May Contest Update

Published Authors

Aspen Gold. Deadline June 1st. Open to Indies.


The Carla. Deadline June 1st.


Heart of Excellence Readers Choice Award. Deadline June 1st. Open to Indies.


I Heart Indies Contest. Deadline June 1st. 


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

Unpublished Authors

 Tara Contest. Deadline May 1st. LAST DAY! Open to unpublished and published authors of novel-length fiction; however, the entry must be the author’s original work, unpublished and not contracted as of the time of the contest deadline.  Entry consists of the first 4,500 words of a qualifying manuscript (actual word count). First and subsequent chapters up to the maximum entry word count of 4,500 words. 

 Series Contemporary JoVon Sotak Montlake Publishing 
Inspirational Raela Schoenherr Bethany House 
Historical Sue Grimshaw Penguin/Random House 
Romantic Suspense Chelsey Emmelhainz Avon Books/Harper Collins 
Single Title Brenda Chin Imaginn 
Women’s Fiction Abby Zidle Simon & Schuster –Gallery Books 
Paranormal Latoya Smith Samhain Publishing


Emerald City Opener. Deadline May 31st. GREAT GET YOUR FEET WET CONTEST! Entry consists of the first SEVEN pages. 

Young Adult/New Adult

Contemporary Romance

Romantic Suspense

Paranormal Romance


Historical Romance

Entries will be judged by a minimum of three first-round judges. Three highest scoring manuscripts in each genre will advance to the final round. All judged copies will be returned to entrants upon finalist selection late summer 2015. Final round of judges will be from representatives attending our conference Jessica Watterson of Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency, Jennifer Udden of Donald Maas Literary Agency, Mary Moore of Kimberley Cameron & Associates, Cat Clyne of Sourcebooks, Allison Carroll of Harlequin/HQN/Mira, and Rhonda Penders of The Wild Rose Press.



The Molly. Deadline May 31st. Entry consists of the first twenty-five pages and an unjudged synopsis of up to 5 pages.

Final Round Judges:

Contemporary: Cat Clyne, Sourcebooks

Historical: Mary Altman, Sourcebooks

Paranormal/TimeTravel/Futuristic: Renee Rocco, Kensingtonbooks

Young Adult: Kate Brauning, Entangled

Single Title/ Mainstream: Susan Brower, Natasha Kern Agency

Romantic Suspense: Angela James, Carina Press


Unsinkable Heroine: Michelle Grajkowski, 3 SEAS Literary Agency



Lone Star. Deadline June 7.First 5000 words. Eligibility: Open to both unpublished and published authors. Entry consists of the first 5,000.

FF&p (futuristic, fantasy and paranormal)   
                Chris Keeslar— Editor-Boroughs Publishing
                Holly Lorincz –Agent- MacGregor Literary Agency
                Tara Gelsomino- Executive Editor , Crimson Romance
Single Title
                Jessica Alvarez- Agent- Bookends
                Debby Gilbert, Soul Mate Publishing
                Katherine Pelz, Berkley Publishing

Inspirational
                Raela Schoenherr – Editor Bethany House Publishers
                Kimberly Shumate, Living Word Literary Agency

Romantic Novella
                Brenda Chin, Editorial Director, ImaJinn Books
                Char Chaffin, Soulmate Publishing

Romantic Suspense
                Jill Marsal-Agent- Marsal Literary Agency
                Lauren Plude- Associate Editor- Grand Central Publishing

New Adult/Young Adult 
                Pam Van Hylckama Vileg- Agency
                Piya Campana, Assistant Editor Harlequin Super Romance 

Historical 
              Allison Byers  - WildRose Press
              Alycia Tornetta, Associate Editor, Entangled
              Laura Bradford, The Bradford Agency

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

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

Other Writing Opportunities

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! 

The May Contest Diva is Sherida Stewart

Treasures Along the Contest Trail

My contest story is unusual. 

In November 2011, with the first short story I’d ever written, I won the first contest I’d ever entered….the Tony Hillerman Mystery Short Story contest. There were 120 entries. My prize was $1000, banquet tickets to the Wordharvest awards dinner in Santa Fe, and publication of Turquoise Remembrance in New Mexico Magazine. Wow, this writing stuff is really easy….or so I thought.

After the contest win and brimming with the excitement of victory, I joined Romance Writers of America® and the Faith, Hope and Love® online chapter where I found Seekerville through Tina and Missy. Taking Seekerville’s advice on the value of contests, I entered the “Fab 5” in February 2013 and placed near the bottom. Hmmmm….I applied the judges’ suggestions, revised, and entered the “Category 5” contest in June 2013. This time I moved up to the middle of the group. But….. maybe this writing stuff wasn’t so easy after all! 

Time to reevaluate. I recognized that I needed to learn craft. So I took a break from contesting for a couple of years. Thanks to the treasure chest of knowledge found in Seekerville, learning with online classes, attending a couple of conferences, studying craft books, and reading inspirational romance novels, I’m about ready to try contests again. 

These are the gems of Seekerville advice I’ve picked up along the contest trail:
Review books. Posting reviews desensitized me to exposing my writing to the world. As a congratulatory gift, I was given a blog website from my older son and daughter-in-law. Reviewing books on Amazon, Goodreads, and my blog, plus writing various blog posts has helped me manage the fear of other people reading my writing. Not conquer…. but my fear is mitigated. With reviewing, you learn what to look for in a story and read what other reviewers like, which helps your own writing.

Read the guidelines. I haven’t confessed this to anyone, but for the Hillerman contest, I’d first written a sweet little romance. Right before sending my entry, I RE-READ the requirements. It needed to be a MYSTERY! Eeeek! By tweaking a few elements, I did change the story into a mystery to work for the contest.

Judge contests. Engage. Join a writing group. Find a critique partner. Make comments on a blog. Encourage the people God has placed in your path.

Say YES. Staying in our comfort zone is safe and cozy, but we miss some fantastic opportunities. So try reaching outside. Say yes to being part of an author’s blog tour. Say yes to writing a review. Say yes to including a story in an anthology. Say yes to a submission. Say yes to Tina’s request to be a contest diva. And say yes to a contest!
Do it now! Don’t wait.

And most importantly…. Find joy in the treasures you discover along the contest trail…. knowledge, humility, confidence, resilience, creativity, fellowship. The friendships found along this writing path are the best treasures! Let’s hike together on the trail--wherever it takes us!

Comment today for an opportunity to win:  With This Kiss (historical & contemporary!) And if you already have it we'll send a copy to a friend of your choice! Winner announced in the Weekend Edition.

And since we're short on contests this month, we'll give a three writers the opportunity to win a five page critique by a Seeker (any inspirational or sweet romance romance category). Are you ready for Tina Radcliffe, or Missy Tippens, or Ruth Logan Herne to read your pages? Time to writer-up!

PLUS! One more giveaway. 

I've got a Cover Vs. Cover up on the Love Inspired Facebook page.

If you like the cover go and like it on FB and share it.

And if you want a copy let me know. I have five more copies to share.

That's it. Now go forth and contest!~