November 2016 Contest Roundup

Oh my gosh I can’t believe it’s November all of a sudden and another NaNoWriMo is upon us! Maybe you aren’t participating or maybe you’ll want to take a break from your writing frenzy to enter some contests. Either way, cruise through this list and you’ll find some great opportunities. There are contests with agent judges, a couple of contests for illustrators, and a contest or two with publishers involved. There’s a lot of variety in this month’s Contest Roundup. Seems like there might be something for just about everyone.

As always, contests are listed in order of closing date. If you need help with your query or pitch join our Sub It Club Writer’s and Illustrator’s Support Group where you can post in our private group for help and opinions before you submit. 

October:

10/31: Tu Books New Visions Award – Open to Middle Grade and Young Adult manuscripts by writers of color. “Manuscripts should address the needs of children and teens of color by providing stories with which they can identify and relate, and which promote a greater understanding of one another.” Submit a cover letter, synopsis, plus the first 10,000 words. Graphic novels, include the equivalent of 24-30 scripted pages.Please note: “Manuscripts may not be submitted to other publishers, mentorship contests, writing contests, or to TU BOOKS general submissions while under consideration for this award.” Winner receives $1,000 and a standard publication contract. Honor Award winner to receive $500.

November:

11/1: My Real-Life Story Essay Contest – Enter your essay of 2,500 – 3,500 words. Every woman has a moment in life that changes everything. What’s that moment for you? We’d love to find out. Winner to receive $5,000, possible publication in Glamour magazine, and the opportunity to speak with a top New York literary agent. Do be sure to read the contest rules, especially #7.

11/9: Pass or Pages – Open to complete and polished Middle Grade Contemporary. Enter via form which will be posted on 11/7 with your query including title and word count (no bio or personalization) and the first 250 words of your manuscript. Five entries will be randomly selected to be given to agents Clelia Gore of Martin Literary Management and Rebecca Podos of Rees Literary Agency for feedback to be posted on the blog.

The winning entries with agent commentary will be posted on Operation Awesome. If you aren’t comfortable with having your entry (which will be anonymous) shared on the blog, please don’t enter Pass or Pages!

11/9: #KidPit – Open to Children’s manuscripts: Board Books, Picture Books, Easy Readers, Chapter Books, Middle Grade, and Young Adult Fiction and Nonfiction. Pitch your children’s manuscript via twitter using the #KidPit hashtag between 9am and 3pm CST. Pitch up to six times during the course of the event.

11/9: Kidlit 411 Golden Query Pass –Open to picture books, chapter books, middle grade, young adult, graphic novels for kids and teens, crime fiction, women’s fiction, and coming-of-age literary fiction. Enter via Rafflecopter for a change to win a get to the head of the line query pass from agent Brent Taylor of Triada US.

11/10: Dear Lucky Agent Contest – Open to Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy Novels. Submit the first 150-250 words of your completed manuscript. Chosen winner to receive a critique of the first 10 double-spaced pages of your work by agent Mike Hooglgand of Dystel, Goderich, & Bourett, a one-year subscription to WritersMarket.com and choice of the Guide to Literary Agents 2017 or the Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market 2017.

11/15: Iconic Holiday Hen Contest – Open to Illustrators. Submit your Iconic Holiday Hen illustration to Hen & Ink Literary Studio. Winning illustration will be used as the Hen & Ink Holiday Mascot. Illustrator will be invited to submit a portfolio or project to Hen & Ink Literary Studio for consideration.

11/15: Sparkhouse Family Children’s Picture Book Contest – Open to picture book manuscripts of 1,000 words or less that support the Christian faith. The winning author will get a prize of $5,000 and a chance to have their book published by Sparkhouse Family. To enter, submit a brief synopsis of your book, your author bio, your contact information, and complete manuscript via Submittable.

11/16: #AdPit – Open to Adult and New Adult Fiction and Nonfiction. Pitch your Adult manuscript via Twitter using the #Adpit hashtag between 9am and 3pm CST. Pitch up to six times during the course of the event.

11/30: 7th Annual YA Discovery Contest – Open to Young Adult. There is a $15 entry fee. I don’t usually post contests with fees but this one has a lot of editor prizes. The Grand Prize Winner will have the opportunity to submit an entire manuscript to YA literary agent Regina Brooks of Serendipity Literary. Top Five Entrants (including the Grand Prize Winner) will receive a 15-minute, one-on-one pitch session with Regina Brooks.  They will also receive commentary on their submissions from editors at Scholastic, HarperCollins, Little, Brown, Macmillan, Skyhorse, Chronicle, Sourcebooks, Simon and Schuster, Abrams Books, Penguin Random House, Disney, and James Patterson’s new imprint, JIMMY Patterson. Enter your title and first 250 words of your manuscript.

December:

12/1: #Pitmad – Open to all genres. Pitch your completed manuscript via Twitter using the #Pitmad hashtag betweet 8am and 8pm EDT. Three pitches per project.

12/1: Tomie dePaola Award – Open to illustrators who are SCBWI members. Enter an image of your autobiographical character in a scene. Convey emotion. “The viewer should be able to read the emotion of the character immediately and clearly. No words or captions are allowed in the image.” Winner will receive a trip to the SCBWI New York Winter conference, with tuition, travel and hotel included. The winning piece will also be displayed during the New York VIP Party and Portfolio Showcase.

12/1: SCBWI Art Contest – Open to SCBWI members only. Submit your kite-themed children’s illustration for a chance to be featured on an SCBWI promotional postcard, exposure on SCBWI social media, and a $50 art supply certificate. Enter via email.

12/8: #SFFPit – Open to works of fantasy or science fiction. All age categories (PB, MG, YA, NA, and adult). Pitch your completed manuscript via Twitter using the #SFFPit hashtag between 8am and 6pm EST. Pitch up to 10 times in total. Need pitch tips? Check out #SFFPit creator Dan Kobalt’s tips!

12/12: Pitchmas – Send your 35 word pitch via email. Top 50 pitches will be put on the Pitchmas blog on 12/15 for agents and editors to comment on. Participating agents and editors to be announced in November.

12/16: #PitchMAS – Twitter pitch party. Pitch your work via Twitter using the #PitchMAS hashtag between 6am and 6pm EST. No more than two pitches per hour.

12/18: Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition – Open to “full length children’s novels”. There is a L15 fee for this contest. Enter a cover letter, synopsis, and full manuscript. First prize is a worldwide publishing contract with Chicken House with a royalty advance of £10,000, plus representation from a top children’s literary agent.

12/31: Society of Classical Poets Poetry Competition – Enter 3-5 poems of no more than 50 lines that fit the contest themes along with a short bio. Top prize of $500.

2017:

1/1: L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future Contest – Open to unpublished writers of Science Fiction and Fantasy. Enter your prose, up to 17,000 words. This is a quarterly contest with 3 cash prizes in each quarter: a 1st of $1,000, a 2nd of $750, and a 3rd of $500. At the end of the year a Grand Prize winner shall be determined and receive an additional $5,000.

1/15: Little Brown Emerging Artist Award – Open to illustrators. Contest mission is “to encourage the development of high-quality children’s picture books that resonate with readers of diverse backgrounds and experiences, that in some manner draw from the rich cultural experiences of this country—whether they manifest in character, theme, setting, plot, or are derived simply from the artist’s own experience of identity. Diversity includes literal or metaphorical inclusion of characters of underrepresented ethnicity, religious background, gender identity, class, mental or physical disability, or any other nondominant populations.” See official contest rules. Winner to receive $2500 inAmerican Express® gift cards, round-trip travel to New York City, aday at LBYR’s offices including lunch with an editor, an art director, and the Artist Mentor, an in-person portfolio review by the Artist Mentor and the LBYR publishing staff, and a tour of the office, and the opportunity for the winning submission to be reviewed by LBYR’s editorial team.

1/18: #Pit2Pub – The last one was open to all categories and age groups. Pitch your manuscript on Twitter using the #Pit2Pub hashtag. More info to come.

4/1: Scholastic Graphix Contest – Open to Graphic Novels for kids. U.S. Residents only. Up to 5 winners will receive an offer to publish their work with Scholastic and a $15,000 advance.

Know of a great, no fee contest that I missed? Please link us up in the comments!