Carolrhoda Books is Looking for Open-Ended YA Romances

Don't forget--he was only accepting manuscripts until June 24,2011, so you'll need to wait for the next open period. But it's still useful to get his take on romance in YA by reading below:
Andrew Karre had some interesting things to say on the Carolrhoda blog about romance in YA. It's a long (but insightful) post, so I picked out a few pertinent bits for what he's soliciting now for YA manuscripts:

"I’m increasingly interested in the romantic arc of YAs where there is a central romance. Specifically, I’m concerned with the end of that ARC. Do YA romances tend unswervingly toward a marital apotheosis, whether actual or implied?

Marriage is a powerful force in our storytelling traditions. A marriage is the formal ending of almost any Elizabethan comedy. . . So it’s no surprise it comes up in YA, but I’m wondering if there is unexplored territory here due to to the overwhelming pull of The Wedding on our stories (I’m looking at you, epilogue to Deathly Hallows).

I think one of the trickiest things about YA is that it is fundamentally anti-ending, despite all the ceremony we associate with the end of high school. . .Teenagers make their peace with uncertainty as they end adolescence, but they don’t resolve that uncertainty. This applies to relationships (what is a marriage if not a resolution of uncertainty?).

I’ll take queries for existing manuscripts that address this theme. I’m interested in YAs with central romances that know they’re doomed (and not for extraordinary reasons—fatal illnesses, galactic cataclysm, etc.) and how they cope. Go here for how to send queries. The query offer is good until 11:59 PM on June 24, 2011."

And by existing manuscripts, he means finished and polished. Don't waste this chance with something you've pulled out of a dusty drawer--he doesn't open to submissions all that often!

P.S. Sunday June 19 is the last day to enter to win a signed copy of Through Endangered Eyes: a poetic journey into the wild. If you know a child who loves animals (even if it's your inner child), you want this book!