agent judge. It’s free to enter. Sound good? Then let’s get to some details and rules! There are three other contests happening right now in late 2025 into 2026 -- one for writers of Thriller / Mystery / Crime / Suspense, one for writers of Adult Science Fiction & Fantasy, and one for writers of Romance / Women's Fiction / Romantasy.  ABOUT THE AGENT:
Rachel brings a passion for sharp storytelling, vibrant voices, and fierce author advocacy. A lifelong book lover, Rachel’s path to publishing began with a pandemic-era BookTok and led to her role as a bookseller, event coordinator, and now agent. She lives on a small Ohio homestead with her husband, two kids, her parents, and an entire animal kingdom that includes dogs, cats, ducks, and a turkey. As a Jewish and Bisexual woman raised in the Midwest, and now a mom to a disabled and medically fragile child, Rachel is deeply committed to uplifting underrepresented voices and helping storytellers thrive. RACHEL IS SEEKING:  ABOUT THE AGENT:
Tamara joined DeFiore and Company in 2022. She started her career with internships at Macmillan and Writers House, then worked at ICM for five years. Tamara represents writer and illustrator clients in both the children’s and adult markets, with a particular focus on talented LGBTQ+ and BIPOC storytellers. She holds a B.A. in Comparative Literature from Princeton University and an M.A. in Middle Eastern Studies from Columbia University. She is a member of the Association of American Literary Agents, and serves on the board of the nonprofit organization Literary Agents of Change, where she co-directs a mentorship program for early career agents from underrepresented backgrounds. TAMARA IS SEEKING:  ABOUT THE AGENT:
Renee joined the Spencerhill team in 2025. A South Florida native, she earned her B.A. in English from the University of Florida in 2021 before moving to Boston, where she completed both an M.A. in Children’s Literature and an M.F.A. in Writing for Children from Simmons University in 2024. During grad school, she interned at Red Fox Literary and served as Graduate Fellow for The Horn Book during its centennial year, then spent a year as an assistant at Spencerhill. Her academic research background uniquely equips her to advocate for books that not only resonate with readers but also contribute meaningfully to the broader conversation about the evolution of the children’s literature field. A lover of anthropomorphic characters, she dreams of repping the next blockbuster animal novel or series. Her favorite feeling is being moved to tears by a book’s last chapter. When not reading, Renee enjoys blasting music, playing with her pets, volunteering for her favorite causes, and collecting all kinds of ephemera. Find her on Twitter at @rrreadsbooks, BlueSky at @reneerunge.bsky.social and on Instagram at @reneerungelit. RENEE IS SEEKING:  ABOUT THE AGENT:
Paula Weiman (they/them) joined the ASH Literary team in 2023 as an Agent after a career in literary scouting and educational publishing. Based in New York and with a background in foreign rights, they bring an international approach to selling their clients’ work. Their goal is to help as many children as possible to see their experiences represented on the page for the first time. PAULA IS SEEKING:  ABOUT THE AGENT:
Krista Van Dolzer is the newest literary agent at The Unter Agency, though she’s worked in and around the publishing industry for more than a decade. Her middle grade fiction has been published by Penguin Random House, Sourcebooks, Capstone, and Bloomsbury USA, and she’s hosted many query contests and pitch events for aspiring authors over the years. She currently lives in central Iowa with her husband and four kids and holds degrees in Mathematics Education and Economics from Brigham Young University. KRISTA IS SEEKING:  ABOUT THE AGENT:
Aiden Siobhan (they/them) graduated from UNC School of the Arts in 2023 with a Filmmaking BFA specializing in Screenwriting and Animation. Before becoming an agent, they interned at LDLA and were an Author Mentor Match mentee in 2022. When they’re not binge reading an LGBTQ+ YA novel, they work as the Art Director for two alternative newspapers, attend film festivals for their documentary projects, and go on road trips with their fiancé and dog. AIDEN IS SEEKING:  ABOUT THE AGENT:
Sara Shandler joined The Book Group in 2025 after twenty-six years in publishing, most recently as the Editor-in-Chief of Alloy Entertainment, where she collaborated with authors from the inception of their stories through publication. Sara’s introduction to publishing began around the dinner table with her can-do-anything hippie parents who encouraged her to write the bestselling book Ophelia Speaks, which gave voice to the experience of teenage girls and was published when she was just eighteen years old. Sara is proud to have worked on many New York Times best sellers, Book Club selections, and award winning novels, including two National Book Award finalists, a Printz Honor, Walter Dean Myers Award Honors, the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, the Carnegie Medal, the William C. Morris Award, the Stonewall Award for Teens, the Lambda Literary Award and the Coretta Scott King-Steptoe Award for New Talent. Many of the novels Sara developed and edited have been successfully adapted to TV and film. She lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband, three children and dog, and spends summers in Fire Island. SARA IS SEEKING: 
ANALÍA IS SEEKING:  ABOUT THE AGENT:
Lee O’Brien (he/they) is an associate agent at Looking Glass Literary. Lee started his career at Irene Goodman Literary Agency in 2019, where he first worked as an assistant to Victoria Marini and later began building his own list as a junior agent, after completing his MA in English literature at UC Davis and moving back to New York full time in 2020. When not working as an agent, Lee writes YA fantasy about trans kids, magic, and monsters of all kinds as Lee Paige O’Brien. LEE IS SEEKING: |