From the Shores of Unpublished Island...

By popular demand we're doing a shout out for those who are looking for critique partners. Email us at seekers@seekerville.net with your name and the genre you write and what you have in mind. If we pair you up I'll throw in two weeks of mentoring with your group. That means I'll critique with you for two weeks.

This month's giveaway is a holiday treat! A Caroling Kittens Amazon gift card. 
 Published Authors

The 2013 National Readers Choice Awards Now open. Deadline December 1.




 The 2013 Lyra Awards are designed to find and promote the best in independent fiction.  The contest is open to all independently published eBooks released in 2013. 12 categories. Deadline is December 31, 2013.

International Thriller Awards. Received deadline December 31.

Golden Quill. Now open. Deadline January 10.

Bookseller's Best. Now open. Deadline January 15.

Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence. Now open. Deadline January 15.


Judge a Book by Its Cover. Now open. Deadline January 15.

Winter Rose Award for Excellence. Opens December 1, 2013. Deadline January 26.

Unpublished Authors

For the THIRD YEAR, Seekerville will again be offering entry fee reimbursement to the 2014 Golden Heart Awards. With a twist!~This year we are narrowing that to the Inspirational Category entry only in an effort to keep the category open. And we are offering TWO reimbursements of the entry fee.


This opportunity is open from the entry date through to the Golden Heart deadline. The Golden Heart contest is open to 1,200 paid entries.Entries must be submitted to RWA’s contest site no later than 5 p.m. CT, Dec. 13, 2013

Send proof of entry to the Seekerville email address (may send multiple proofs if you enter multiple times in the inspy category). Winners will be announced in January 2014.



Great Expectations. Deadline December 29. Sunday, December 8, 2013, midnight CST deadline for EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT. This contest is open to all authors who have never been published in book-length romantic fiction as well as authors who have not been contracted or published in the entered category during the last three years (during 2011, 2012, or 2013). Entry includes 5,000 word entry limit instead of page count. NO synopsis or blurb.Finalists will be asked to include an unjudged synopsis for editors.
 
Contemporary Series – Megan Long
Associate Editor, Harlequin Publishing

Historical – Chelsey Emmelhainz
Assistant Editor, William Morrow Avon

Inspirational– Raela Schoenherr
Bethany House

New Adult– Elizabeth Poteet
St. Martin's Press

Mainstream with Romantic Elements – Alex Logan
Editor, Grand Central Publishing/Forever

Romantic Suspense – Laura Fazio
Assistant Editor, NAL

Single Title – Madeleine Colavita
Editorial Assistant, Grand Central Publishing

Specialized – Kristine Swartz
Editorial Assistant, Berkley Publishing

Young Adult – Julie Mianecki
Editorial Assistant, Berkley Publishing 


The Smooch. Deadline January 8. Entry: “First Kiss” scene, 4–8 pages, unpublished work-in-progress; electronic only. Judges: published romance authors
Final Judge: Barbara Vey of Publisher’s Weekly’s Beyond Her Book blog.



Marlene Awards. Opens December 15. Deadline January 15. Open to published and unpublished manuscripts.  35 pages maximum (story opening and synopsis). Winners in each category receive a full manuscript critique by published authors.


Series Contemporary – Johanna Raisanen- Harlequin
Single Title – Esi Sogah-Kensington
Historical – Leah Hultenschmidt-Grand Central
Paranormal – Latoya Smith-Grand Central
Romantic Elements – Rhonda Helms-Carina
Young Adult –Reka Simonsen- Harcourt Children's Books.




Unpublished Winter Rose Contest.  Deadline  January 26. Entries consist of the first 25 pages of the novel. A prologue and/or second chapter may be included if within total page guidelines.

Contemporary Series: Dana Hamilton, Harlequin
Contemporary Single Title: Emilia Pisani, Simon & Schuster
Erotica: Amanda Dawn, Siren
Historical (includes Regency):Nicole Fischer, Avon
Paranormal: Tera Kuskaden Kleinfelter, Samhain
Romantic Suspense: Junessa Viloria, Random House
Young Adult: Holly Blanck Ingraham, St. Martin’s Press 

 Get ready, the 2014 Genesis Contest opens in January!

 

Other Contest & Writing Opportunities

  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 Suzie Townsend.


 Midlife Collage is looking for submissions in our free-entry contests. We run weekly, online writing contests for a cash prize. Perhaps you would be eligible and interested in submitting a short story. Please see our Submissions page for the guidelines and contest rules.  U.S. citizens and legal residents age 40 and older may enter.  



The December Contest Diva

Julie Hilton Steele

 Contest Diva December 2013

I knew I’d lost my mind when I put my first chapter up on So You Think You Can Write. I mean my work wasn’t going to be viewed by just a couple of judges or an agent or editor. It was going to be out there for the world to see, compared to much more experienced writers than me!  I had visions akin to my middle school nightmares.  Putting up my chapter was like standing in front of my class in my underwear. But it didn’t cost me anything except potential humiliation.

So why did I do it?  I needed to prove something to myself. My daughter parachutes out of planes and rappels down thirty-five story buildings to build confidence. I threw my writing up on the vast internet. I did the best I could. There, perfectionist, scaredy-cat part of myself. Take that!

I didn’t final but, because I prepared that chapter, I realized I was brave enough to send three chapters on to an agent. Courage begets courage.  

So, whether you are testing a new genre, submitting to a contest with an agent you really want to see your work, or just contesting for the first time, you will grow your confidence and be braver for it.

 Go forth and contest.

We couldn't have said it better, Julie!

Tina Radcliffe writes Inspirational romance for Harlequin Love Inspired and romantic comedy as Tina Russo. Stop by and check out the launch of My Critique Partner!