CARWA Present
The Writer’s Voice Contest
Sponsored by the Calgary Chapter of Romance Writers of America
Contest Timeline 2006 June 1st September 15th November 10th December 1st Eligibility Participation is open to all unpublished authors of novel length romance fiction and those who have not published within three years prior to contest deadline. Participants do NOT have to be members of RWA. E-books and print-on-demand books are recognized as publications. An individual may enter more than once but each submission must have its own entry fee, completed entry form, and signed release. Entries that won the Writer‟s Voice Contest in past years may not be entered. Entries must be received by midnight June 1st, 2006 Finalists notified Winner announced at Calgary “Crossing the Publishing Threshold” Contest Results emailed to contest entrants
Manuscript Enter maximum of 25 pages of romance novels for all categories (projected length of at least 50,000 words). Pages to be composed of the following: o Maximum 2 pages (not judged) synopsis o First chapter, or prologue and first chapter of your manuscript. Maximum length 23 pages in total. Manuscripts are accepted by email only. Categories Contemporary - romantic novels, which may also include sensuality that may or may not be intense. Romantic Suspense - romance novels in which suspense may constitute a strong element in the romance plot. Historical - novels that have a strong romantic element throughout. This includes regency romances. Settings must be at least one hundred years in the past. Paranormal/Time-Travel/Futuristic - romantic novels with any time setting that contain elements such as time-travel, angels or other mystical/paranormal themes or set in the future. Erotic - romantic novels which also include intense sensuality Inspirational - romantic novels with Christian characters
Entry Fee The contest entry fee is $10 for CARWA members or $15 for non-members. ________________________________________________________________________________ 3nd draft - 19/02/2009
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How to Enter
1. Complete and sign the entry form and mail it to: The Writer’s Voice Contest 52 Midvalley Cres S.E. Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2X 1N3 Entry forms must be received by midnight June 1, 2006. Do NOT mail your manuscript. Manuscripts are accepted by email only. 2. Payment can be made by Paypal (www.paypal.com, send payment to calgaryrwa@shaw.ca) or by cheque. If paying by cheque, mail along with the entry form to the address show above. The cheque must be drawn on Canadian funds, made payable to Calgary Chapter RWA. 3. Email your submission as an attachment in RTF format. Only emailed submissions will be accepted. When emailing please put the subject as „Writer‟s Voice Contest‟ . Email to the address shown below for the appropriate category. Contemporary: lee.halford@accesscomm.ca Romantic Suspense: write4me@shaw.ca Historical: cjcarmichael@shaw.ca Paranormal: pmcnish@shaw.ca Erotic: kjfm@amzach.com Inspirational: 4theview@pathcom.ca 4. Submissions should be in standard manuscript format 1 “ margins double-spaced easily read font that is acceptable for submission to publishing houses, such as Courier a maximum of 25 lines per page. In the header on each page, include title, category, and page number. your name must not appear on any manuscript page. Your name may only appear in the email. 5. You will receive an email confirmation of your entry when the entry form, payment and manuscript have been received.
Awards
First through third place in each category will be awarded 1st place – will be awarded a certificate and, if attending the “Crossing the Publishing Threshold” conference, a cocktail with an editor/agent 2nd and 3rd place – will be awarded a certificate
Special Award The „Best in Chapter‟ award - awarded to the member from the CARWA chapter achieving the highest score in the preliminary round. This award is a trophy, a certificate and extra time with an editor/agent at the conference.
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Judges Preliminary round judges will be experienced, qualified, or published judges, who are encouraged to comment on entries. Each entry will be judged by three judges. The judges scores will be normalized. The five high scoring entries in each category will advance to the final round. Final Judges will be Editors/Agents and will be announced when confirmed. o Contemporary - TBD o Romantic suspense Jennifer Jackson, Maass Agency o Historical -TBD o Paranormal -TBD o Erotic -TBD o Inspirational -TBD
Special Notes If fewer than five entries are received in the entry‟s category, it will be reassigned to an alternate category. If an entry is disqualified for any reason (clearly not romance fiction, etc.), the entry fee will be returned to the contestant. Questions can be addressed to pmcnish@shaw.ca.
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