June Contest Update

Welcome to the June (OH MY GOSH, IS IT REALLY JUNE?) edition of the Contest Update.

The first thing we'd like to is stand up and salute the brave divas/divos who stepped out and courageously entered contests so far this year. We have some recent results to Snoopy Dance about.

Take a bow if you are a Touched by Love finalist, a Blurb2Book finalist ... Or a 2015 ICRS Winner!

Way to go. That's what Seekerville is all about. Dreaming big and working hard!

Now On to our contests!

Published Contests

Aspen Gold. Deadline June 1st. ( Indie Friendly)

The Carla. Deadline June 1. (Inspirational Category. Indie Friendly)

Heart of Excellence. Deadline June 1. (Indie Friendly)

I Heart Indie. Deadline June 1.

Romancing the Novel. Deadline June 15. Electronic format  only.

WisRWA Write Touch Readers' Award Contest. Deadline June 30th. All entries must be electronic.

The term means that you should be willing to revise!

Unpublished Contests


Lone Star. Deadline June 7. First five thousand words. Open to published authors.


Categories and Judges

Contemporary
Junessa Viloria, Editor, Random House
Victoria Lowes, Agent, The Bent Agency
Terri Schaefer, Editor, Liquid Publishing

Fantasy, Furturistic & Paranormal
Chris Keeslar, Editor, Boroughs Publishing Group
Holly Lorincz, Agent, MacGregor Literary Agency
Tara Gelsomino, Execuitive Editor, Crimson Romance

Historical/Regency
Alycia Tornetta, Associate Editor, Entangled
Allison Byers, Editor, The Wild Rose Press
Laura Bradford, Agent, The Bradford Literary Agency

Inspirational
Kimberly Shumate, Agent, Living Word Literary Agency
Raela Schoenherr, Acquisitions Editor, Bethany House Publishers
TBA

Romance Novella
Brenda Chin, Editorial Director, ImaJinn Books
Char Chaffin, Editor, Soul Mate Publishing
TBA

Romantic Suspense
Cindy Davis, Editor, The Wild Rose Press
Jull Marsal, Agent, Marsal Lyon Literary Agency
Lauren Plude, Associate Editor, Grand Central Publishing

Single Title
Katherine Pelz, Editor, Berkley Publishing Group (Peguin Group)
Debby Gilbert, Editor, Soul Mate Publishing
Jessica Alvarez, Agent, BookEnds, LLc

New Adult/Young Adult
Pam Van Hylckama Vlieg, Agent, Forword Literary Agency
Piya Campana, Assistant Editor, Harlequin SuperRomance
Janet Clementz, Editor, Soulmate Publishing


Harlequin Present Pitch Contest. Deadline: June 24, 2015 No cost to enter.
 Published and non-published authors. Pitches must be for books not under contract as of June 24, 2015. Judges: Editors Carly Byrne & Pippa Roscoe with Harlequin Presents. Top Prize: The editors will select 5 submissions for which they will request the first 2 chapters. Each of the 5 finalists will receive a personalized response and critique of their work.


Pages From the Heart. Deadline June 30th. Entry consists of the first 25 pages. Open to published authors.

Published Division:
Long Contemporary: Cat Cline, Sourcebooks
Short Contemporary: Elle Keck, HarperCollins
Historical: Katherine Pelz, Berkley Publishing Group
Novella: Lauren Plude, Grand Central Publishing/Hachette Group
Paranormal/Fantasy/Futuristic/Time Travel: Deborah Gilbert, Soul Mate Publishing
Romantic Suspense/Mystery: Esi Sogah, Kensington Books
Young Adult: Alice Jerman, Harper Teen
.
Unpublished Division:
Long Contemporary: Patricia Nelson, Marsal Lyon Literary Agency
Short Contemporary: Mercedes Fernandez, Kensington Books
Historical: Alexandra Sehulster, St. Martin’s Press
Novella: Susan Grimshaw, Penguin-Random House
Paranormal/Fantasy/Futuristic/Time Travel: Kristine Swartz, Berkley Publishing 
Romantic Suspense/Mystery: Patience Bloom, Harlequin
Young Adult: Michelle Grajkowski, 3 Seas Literary Agency



Golden Opportunity Contest  Deadline July 1.  First 55 pages including synopsis. 

TWO editor judges (one traditional and one ePub when possible) for all category finalists. Cash prizes even!

Contemporary Romance – (T) Latoya Smith, Samhain Publishing, and (E) Heather Howland, Entangled Publishing 

Erotic Romance – (T) Allison Janice, Berkley Publishing Group, and (E) Michele Paulin, Resplendence Publishing

 Historical Romance – (T) Laura Fazio, NAL at Penguin Group, and (E) Erin Molta, Entangled Publishing 

Inspirational Romance – (T) Shana Asaro, Harlequin Love Inspired, and (E) Becky Philpott, HarperCollins Christian Publishing 

 Paranormal Romance – (T) Kristine Swartz, Berkley Publishing Group, and (E) Angela James, Carina Press, Harlequin

 Romantic Suspense Romance – (T) Patience Bloom, Harlequin Books, and (E) Deb Nemeth, Carina Press 


Young Adult Romance – (T) Lauren Smulski, Harlequin, and (E) StephanieTaylor, Astraea Press; Best of the Best – Katherine Pelz, Berkley Publishing Group.



Put Your Heart in a Book. Deadline July 1. Cash prizes! Entry consists of: synopsis and first chapter/prologue (30 pages max).


Categories and Final Judges: (One agent, editor, and multipublished author for each category.) 

Historical – Agent Liza Dawson, Liza Dawson Associates, Editor Esi Sogah, Kensington Books, and Author Julia Quinn 

 Romantic Suspense – Agent Eric Ruben, The Ruben Agency, Editor Patience Bloom, Harlequin, and Author: TBA 

 Contemporary Series – Agent Jill Marsal, Marsal Lyons Agency, Editor Gabrielle Keck, Avon Books, and Author TBA 

Contemporary Single Title – Agent Stephany Evans, FinePrint Literary Management, Editor Susan Litman, Harlequin, and Author TBA 

Paranormal – Agent Michelle Johnson, Inklings Literary Agency, Editor Renee Rocco, Lyrical Press/Kensington Books, and Author Kerrelyn Sparks 

Young Adult – Agent Michelle Grajkowski, 3 Seas Literary Agency, Editor Rachel Burkot, Harlequin, and Author Beth Ciotta.




Ignite the Flame. Opens June 1, 2015. Deadline July 15, 2015. First 15 pages and a 500 word synopsis. Final Judges are not listed yet. A good "get your feet wet opportunity!"

Categories:

 Young Adult/New Adult

 Erotic Romance

 Romantic Suspense

Historical Romance

Paranormal/Fantasy/Futuristic/Time Travel


Contemporary

Other Writing Opportunities!


Reader's Digest 100 Word True Story. 
 Everybody has a story to share. What's yours? Send us a true story about you, in 100 words or fewer—if it's chosen by our editors for publication in our magazine, you'll be paid $100! We also may pick selected favorites to appear on our site at RD.com.  


Not a writing opportunity but still a great opp!
Romancing The URL 2015. Deadline June 1.


The URL Contest is open to all romance authors, including aspiring authors, and to RWA chapters. It is an opportunity to showcase your website. Entering is easy, just show us your link (URL). Authors may enter in categories appropriate for their genre and/or can enter the multi-genre category.Judges will be industry professionals (publishers, agents, marketing professionals, publicists, etc.) and the finalists will be announced in July.

Categories:
Contemporary Romance
Historical Romance
Paranormal/FF&P Romance
Romantic Suspense
Inspirational
Young Adult Romance
Multi-Genre
Aspiring Author
RWA Chapters (Best Chapter Website)

The Golden Donut Short Story Contest. "The Writers' Police Academy has officially opened the 2015 version of its wildly popular and extremely fun Golden Donut Short Story Contest! So it's time to let this year's contest photo inspire a perfect entry. The primary rule is your story must be EXACTLY 200 words. The submission deadline is: Midnight June 30, 2015 (the precise point in time between 11:59 pm 6-30 and 12:01 am July 1, 2015).Good luck and have fun. The contest is open to all writers--regardless of whether they're attending this year's Writers' Police Academy. So be sure to tell your author friends about the contest.

Here's the Chicken Soup 2015 Line Up! 

And now for our June Contest Diva!  Laurie Tomlinson

My contest story began like many, with a very key ingredient: peer pressure. 

When I finished my first novel, I was finally willing to stop treating it like a classified nuclear launch code and let someone other than my husband know it existed. An acquaintance I’d met through a favorite Christian author blog years before appeared in my Twitter feed now married and—gasp!—newly agented. When I reached out to her, she pointed me toward the ACFW Genesis contest and even offered to critique my entry. It was the first of many obliterations Kara Isaac would inflict on my work, but bless her, she didn’t let me hesitate.  

Pressing send shifted something in my mind. I accepted that I wasn’t only a writer. I was a pre-published author. Before that, my writing self-perception was shaped by the memory of teachers who would spout off disheartening statistics whenever I even hinted that I wanted to be published someday. That first contest entry helped me go from smothering the desire to write, to acting on it in secret, to owning up to it and treasuring it. I recognized the doors God was opening for me—even if He had to shove me through them a few times. 

I would recommend finding a contest that fits well with what you write and going for it. Consider this your peer pressure! Doing so led the way to some of my most cherished friendships and writing partnerships. I received valuable feedback that taught me how to look at my work in a fresh way, even from *that judge* in every round with a significantly lower score. Whether it leads to publication or not, I’m convinced that pressing send on that first contest entry was the best thing I’ve done for myself as a writer.

Contest Awards: 

ACFW Genesis Winner 2013 – Contemporary

ACFW Genesis Winner 2014 – Romance

Today Seekerville is giving away three first five page critiques. Your critiquers are either Tina Radcliffe, Glynna Kaye or Janet Dean. If you are brave and would like one, let us know. 

For a reader we have a book from our Seekerville prize vault for you. You get to pick from several. Let us know you want your name in the hat.


That's it, Seekerville.

Now go forth and contest.