NEO•GRIOT

Writing Competitions

 

First Crime Novel Competition \ Minotaur Books/Malice Domestic Competition \  Best Private Eye Novel Competition \   Hillerman Mystery Contest      First Crime Novel Competition  Rules for the 2011 Minotaur Books/ Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Competition Sponsored by St. Martin's Minotaur and Mystery Writers of America (MWA) 1. The Competition is open to any writer, regardless of nationality, who has never been the author of a published novel, as defined by the guidelines below, (except that authors of self-published works only may enter, as long as the manuscript submitted is not the self-published work) and is not under contract with a publisher for publication of a novel. Only one manuscript entry is permitted per writer.    2. All manuscripts submitted: a) must be original, previously unpublished works of book length (no less than 220 typewritten pages or approximately 60,000 words) written in the English language by the entrants; b) must not violate any right of any third party or be libelous, and c) must generally follow the guidelines below.    GUIDELINES a. Murder or another serious crime or crimes is at the heart of the story. b. WHAT CONSTITUTES PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED: For the purpose of this Competition, previously published material includes the publication or distribution of the entry, in part or whole, in paper or electronic format or in any other medium, including self-published works. This does not include a chapter excerpt on an author's website, subject to the conditions that: (i) the excerpt is the only text that exists for public viewing; (ii) the excerpt is not for sale to the public, and (iii) the number of words in the excerpt does not exceed 10% of the total number of words in the work as a whole. (The decision of the Competition's judges as to whether or not a manuscript qualifies will be final.) 3. Nominees will be selected by judges chosen by MWA, with the assistance of the editorial staff of Minotaur Books, and the winner will be chosen by Minotaur Books editors on the basis of the originality, creativity and writing skill of the submission. The decision of the editors as to the winner of the Competition will be final. Minotaur Books reserves the right not to select any winner if, in the sole opinion of the editors, none of the manuscripts submitted are of publishable quality.    4. An attempt will be made to notify the Competition winner, if any, no later than March 31, 2011. The winner will then be recognized at the Edgar Awards Banquet in New York City in April 2011.    5. If a winner is selected, Minotaur Books will offer to enter into its standard form author's agreement with the entrant for publication of the winning manuscript. After execution of the standard form author's agreement by both parties, the winner will receive an advance against future royalties of $10,000. THE WINNER WILL NOT RECEIVE ANY OTHER PRIZE AND WILL NOT RECEIVE ANY PART OF THE ADVANCE UNTIL THE STANDARD FORM AUTHOR'S AGREEMENT HAS BEEN EXECUTED BY BOTH PARTIES. Those terms of the offer not specified in the printed text of the Minotaur Books standard form author's agreement will be determined by Minotaur Books at its sole discretion. The entrant may request reasonable changes in the offered terms, but Minotaur Books shall not be obligated to agree to any such changes. Minotaur Books may, but will not be required to, consider for publication manuscripts submitted by other entrants.    6. All requests for entry forms must be received by Minotaur Books at the address below by November 13, 2010. DO NOT SEND MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSIONS TO MINOTAUR BOOKS. For copies of these rules and to request an entry form, please send a stamped, self addressed envelope to:    Minotaur Books/MWA Competition St. Martin's Minotaur 175 Fifth Avenue, 18th Floor New York, New York 10010   Each entrant will receive an entry form containing the address of the judge to whom he or she will send his or her manuscript. Entries must be postmarked no later than November 30, 2010 and received by judges no later than December 15, 2010 and must include:  a) A double-spaced and neatly typed copy of the manuscript (photocopies are acceptable), with pages numbered consecutively from beginning to end. b) A letter or cover sheet containing the name, address, email address and telephone number of the entrant and the entrant's previous writing credits, if any. c) The application form, duly completed, and a self-addressed letter-sized envelope for our response. d) A digital copy of the manuscript either burned to a CD or saved to a disk as a Microsoft Word document. All disks and CDs should be marked with the author's name and the title of the manuscript.   *Each entrant must keep a copy of the manuscript for his or her own protection. Minotaur Books will not be responsible for lost, stolen, or mislaid manuscripts. Because of the great volume of submissions we receive, the fact that judges are volunteers with full-time responsibilities elsewhere, and the fact that most writers now have the work in their computers, manuscripts, CDs and disks will not be returned. Please do not send return postage or envelopes for return of your manuscript.    No critical evaluation or commentary will be offered by the judges or the editorial staff of St. Martin's Minotaur unless, in the sole opinion of the editorial staff, evaluation or commentary is appropriate in the case of a manuscript being considered for publication.      8. This Competition is void where prohibited or restricted by law.    *It is important that you submit your manuscript as early as possible. Our judges are volunteers who are extremely busy with their primary concerns, and it is inevitable that your submission will get a more careful reading if the judge does not have to contend with a flood of last-minute entries. However, it is not necessary to send it the most expensive way. We judge on-time delivery by the post-mark or equivalent, not by the date the judge receives the manuscript.    Good luck! Minotaur Books/Malice Domestic Competition Rules for the 2010 Minotaur Books/Malice Domestic Competition for the Best First Traditional Mystery Novel 1. The competition is open to any professional or non-professional writer, regardless of nationality, who has never been the author of a published traditional mystery (that includes self-published works), as defined by the guidelines below, and is not under contract with a publisher for publication of a traditional mystery.  Only one manuscript entry is permitted per writer. 2. All manuscripts submitted: a) must be original works of book length (no less than 220 typewritten pages or approximately 60,000 words) written in the English language by the contestants; b) must not violate the rights of any third party, and c) must generally follow the guidelines below.             GUIDELINES 1.      Murder or another serious crime is at the heart of the story, and emphasis is on the solution rather than the details of the crime. 2.      Whatever violence is necessarily involved should be neither excessive nor gratuitously detailed, nor is there to be explicit sex. 3.      The crime is an extraordinary event in the lives of the characters. 4.      The principal characters are people whom the reader might not like, but would be interested in knowing. 5.      The suspects and the victims should know each other. 6.      There are a limited number of suspects, each of whom has a credible motive and reasonable opportunity to have committed the crime. 7.      The person who solves the crime is the central character. 8.      The “detective” is an amateur, or, if a professional (private investigator, police officer) is not hardboiled and is as fully developed as the other characters. 9.      The detective may find him or herself in serious peril, but he or she does not get beaten up to any serious extent. 10.  All of the cast represent themselves as individuals, rather than large impersonal institutions like a national government, the mafia, the CIA, etc. (The decision of the contest’s judges as to whether or not a manuscript qualifies will be final.) 3.  Nominees will be selected by judges chosen by the editorial staff of St. Martin’s Press, with the assistance of the organizers of MALICE DOMESTIC, and the winner will be chosen by St. Martin’s editors.  The decision of the editors as to the winner of the contest will be final. St. Martin’s reserves the right not to select any winner, if in the sole opinion of the editors, none of the manuscripts submitted are of publishable quality.  4.  An attempt will be made to notify the contest winner, if any, no later than April 1, 2010. The winner will be officially announced at the Malice Domestic Convention in April 2010.  5.  If a winner is selected, St. Martin’s Minotaur will publish the winning manuscript by offering to enter into its standard form author’s agreement with the contestant. The winner will receive an advance against future royalties of $10,000. Those terms of the offer not specified in the printed text of the St. Martin’s Press standard form author’s agreement will be determined by St. Martin’s Press at its sole discretion. The contestant may request reasonable changes in the offered terms, but St. Martin’s shall not be obligated to agree to any such changes. St. Martin’s may, but will not be required to, consider for publication manuscripts submitted by other contestants. 6.  All entries must be received or postmarked no later than October 15, 2009 and must include:  a)      A double-spaced and neatly typed copy of the manuscript (photocopies are acceptable), with pages numbered consecutively from beginning to end. b)      A letter or cover sheet containing the name, address, and telephone number of the contestant and the contestant’s previous writing credits, if any. c)      The application form, duly completed, and an SASE. All entries must be mailed to the judge whose address is on the application form. Do not send the entry to St. Martins’ Press. For additional copies of the rules and entry blank only, please send a stamped, self addressed envelope to: Malice Domestic Competition Thomas Dunne Books St. Martin’s Press 175 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10010  *Each contestant must keep a copy of the manuscript for his or her own protection. St. Martin’s Press will not be responsible for lost, stolen, or mislaid manuscripts. Because of the great volume of submissions our judges receive, the fact that they are volunteers with full-time responsibilities elsewhere, and the fact that most writers now have their work saved on their computers, manuscripts will not be returned. Please do not send return postage or envelopes. 7.  No critical evaluation or commentary will be offered by the judges or the editorial staff of St. Martin’s Press unless, in the sole opinion of the editorial staff evaluation or commentary is appropriate in the case of a manuscript being considered for publication. 8.  This contest is void where prohibited or restricted by law. *It is important that you submit your manuscript as early as possible.  Our judges are volunteers who are extremely busy with their primary concerns, and it is inevitable that your submission will get a more careful reading if the judge does not have to contend with a flood of last-minute entries.  However, it is not necessary to send it the most expensive way. We judge its on-time performance by the post-mark or equivalent, not by the date the judge receives the manuscript.   Best Private Eye Novel Competition  Rules and Guidelines for the Best Private Eye Novel Competition Sponsored by the Private Eye Writers of America (PWA) and St. Martin's Press, LLC 1. The contest is open to any professional or non-professional writer, regardless of race or nationality, who has never been the author of a published "private eye" novel and who is not under contract with a publisher for publication of a "private eye" novel. 2. All manuscripts submitted: a)must be original works of book length (no less than 220 type-written pages or approximately 60,000 words) written in the English language by the contestants; b) must not violate the rights of any third party; and c) must be a "private eye" novel as defined by these rules: A novel in which the main character is an independent investigator who is not a member of any law enforcement or government agency, and who receives a fee for his or her investigative services. (There are no other restrictions as to plot or subject matter. The decision of the contest's judges as to whether a manuscript qualifies as a "private eye" novel will be final.) 3. The contest will be judged by judges selected by the PWA and the editorial staff of St. Martin's Press, LLC. The decision of the judges as to the winner of the contest will be final. The judges reserve the right not to select any winner, if, in the sole opinion of the judges, none of the manuscripts are of publishable quality. 4. An attempt will be made to notify the contest winner, if any, no later than September 15th, 2008. The winner will be officially announced at the Bouchercon conference in October 2008. 5. If a winner is selected, St. Martin's Press will publish the winning manuscript by offering to enter into its standard form author's agreement with the contestant. The winner will receive an advance against the future royalties of $10,000. Those terms of the offer not specified in the printed text of the St. Martin's Press standard form author's agreement will be determined by St. Martin's Press at its sole discretion. The contestant may request reasonable changes in the offered terms, but St. Martin's Press shall not be obligated to agree to any such changes. St. Martin's Press may, but will not be required to, consider for publication manuscripts submitted by other contestants. 6. All entries must be received or postmarked no later than July 1, 2008 and must include: a) A double-spaced and neatly typed copy of the manuscript (photocopies are acceptable). b) An application form, duly completed. c) A list of previous writing credits, if any. All entries must be mailed to the PWA judge whose address appears on the application form. Any entries submitted directly to St. Martin's Press will not be considered for the contest. For additional copies of the rules and entry blank only, please send a self-addressed stamped envelope to:      Best First Private Eye Novel Competition St. Martin's Press/PWA Thomas Dunne Books 175 5th Avenue New York, NY 10010 7. Please note that declined manuscripts will not be returned to the author, so there is no need to include a SASE. There will be no exceptions. Each contestant must keep a copy of the manuscript for his or her own protection. Neither the PWA nor St. Martin's Press will be responsible for lost, damaged or mislaid manuscripts. 8. No critical evaluation or commentary will be offered by the judges or the editorial staff of St. Martin's Press unless, in the sole discretion of the judges and/or the editorial staff, evaluation or commentary is appropriated in the case of a manuscript being considered for publication. 9. This contest is void where prohibited or restricted by law. To request guidelines and an application form, please send an SASE to: Best First Private Eye Novel Competition St. Martin's Press/PWA Thomas Dunne Books 175 Fifth Avenue New York, New York 10010   Hillerman Mystery Contest Rules for the HILLERMAN MYSTERY CONTEST Sponsored by the Tony Hillerman Writers Conference (THWC) and St. Martin's Press, LLC back to top The contest is open to any professional or non-professional writer, regardless of nationality, who has never been the author of a published mystery, as defined by the guidelines below, and is not under contract with a publisher for publication of a mystery. Only one manuscript entry is permitted per writer.  All manuscripts submitted: a) must be original works of book length (no less than 220 typewritten pages or approximately 60,000 words) written in the English language by the contestants; b) must not violate the rights of any third party, and c) must generally follow the guidelines below.  GUIDELINES  1. Murder or another serious crime or crimes is at the heart of the story, and emphasis is on the solution rather than the details of the crime. 2. The story’s primary setting is the Southwestern United States, including at least one of the following states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah. (The decision of the Competition's judges as to whether or not a manuscript qualifies will be final.) Nominees will be selected by judges chosen by the organizers of the THWC, with the assistance of editorial staff of St. Martin's Press, and the winner will be chosen by St. Martin's editors. The decision of the editors as to the winner of the contest will be final. St. Martin's reserves the right not to select any winner if, in the sole opinion of the editors, none of the manuscripts submitted are of publishable quality. An attempt will be made to notify the contest winner, if any, no later than October 1. If a winner is selected, St. Martin's Press will publish the winning manuscript by offering to enter into its standard form author's agreement with the contestant. The winner will receive an advance against future royalties of $10,000. Those terms of the offer not specified in the printed text of the St. Martin's Press standard form author's agreement will be determined by St. Martin's Press at its sole discretion. The contestant may request reasonable changes in the offered terms, but St. Martin's shall not be obligated to agree to any such changes. St. Martin's may, but will not be required to, consider for publication manuscripts submitted by other contestants. All entries must be received or postmarked no later than June 1 and must include: a) A double-spaced and neatly typed copy of the manuscript (photocopies are acceptable), with pages numbered consecutively from beginning to end. The author’s name should appear only on the title page, and otherwise not appear anywhere on the manuscript pages. b) A letter or cover sheet containing the name, address, email address and telephone number of the contestant and the contestant's previous writing credits, if any. c) The application form, duly completed and an SASE. Click here to print the application form.   All entries must be mailed to St. Martin's Press. For additional copies of the rules and to request an entry form, please send a stamped, self addressed envelope to: St. Martin's Minotaur/THWC Competition St. Martin's Minotaur 175 Fifth Avenue New York, New York 10010  *Each contestant must keep a copy of the manuscript for his or her own protection. St. Martin's Press will not be responsible for lost, stolen, or mislaid manuscripts. Because of the great volume of submissions we receive, the fact that judges are volunteers with full-time responsibilities elsewhere, and the fact that most writers now have the work in their computers, manuscripts will not be returned. Please do not send return postage or envelopes. No critical evaluation or commentary will be offered by the judges or the editorial staff of St. Martin's Press unless, in the sole opinion of the editorial staff evaluation or commentary is appropriate in the case of a manuscript being considered for publication. This Competition is void where prohibited or restricted by law.  *It is important that you submit your manuscript as early as possible. Our judges are volunteers who are extremely busy with their primary concerns, and it is inevitable that your submission will get a more careful reading if the judge does not have to contend with a flood of last-minute entries. However, it is not necessary to send it the most expensive way. We judge on-time delivery by the post-mark or equivalent, not by the date the judge receives the manuscript.  Good luck!