Saturday, February 23, 2013

THE FAB FIVE CONTEST

It's contest time!

The Wisconsin Romance Writers of America's 2013 FabFive contest submission deadline is closing in on us. All submissions must be received by midnight Friday.

Some of our categories have low entry counts this year. That makes your odds of becoming a finalist and getting your work in front of an agent or editor better than ever in this highly-popular contest. 
  
FabFive is available to writers unpublished in book-length romance fiction during the past five years. 

Self-published authors may also apply. Your entry must be limited to the first 2,500 words of your manuscript and must be submitted electronically. For an entry form and complete details regarding rules and eligibility, click the Contests link on our website: http://www.wisrwa.org

Grab this opportunity for a critique of your work and the chance one of our final round judges may ask to see more of it.  In last years contest, agents and editors requested eight full manuscripts and eight partials from our finalists. 

Inspirational writers: We've established a new category just for you! 

Our fees continue to be among the lowest for contests of this type - just $18 for WisRWA members and $20 for all other entrants. 

Deadline for entries is 11:59 CST, March 1, 2013. Categories are limited to thirty-five submissions each, so enter early to beat the rush
Here's our lineup of categories and final round judges for 2013: 
   Historical: Amanda Bergeron, Harper Collins
   Inspirational: Natasha Kern, Natasha Kern Literary Agency
   Paranormal/ Fantasy/ Futuristic/ Time Travel: Latoya Smith, Grand Central Publishing
   Romantic Suspense: Katherine Pelz, Berkley
   Series Contemporary(Long/Short): Dana Hopkins, Harlequin Enterprises
   Single Title: Nalini Akolekar, Spencerhill Associates
   Women's Fiction: Paige Wheeler, Folio Literary
   Young Adult: Laura Bradford, Bradford Literary Agency 

- Joe Fraser, FabFive Coordinator (jfraser6353@yahoo.com)

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

THE SHEILA CONTEST

Valley Forge Romance Writers is proud to announce The Sheila Contest opens for entries on March 1, 2013

Fee: $25 for VFRW members, $30 for non-members

Deadline: April 12, 2013

Eligibility: all RWA members, published and unpublished, who have not published a full-length novel (40K words or more) in the category entered at the time of the contest deadline and within the past five years.

Entry: Total of 35 pages, including synopsis (not to exceed 5 pages).

Categories: Single Title Romance, Historical, Fantasy/Futuristic/Paranormal, Women's Fiction with Romantic Elements, Romantic Suspense, Young Adult.

Judges: Entrants will receive a detailed score sheet from four qualified judges, including PRO and PAN members.

Categories and Final Judges: Romantic Suspense – Katherine Pelz, The Berkley Publishing Group; Historical – Elizabeth (Lizzie) Poteet, St. Matin's Press; Women's Fiction – Alex Logan, Grand Central Publishing; Single Title – Emilia Pisani, Gallery Books; Paranormal - Megha Parekh, Grand Central Publishing; YA – Wendy Loggia, Delacorte Press/RHCB.

Top Prize: Certificates. First- through fourth-place winners will have their names printed in RWR magazine.

FMI, http://www.vfrw.com/contest.

Friday, February 1, 2013

HAPPY IMBOLC!






For those interested in the Celtic traditions, to honor this first day of spring you can upload a free copy of my novella Deirdre (a retelling of Deirdre of the Sorrows) at http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/237564