August Contest Roundup

This month’s Contest Roundup has quite a few opportunities for children’s writers. But, there’s also two upcoming novel contests from publishers, a contest of sorts for illustrators, and Write On Con! If you’re looking for an agent you certainly don’t want to miss the fun of #PITMAD in September. Want to see what others think of your pitch before the big day? Be sure to join the private Sub It Club Facebook group where you can post your pitch and get help to make sure it sparkles!

Contests are listed in order by last day of entry:

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 Two awards, one to an unpublished collection of poetry (48 to 96 pages) and one for prose (50,000 to 150,000 words).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. Mentor blog hop starts 8/4. Agent round will be held November 4th & 5th. The Pitchwars submission window was opened early. Check it out here.

8/18: An Agent’s Inbox – Enter the query and first 250 words of your completed MG, YA, or NA manuscript at 10 A.M. PDT. Only the first 20 entries will be accepted so you’ll have to be quick! Selected entries will be posted online and will receive comments so entrants, “… need to be prepared to hear exactly what The Agent thinks of your query and first page.”

8/22: Mystery Agent Lottery – Open to PB, YA, NA, & Romance. Submit your title, genre, word count, Twitter pitch, and first 250 words. Enter via entry form.

8/26 & 27: WriteOnCon – This isn’t a contest! What it is, is an amazing free online conference for writers. While the conference is centered around writing picture books through young adult it is open to writers of any genre as much of the information provided applies to all writers. So be sure to check it out!

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: Gusto & Gecko Illustration Challenge – For illustrators. This contest looks to be put on by a writer looking to self publish their book but there is a prize of AUD$500. It’s rare for me to find an illustration contest so I’m adding it here. Entry must consist of a character illustration and a scene illustration. As always, please read all of the contest information and make your own decision on whether or not this is a good contest for you.

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.

10/15: Minotaur Books/Malice Domestic Best First Traditional Mystery Novel Competition – Open to writers who have not published any mystery novel. Enter your finished novel of no less than 65,000 words via online form. See very specific novel guidelines on the website. Winner will receive an offer of publication along with a $10,000.00 advance against royalties.

10/?: 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.

12/4: #PITMAD – Twitter pitch party. 8am – 8pm EST. Pitch your completed manuscript in 140 characters or less.

12/15: Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Competition – Unpublished writers only. Enter your novel that involves serious crime or murder at the heart of the story. Winner receives publishing contract with Minotaur Books and a $10,000 advance against royalties. Enter via entry form.

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