Towse: views from the hill

November 13, 2008

/ CONTEST / 26th Annual Delacorte Press Contest, for a First Young Adult Novel [Deadline: 31Dec2008]

Filed under: contest,writing — Towse @ 6:27 pm

26th Annual Delacorte Press Contest, for a First Young Adult Novel
Deadline: 31Dec2008

The prize of a book contract (on the publisher’s standard form) covering world rights for a hardcover and a paperback edition, including an advance and royalties, will be awarded annually to encourage the writing of contemporary young adult fiction. The award consists of $1,500 in cash and a $7,500 advance against royalties.

All federal, state, and local taxes, if any, are the winner’s sole responsibility. Prizes are not transferrable and cannot be assigned. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN.

ELIGIBILITY
1. The contest is open to U.S. and Canadian writers who have not previously published a young adult novel. Employees of Random House, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates, and members of their families and households are not eligible.

2. Foreign-language manuscripts and translations are not eligible.

3. Manuscripts submitted to a previous Delacorte Press contest are not eligible.

Suitable for readers ages 12 to 18.
100-224 typewritten pages. Double-spaced.

July 31, 2007

Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest 2007 Results

Filed under: contest,wordstuff,writing — Towse @ 6:02 pm

2007 is the silver anniversary of the contest.

Jim Gleeson, Madison, WI, is the grand prize winner this year with

Gerald began–but was interrupted by a piercing whistle which cost him ten percent of his hearing permanently, as it did everyone else in a ten-mile radius of the eruption, not that it mattered much because for them “permanently” meant the next ten minutes or so until buried by searing lava or suffocated by choking ash–to pee.

Additional prize winners here: 2007 Results

re the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest

[...]

Conscripted numerous times to be a judge in writing contests that were, in effect, bad writing contests but with prolix, overlong, and generally lengthy submissions, he [Professor Scott Rice] struck upon the idea of holding a competition that would be honest and — best of all — invite brief entries. Furthermore, it had the ancillary advantage of one day allowing him to write about himself in the third person.

By campus standards, the first year of the BLFC was a resounding success, attracting three entries. The following year, giddy with the prospect of even further acclaim, Rice went public with the contest and, with the boost of a sterling press release by Public Information Officer Richard Staley, attracted national and international attention. Staley’s press release drew immediate front-page coverage in cultural centers like Boston, Houston, and Miami. By the time the BLFC concluded with live announcement of the winner, Gail Cane, on CBS Morning News (since defunct through no fault of the BLFC), it had drawn coverage from Time, Smithsonian, People Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, The Manchester Guardian, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Australian Radio, and the BBC. Most important, over 10,000 wretched writers had tried their hands at outdoing Bulwer’s immortal opener, with the best entries soon appearing in the first of a series published by Penguin Books, It Was a Dark and Stormy Night (1984).

Since 1983 the BLFC has continued to draw acclaim and opprobrium. Thousands continue to enter yearly …

[via Bob Sloan at misc.writing]

January 6, 2007

[WR] Annual Erma Bombeck Writing Competition. No fee. Deadline: 18 Feb 2007

Filed under: contest,writing-market — Towse @ 4:10 am

Competition Guidelines

* Personal essay that is previously unpublished*, or has only been published since January 1, 2006 (*Essays that have previously appeared on Web sites are considered published.)
* 450 words or fewer (as determined by Microsoft Word word count tool)
* Two categories for entry:
     o Humor
     o Human Interest
* One Dayton, Ohio-area winner and one National/International winner will be awarded in each category
* Judges will also select several essays for “Honorable Mention”
* Limit one entry (total, not per category) per person
* No entry fee
* No age restrictions (all ages are judged together)
* Entries and/or any accompanying materials will not be returned
* All submissions are final – corrections to and replacements for submitted essays will not be allowed
* Washington-Centerville Public Library reserves the non-exclusive right to publish the winning entries
* Entries must be submitted online, using the official online entry form
* Entries must be submitted by 11:59 PM, EST, February 18, 2007

Samples of the winning entries past are on the site.
NO HARD COPY ENTRIES.
International entries accepted.

First place prizes: $100 and fame! and glory!

Have at it!

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