Summer in North America is coming to a close. Does that mean more contests? I’m not sure. What I do know is that I found some great ones to add to the Roundup this month!
As always, read contest rules carefully before entering, and if you’d like to talk contests or get help with a pitch, we welcome you to join our private Sub It Club Facebook group.
Contests are listed in order by last day of entry:
August:
8/31: The Ordinary Guru Project Essay Contest – Share your tale of transformation in an up to 1200 word essay about a personal experience with an ordinary guru. Essays can be in the form of cartoons, graphic novel and photo essays as well as prose. First Prize: $5,000. Second Prize: $2,500. Third Prize: $1,500. Bio must be included. See official rules for details.
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.
September:
9/8: Secret Agent Contest – Submit the first 250 words of your completed manuscript via form between noon and 6pm EDT. 50 winners will be randomly chosen. Open to MG, YA, and Adult manuscripts.
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.
9/18: Real Simple Life Lessons Essay Contest – Enter your 1500 word maximum essay about a “Eureka” moment. Real Simple magazine wants entries about “an epiphany changed your life or just made your day”. 1st place winner receives $3000.00, 2nd place wins $750.00, 3rd place $500.00. See official contest rules.
9/26: Enter to win a Critique from a NYC editor – Enter to win a critique of the first five pages of your picture book, middle grade, or young adult from Bloomsbury New York Editor, Brett Wright. To enter you must donate at least $5.00 to Reach out and Read Colorado and email your receipt to author Jean Reidy.
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.
October:
10/3: Overcoming Writer’s Doubt Writing Contest – Post your 300 – 1000 word inspirational essay on overcoming writer’s doubt on your blog. Link back to the contest post and leave a comment with a link on the contest blog as well. Prizes are a $100, $75, & $50 Amazon gift card.
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.
10/20: Irish Children’s Prize 2014 – Open to un-agented children’s book writers born or resident in Ireland (or those who hold an Irish passport), and writing in English. Accepts picture books, middle grade, and young adult. Enter your first 5,000 words plus a short description of your manuscript and a one page outline. Judged by Julia Churchill, children’s book agent at A. M. Heath, and David Maybury of Scholastic Children’s Books. The winner will be awarded a prize of €1,000.
10/?: Nightmare on Query Street – What is your main character afraid of? Check out the details from last year’s contest. More info to come.
Upcoming:
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.
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