July Contest Roundup

It’s Contest Roundup time again. Entering contests is not too different from submitting your work. Yes, the rules may be different, but you still want it shined up and ready to go. So, plan ahead for those upcoming contests you want to enter and join the Sub It Club Facebook group if you want help with a pitch or query letter.

This month I’ve added a couple of critique contests as well because writers always need critiques (at least I know I do!) I’ve also added links to a few places to browse more contests at the end of the post.  See our About Contests post if you have any doubts or questions about entering a contest. And please, read those contest rules carefully! Contests are listed by closing date. Here’s this month’s Roundup:

June:

6/30: Greenhouse Funny Prize – Open to writers in the UK, Commonwealth (excluding Canada) and Europe. Submit your picture book, middle grade, or young adult. Unagented writers only. Winner receives an offer of representation from The Greenhouse Literary Agency.

6/30: #Blogpitch – Miss Snark’s First Victim is holding a contest where she’s giving away a critique. The rules are a little complex, but doable. Go check them out if you’re interested.

July:

7/4: Agent Peter J. Knapp’s Query Critique e-Conference – (A sort of contest that  I think may appeal to a lot of Sub It Clubbers so I’m adding it!) Submit your query letter for your MG or YA. Manuscript does not need to be complete. If chosen your query will be posted, critiqued, and discussed by agent Peter J. Knapp of Park Literary Agency. He’ll also be tweeting insights and observations at #PLGquery

7/13: MeeGenius Author Challenge – Open to  original children’s story books: picture books, chapter books, early readers, and short stories. Prize is a publishing contract and $1500.00. Read the contest rules and submit via form.

7/14: In With the New Contest – Enter with your PB, MG, YA, NA, and Adult of all genres from noon to 8 p.m. EST via email. See post for formatting guidelines. Favorites will be chosen and posted for “new agents” to peruse and request from on July 21st.  Participating agents are listed here.

7/15: Ultimate Football Writing Contest – (Just for fun!) Write the background history for league teams of the Ultimate Football League Board Game. Receive $15 for each team history used. Be sure to download the informational PDF if  you decide to write some histories.

7/25: August Mystery Agent Lottery – Open to completed MG and YA manuscripts. Enter the Rafflecopter drawing. 50 entrants will be chosen to enter their maximum 50 word pitch. Entries will be posted on the Operation Awesome blog. Agent and prizes to be announced.

7/30: Dear Lucky Agent Contest – Middle Grade Fiction only. Submit the first 150-200 words of your manuscript via email. You must mention the contest twice through social media and send the info with your entry to be eligible. Top 3 winners get a 10-page critique from Agent judge Peter Knapp of Park Literary.

7/31: To the Lighthouse & Clarissa Dalloway Book Prize – Open to women only. Two awards, one to an unpublished collection of poetry (48 to 96 pages) and one for prose (50,000 to 150,000 words). “For the Clarissa Dalloway Book Prize, accepted genres include but are not limited to memoir, biography, novel or novella, young adult literature, and graphic novels. Winners receive $1000 and publication of their submitted collection by Red Hen Press.”

August:

8/15: Pockets Magazine Fiction Contest – Stories should be 750–1,000 words. (Stories shorter than 750 words or longer than 1,000 words will be disqualified.) From the Pockets website: “Our primary interest is in stories that can help children deal with real-life situations. We do not accept stories about talking animals or inanimate objects. Fictional characters and some elaboration may be included in scripture stories, but the writer must remain faithful to the story.”

8/18: Pitchwars – Open to MG, YA, NA, & Adult fiction. Completed manuscripts only. To enter choose 4 out of the 75 mentors that best fit your work and send your query and first chapter for consideration. Mentors choose the writer they want to work with and mentor them for two months. Agent round will be held November 4th & 5th.

8/31: International Children’s Story Competition –  This year’s theme is, “Grandpa, grandma and I in the multicultural society.” Read about the previous year’s competition at Inclusive Works. There is lot information there to be aware of before entering.

Upcoming:

9/9: #PITMAD – Pitch your manuscript at this Twitter pitch party from 8am – 8pm EST using the #PITMAD hashtag. Many agents usually participate in this quarterly event.

9/30: Lee & Low New Voices Award – Open to writers of color only. Fiction, nonfiction, or poetry for ages 5-12 that “should address the needs of children of color by providing stories with which they can identify and relate, and which promote a greater understanding of one another.

9/30: Authors First Writing Contest – Open to novels. Enter your unpublished fiction of 40,000 words or longer. Prize is $5000.00 and publication by The Story Plant. See the contest rules. Participants must submit via entry form.

10/2014: Nightmare on Query Street – What is your main character afraid of? Check out the details from last year’s contest.

11/10-14: Pitch Event with Entangled Publishing – An upcoming pitch event from #PITMAD organizer Brenda Drake. More details to come.

Looking for more? Browse New Pages Classifieds, Freelance Writing or Poets & Writers database. There are lots of interesting contests there.  Many are very specific but who knows what might inspire you! Just be sure to read contest rules carefully.

If you know of a great contest we missed, contact us at subitclub (at) gmail (dot) com.