January 2015 Contest Roundup

I love the feeling the new year gives me when it comes to submissions. It’s like starting with a clean slate. Zero rejections. Zero acceptances. Anything can happen! Whether you choose to try your hand at contests or submit your work directly, it can feel great to be starting fresh. So take that polished work and don’t be afraid to get it out there!

Some of the pitch contests listed in this month’s Roundup have very little information as of this posting. The information I have posted on those I received straight from the organizers so am hopeful that more details will be coming soon! Do check in on organizers’ blogs for more details, and I will be updating here when more news comes available.

As always, be sure that you only pitch completed work unless the contest specifies that incomplete manuscripts are accepted. And make sure that entering contests is right for you.

There are a variety of pitch contests as well as kidlit, novel, and even a radio writing contest listed in this Roundup. But, the holidays have kept me busy as they always do so, if you know of a great contest that I missed, email me at SubItClub (at) gmail (dot) com!

Here’s to a new year of great submissions! Now onto the contests:

January 2015:

1/5: #JustPitchIt – A twitter pitch party for faith-based works of all genres and readerships put together by Jessica Schmeidler. More info to come but not so far that I can find.

1/9: #SecretShop – A new, all-encompassing pitch contest also put together by Jessica Schmeidler. More information to come.

1/15: Transitions Abroad’s Narrative Travel Writing Contest – Enter your “…article which describes how traveling in a slower manner and attempting to adapt to the space and time of locals, their culture, and their land has deepened your experience of both the people and the destination.” Scroll down on the page for 2015 details. 1st prize is $500 , 2nd $250, 3rd $100.

1/15: Conville & Walsh Word of Mouth Prize – Open to Adult Fiction. Conville & Walsh Agency is looking for stories they can’t put down, the kind that start conversations. They want books that will be talked about! Email your manuscript, synopsis, and cover letter to enter. “The winner will receive a cheque for £1,000 and, if mutually agreeable, representation by Conville & Walsh.”

1/22: New Leaf Pitch Perfect 2 – Pitch your MG, YA, NA, and Adult manuscripts to the New Leaf Literary agents on Twitter using the hashtag #NLpitchperfect. Pitch window is open Thursday, January 22 from 4-5 PM EST.

1/22: Pitch Folio Literary Agent Erin Niumata – Check 9am – 10am and 11am – noon EST. Erin represents memoir and commercial nonfiction as well as fiction including mysteries, psychological thrillers, and commercial women’s fiction. You can find the information for the pitch times on Erin’s Twitter feed @ecniumata. Folio Literary tweeted that there is no hashtag for the event, pitch Erin directly.

1/26: Sun vs Snow – Open to Adult, NA, YA, and MG. Submit your query and first 250 words to be considered for the agent round. The submission window opens at 4pm eastern time to the first 200 entries, so be ready! At least 14 agents will be participating. Watch Amy Trueblood‘s and Michelle Hauck‘s blogs for more details to come.

1/30: Debut Novel Competition – Janklow & Nesbit Agency have teamed up with Mumsnet and Gransnet online communities to host a debut novel competition. Submit the first 8,000 words of a novel along with a 500-word outline of the remaining chapters. You can read more about how to enter on the first page of the Mumsnet site but you must become a member to enter.

1/31: Highlights Fiction Contest – This year’s category is mystery stories for children. Stories may be up to 750 words. Three prizes of $1000 will be awarded. Enter by mail.

1/31: Reader’s Digest Poetry Contest – Open to poems with 15 or fewer lines. Grand prize winner receives $500.00. 3 runners up will receive a $100.00 prize. See submission form to enter.

1/31: Sharjah Exibition for Children’s Book Illustrations – Illustrators only! Submit at least 3 original pieces of art belonging to a single book along with your biography. Winners will be chosen to receive 1st USD 8000, 2nd USD 6000, 3rd USD 4000. There will also be three winners of USD 1000 as well as certificates of outstanding work. Forms and ID are due by the 31st. Participating work is due 2/15/2015. See regulations for details.

February:

2/8: AdPit – Adult Pitch Contest open to Adult Fiction & Nonfiction, and New Adult. Submission window opens on the 8th. Will close in 24 hours or until 500 submission have been received.  More details to come by mid-January on organizer Heidi Norrod’s Blog. She’s rounding up agents and editors for the event!

2/11 or 12 – yet to be determined: #AdPit Twitter Pitch Party – Pitch your adult fiction, non-fiction, and new adult using the #Adpit hashtag. More information to come! Follow organizer @HRNorrod on Twitter to keep in the loop.

2/13: BBC Radio 4 Opening Lines – The BBC invites writers who are new to radio to submit their 1,900 – 2,000 word short story between January 5th and February 13th. The three strongest stories will be broadcast on BBC radio in the summer of 2015. See the guidelines and submission form.

2/23: Pitch Madness – Submit your 35-word pitch and the first 250 words of your completed manuscript. Readers choose the top 60 entries to go on to the agent rounds.

March:

3/11: #PitMad – Twitter Pitch Party open to all genres. 8am-8pm EDT.

3/31: SCBWI Work in Progress Awards – Six categories: Picture Books, Chapter Books/Early Readers, Middle Grade, Young Adult Fiction, Nonfiction, Multi-Cultural Fiction or Nonfiction. One winner and up to five honorable mentions will be chosen in each category. Must be a member of the Society of Children’s Book Authors and Illustrators to enter. Winning entries and honorable mentions will be “presented to a hand-selected group of editors for their consideration.” Submission window opens 3/1.

3/31: Don Freeman Illustrator Grants – Must be a member of the Society of Children’s Book Authors and Illustrators to enter. Two grants of $1000.00 will be awarded. One to a published illustrator and one to a pre-published illustrator. See website for specific entry requirements.

We love seeing our Sub It Clubbers succeed and will be posting our members’ good news of 2014 very soon. Some of it even came through contests. We’ll be bringing you the Contest Roundup every month in 2015 with the hopes we’ll be hearing good news from you!