November Contest Update

This is the autumn of your 2010 contest journey.

Things are slowing down for the holidays

and there are only a few contests left until after the new year.

Today the vault is open and I am pleased to be giving away an IOU
for my debut release from Love Inspired, The Rancher's Reunion.
Doesn't the cover match our autumn theme nicely?

The 2011 Golden Heart and RITA entry deadline is almost here.
No guts! No glory!


More info available on the RWA website:


GH

November 15, 2010
Entry forms and fees must be received by the RWA Office.

December 2, 2010
Entered works must be received in the RWA Office. Failure to meet this deadline shall result in disqualification and forfeiture of the entry fee.


December 30, 2010
Preliminary-round judging begins.

March 1, 2011
Preliminary-round score sheets due to RWA Office.

March 25, 2011
Notification will be sent to finalists by two-day delivery. Phone calls to notify finalists will also commence. Release of official finalist list on RWA website by 2 p.m. CT.


RITA

September 21, 2010

December 1, 2010
Deadline for entry forms and fees to be received by the RWA Office.

January 4, 2011
Deadline for books to be received at the RWA Office. Failure to meet this deadline will result in disqualification and forfeiture of the entry fee.

January 20, 2011
Preliminary-round judging begins.

March 9, 2011
Preliminary-round score sheets due to RWA Office.

March 25, 2011
Notification will be sent to finalists by two-day delivery. Phone calls to notify finalists will also commence. Release of official finalist list on RWA website by 2 p.m. CT.



Published Author Contests

The National Reader's Choice Awards is now open and accepting entries. Deadline for entry is December 1 2010. All entries must have:

• an original copyright date of 2010, or "First US Printing" date of 2010 as evidenced by the copyright page or a letter from the publisher, and
• must have been available for sale sometime during 2010.

Unpublished Author Contests

Gotcha! Contest. E Deadline EXTENDED TO NOVEMBER 7th. Entry consists of the first 15 pages. 1 published author and 3 experienced, trained writers. Lowest score is dropped and 3 highest determine final score. Top 4 winners in each category are sent to an editor. Winners have 2 weeks to revise the 15-page entry prior to editorial review.
Categories and Judges:

Harlequin/Silhouette Series:
Susan Litman, Silhouette

Single Title/Mainstream Contemporary:
Meredith Giordan, Berkeley/Jove

Mystery/Romantic Suspense:
Allison Lyons, Harlequin Intrigue

Historical (Before 1945):
Megan Records, Kensington

Paranormal (Specialty/Time Travel/Fantasy):
Deb Werksman, Sourcebooks

Inspirational:
Emily Rodmell, Love Inspired

The Enchanted Words Contest. Perfect Pitch 2010. Electronic only contest. Deadline extended to November 8. Entries include Query Letter, a Synopsis of up to 7 pages, and the first 5 pages of your manuscript. Each entry judged by an editor AND an agent!

Judges include:
Historical
Tina James, Senior Editor Love Inspired
Laura Bradford, Bradford Literary Agency

Paranormal
Margo Lipschultz, Harlequin
Agent Judge Laurie McLean, Larsen-Pomada Literary Agents

Contemporary
Jhanteigh Kupihea, NAL
Lois Winston, Ashley Grayson Literary




The Pikes Peak Fiction Writers Contest: The Paul Gillette Awards. E Deadline is November 15. Submit an entire short story, or 1st 15 pp of novel plus synopsis (2-5 pp max) 4,000 word count limit on manuscript pages and a 1,250 word count on synopsis. All short story genres are entered into one category. More contest info can be found on the Pike's Peak Writer's home page here.

Contest Categories and judges:

Short Stories (fiction only; all genres
included in same category)-Angela James Executive Editor, Carina Press

Book Length:

• Children’s (for ages 8-12)-Danielle Chiotti,Upstart Crow Literary
  
• Historical Fiction-Rachelle Gardner, WordServe Literary
• Mainstream-Kathleen Gilligan, Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martins
• Mystery/Suspense/Intrigue- Denise Little, Ethan Ellenberg Agency
  
• Romance-Allison Lyons, Harlequin Intrigue
• Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror-Deb Dixon, President of Belle Books
  
• Young Adult (for ages 12-18)- Amy Boggs, Donald Maass Agency
  

The Write Stuff Contest. E-deadline: December 1, 2010. Entry: The first 20 pages of your manuscript (double spaced) and an optional one page synopsis (single spaced). The synopsis will not be judged. Entries will be limited to the first 85 submissions. Top prize: $100 in each category!

Judges:

• Contemporary Romance – Lauren Plude, Editor, Grand Central
• Historical Romance– Katherine Pelz, Editor, Berkley
• Paranormal Romance– Kevan Lyon, Agent, Marsal Lyon Literary Agency
• Adult Mainstream Fiction– to be announced.
• Young Adult Fiction– Annette Pollert, Editor: Pulse (Simon & Schuster)

Great Expectations. Deadline December 11, 2010. Great Expectations is no longer accepting mailed entries. Electronic entry fees will be processed through Paypal. Mailed entry fees will be deposited January 15, 2010. Entry consists of a single page query letter and 25 manuscript pages.

Note the Eligibility Requirements:

Open to everyone meeting these requirements:

• Entrants must be unpublished and uncontracted in book-length romantic fiction, or
• Published authors must be unpublished and uncontracted in the category entered.

Final Round Judges:

Contemporary Series, Victoria Curran, Editor with Harlequin Books

Erotic Romance, Katherine Pelz, Editorial Assistant with Berkley Heat

Historical, Megan Records, Associate Editor, Kensington Books

Inspirational, Natalie Hanemann, Senior Editor with Thomas Nelson

Mainstream with Romantic Elements, Danielle Poiesz, Editor Pocket Books

Romantic Suspense, Elizabeth Bistrow, Editor, New American Library

Single Title, Holly Blanck, Assistant Editor with St. Martin’s Press

Specialized, Talia Platz, Editorial Assistant with New American Library

Young Adult, Meredith Giordan, Editor, Berkley Books






Just For Fun!


WOW: Women On Writing Fiction Quarterly Contest. Open September - November 30th, Midnight (Pacific Time). "WOW! hosts a (quarterly) writing contest every three months. The mission of this contest is to inspire creativity, communication, and well-rewarded recognition to contestants. The contest is open globally; age is of no matter; and entries must be in English. We are open to all styles of writing, although we do encourage you to take a close look at our guest judge for the season and the flavor of our sponsor, if you are serious about winning. We love creativity, originality, and light-hearted reads. That's not to say that our guest judge will feel the same... so go wild! Express yourself, and most of all, let's have some fun!"

Maximum: 750--Minimum: 250 The title is not to be counted in your word count. We use MS Word's word count to determine the submitted entry's word count.Open Prompt: Open to any style and genre. From horror to romance!

Entry Fee: $10.00 We are limiting the amount of entries to a maximum of 300 stories. Please enter early to ensure inclusion. If we reach 300 entries, we will disable the PayPal buttons.

Check out the great prizes, including cash! Final judge is Literary Agent, Wendy Sherman.





Folger's Home For the Holiday's Essay Contest- Deadline November 30th.

Create an original essay describing "What is the best part of wakin' up at home during the holidays with Folgers® coffee?" ("Essay"). Essay must be in English and must be 200 words or less. Go to www.folgers.com/holiday during the Contest Period and follow the on-screen directions to submit your Essay. Entries must be received by Noon ET on 11/30/10. Enter as often as you wish, but each Essay entered must be different. Entrant must be the sole creator of the Essay. Essay may not have won a previous award, may not have been published previously.


Grand Prizes: Each consists of a seven-day/six-night trip for Winner and up to 3 guests to travel to Winner's home destination within the 48 contiguous United States (collectively "Trip"). Trip includes round-trip coach airfare between a U.S. gateway airport in the 48 contiguous United States nearest the Winner's residence (selected by Sponsor in its sole discretion) and the major commercial airport nearest the Winner's selected home destination, room accommodations (one room/quadruple occupancy) for six nights at a hotel designated by Sponsor, seven day use of a full size rental car (certain restrictions apply) designated by Sponsor, $1,000 spending money, one digital camera, and a Folgers Gift Basket. The approximate retail value ("ARV") of each prize: $7,900.


That's it for November!



Did anyone miss my subtle hints above. Extended deadlines means they need entries, which really makes your odds skyrocket.

What do you say? Are you up to the challenge???