April Contest Update

April is upon us and along with it another bright and shiny new opportunity to take flight and enter your manuscript in a contest or your 2009 book in a published contest.


Today the Seekerville prize vault is open with an opportunity to win a surprise package mailed from the heart of downtown Seekerville to you. Just post a hello in the comments-and if you don't leave a method of contact or a link back, then you can't win.

Winner announced in the weekend edition. See contest guidelines lower right for our contest rules. BTW Seekerville and our wonderful guests have given away more than 150 prizes, that include books, gift cards, chocolate, coffee, critiques and surprises in the last year. So don't be shy. Say hi!



Unpublished Contests



Touched By Love. An inspirational romance contest. Deadline April 1st. Categories: Short Contemporary (under 75, 000 words), Long Contemporary (over 75,000 words) and Historical. An entry consists of up to the first 30 pages of an unpublished manuscript and an unjudged synopsis (no more than two pages double-spaced). Finalists will receive the opportunity to have their entry judged by five published inspirational authors. The winner will be announced at the 2010 RWA National Conference. There will be three finalists in the three categories. There will be a winner in each category and an overall winner from the three categories. You have until midnight April 1st to get your fees and electronic entry in.




Spring Into Romance. Deadline extended to April 2 postmark. One of the few non electronic contests. Entry consists of the first 25 pages.
Contemporary Series/Category Romance: Jenny Hutton, Mills & Boon
Contemporary Single Title Romance: Leis Pederson, Berkley Publishing Group
Suspense/Adventure Romance: Jill Marsal, Marsal Lyon Literary Agency
Novel w/Strong Romantic Elements/Mainstream: Adam Wilson, MIRA Books
Historical Romance: TBA
Paranormal Romance: Megan Records, Kensington
Young Adult Romance: Laura Bradford, Bradford Literary Agency




27th Annual Orange Rose Contest for Unpublished Writers. Limited to the first 150 entries. Deadline is April 10. Submit synopsis and manuscript up to 55 pages total. Electronic Entry for Non U.S. Resident RWA Members only.This contest offers three in-depth critiques by published authors. The Top 10 finalists are judged by Editors.The contest is open to any writer meeting the following criteria: Must be a member in good standing of RWA National-Has not published or been contracted in book length fiction in the last five years-The entry must have a projected minimum length of 50,000 words.The categories are:Contemporary Category Romance, Historical, Inspirational,Mainstream w/Romantic Elements,Paranormal/Time Travel/Fantasy,Romantic Suspense, Single Title Romance (over 70,000 words),Erotic Romance. Finalist judges not listed. (Read the rules carefully for this contest. Orange Rose finalists are chosen by overall score NOT by category.)




Royal Ascot Contest. Deadline April 20th. The Royal Ascot is a contest devoted to the promotion of Regency Romances by encouraging the development of unpublished authors who set stories in the Regency Period. Entry consists of the beginning of manuscript and synopsis: maximum 8500 words in the text of manuscript and synopsis combined. Category info and final judges:

Regency Historical (longer Regency or Mainstream Regency-set)
Final Judge: Leis Pederson, Editor, Berkley
Hot Regency (Very sensual to Erotic Regency, at author's discretion)
Final Judge: Deb Werksman, Editor, Sourcebooks
Wild Regency (Paranormal, Time Travel, other similar Regency)
Final Judge: Tessa Woodward, Editor, Avon
Sweet & Mild Regency (Traditional, Inspirational, Young Adult or other without explicit sex)
Final Judge: Nicole D'Arienzo, Senior Editor, The Wild Rose Press
Short Regency (5,000 to 40,000 words) (Open to all authors, published and un-published)
Final Judge: Scott Eagan, The Greyhaus Agency




Break Up Your Winter Nights. May 1st deadline. Brought to you by the Alaska RWA.
Send your best "black moment" or break-up scene, no more than 10 pages. A brief set-up is optional. The top three entries will go to our final judge, Laurie M. Rauch of Samhain Publishing. The winning entry will receive a reading by Elizabeth Pomada of the Larsen-Pomada Literary Agency.




Magic Moment. Postmarked May 1st. Send the first ten (10) pages of your manuscript (either the first chapter or the prologue), and you will receive three detailed critiques. Final Round Judge: Miriam Kriss, Agent (Irene Goodman Agency) http://www.irenegoodman.com
First Place Winner will receive $100 and a certificate; Second and Third Place winners will receive certificates.



Weta Nichols Writing Contest. A very succinct contest by the Ozark Romance Authors with cash prizes. Deadline May 1st. Submit the first ten pages of your unfinished or finished novel (no short stories please,) in .doc format with one inch margins all around, double spaced, in 12 pitch Times New Roman font. Please send the first ten pages only, and no less than 7 pages. Stories should be previously unpublished and can be any genre, romance, sci-fi, mystery, etc.



Romancing the Script. Deadline May 1st. Final Judge Robert Gosnell. 1st Act, not to exceed the first 30 pages. TOP THREE WINNERS MUST SUBMIT THE FULL COMPLETED SCREENPLAY FOR CRITIQUE. Any genre as long as the A, B, OR C plotline contains romance.



TARA. Deadline May 1st. Electronic entries. The first chapter, 4,000 words max (actual word count), including prologue if applicable. *Word count will be verified. No part of a second or any additional chapters will be judged. Per editor request, finalists must include a synopsis of up to 1,500 words at the time they submit revised entry for final judging.
Series Contemporary: Wanda Ottewell, Harlequin
Historical: Deb Werksman, Sourcebooks
Paranormal: Leah Hultenschmidt, Dorchester
Single Title: Jhanteigh Kupihea, NAL
Women's Fiction: Amy Pierpont, Grand Central
Romantic Suspense: Peter Senftleben, Kensington
Inspirational: JoAnne Simmons, Barbour Books



Fool For Love. Deadline April 30th. ALL entrants must enter electronically. First chapter (up to 20 pages maximum) and optional synopsis (5 pages maximum). A prologue may be included with the first chapter as long as the entry does not exceed 20 pages.
Short Contemporary - TBA
Long Contemporary - Katelynn Lacopo, Literary Assistant, BookEnds, LLC
Historical - Lucy Gilmour, Harlequin Editor
Paranormal/Futuristic/Fantasy/Time Travel - Amanda Barnett, Senior Editor, The Wild Rose Press
Inspirational - Elizabeth Mazer, Assistant Editor, Steeple Hill
Romantic Suspense - TBA



The 26th Annual Colorado Gold Writing Contest. Contest opens April 1 and the deadline is June 1. Submission is the first twenty pages and a synopsis. Categories include: romance, mystery, speculative fiction, action/thriller and mainstream fiction. Five category winners receive a $100 dollar prize. Final judge is an acquiring agent or editor. Check out the website for a contest instruction video!


Published Contests



The Maggies Published Division. Deadline is May 1st. Open to all RWA published romance novelists who meet RITA® guidelines for eligibility. Electronic and audio books may be entered. Such books must be presented in English, in print-book format produced by the publisher, complete with copyright page, in perfect or case binding, and printed on both sides of the page. All books must carry a copyright date between January 2009 and December 2009. If the minimum number of entries in a category is not met, the entry will be moved into the second-choice category. The Maggie is awarded in the following romance categories: Contemporary Series Romance, Historical(includes Regencies), Contemporary Single Title, Paranormal/Fantasy (includes time travel, futuristic, etc.),and Inspirational.







Just For Fun

Deadline is May 31st for the...Wow! Women on Writing Quarterly Flash Fiction Contest.

Word Count:Maximum: 750, Minimum: 250 OPEN PROMPT! That’s right, this is your chance to shine, and get creative. You can write about anything, as long as it’s within the word count and fiction. Entry cap at 300.

Any style and genre. From horror to romance! So, get creative, and most of all, have fun. Entries limited to a maximum of 300 stories. Please enter early to ensure inclusion. The winner not only gets cash and goodies but an agent read! The guest agent judge is Jenny Bent of The Bent Agency.