Harlequin Contests & Challenges: Pitch Challenge, Patent Your Kiss Contest, Mentor Challenge

Here are a few Harlequin contests I ran across. There are some awesome opportunities for those of you who are targeting the Harlequin Nocturne Bites or Kimani lines, or if you're looking for a mentor, or looking to get your work in front of an editor or just looking to have some fun.

Have Fun & Good Luck!

"Valentine Secrets": Harlequin Mentor Challenge

How would you like to win a Mentor For A Month? Well, now is your chance! Write a Titled, 1k start to a Valentine's-themed, secret-baby romance. All other details are up to you!

Take part in our Valentine Secrets Challenge and you'll have a chance to learn from Harlequin Desire author and long-time Community Member, Tessa Radley! Tessa started out just like you, right here on the message boards, learning from authors and peers before joining the ranks of our published Harlequin authors and now she wants to give back. She has generously agreed to blind-judge all the entries and select a winner to mentor for a month. All you need to do is write the best Valentine of your life!

Go here for more info, rules and guidelines.

Harlequin Mentor Challenge

Editor Pitch Challenge: Nocturne BITES

We're at it again! And this time, we've got another of your favorite lines for you to send your dark and sexy paranormal entries too! Nocturne Bites is looking for YOUR manuscript and Associate Sr. Editor, Ann Leslie Tuttle will be on hand to take your pitch!

To enter, send a two-paragraph blurb of your manuscript to Hosty Rae by February 17th

Five entries will be chosen by Ann Leslie Tuttle and those will be announced no later than February 22nd.

Pitches will happen February 24th, at 2 pm est. But read the rules below to ensure your entry can be accepted.

• You MUST be able to enter and post inside the eHarlequin.com chat room. If you are unable to use the chat room and your submission is chosen, we will be unable to offer you another venue option and it will be unfair to an entrant who is able.
• You MUST have a completed manuscript that is targeted to Nocturne Bites. Editors have the option to request partials or fulls.
• You MUST be available at the given chat time. As stated above, we will be unable to offer another venue or time option.
• Please include your member name, your full name along with your submission.

Editor Pitch FAQs 
Editor Pitch Challenge
eHarlequin Nocturne Bites

Editor Pitch Challenge: Kimani Romance

We're at it again! And this time, we've got another of your favorite lines for you to send your sexy, dramatic, sophisticated and entertaining love story entries too! Kimani Romance is looking for YOUR manuscript and Senior Editor, Kelli Martin will be on hand to take your pitch!

To enter, send a 1-page dbl-spaced synopsis ( not to exceed 250 words ) of your manuscript to Hosty Rae by March 1

• Five entries will be chosen by Kelli Martin and those will be announced on or around March 4th.
• Pitches will happen March 9th, at 11 am est. But read the rules below to ensure your entry can be accepted.
• NO multiple submissions.
• NO Attachments. Please include your entry in the body of the email. If your submission is sent via attachment, it will not be entered.
• You MUST be able to enter and post inside the eHarlequin.com chat room. If you are unable to use the chat room and your submission is chosen, we will be unable to offer you another venue option and it will be unfair to an entrant who is able.
• You MUST have a completed manuscript that is targeted to Kimani Romance. Editors have the option to request partials or full.
• You MUST be available at the given chat time. As stated above, we will be unable to offer another venue or time option.
• Please include your member name, your full name along with your submission.  

Kimani Romance Info
Kimani Romance Editor Pitch Challenge

Patent Your Kiss Contest

So pucker up!

Next year it's not who you kiss at midnight but where

We want to hear all about your unique kiss, from romantic to downright quirky. And if yours gets the most votes, you could win a trip for two to spend New Year’s Eve 2012 in fabulous style.

3-Night, 4-Day trip for 2 to Paris Las Vegas Hotel and Casino + Airfare

Hurry! You have until March 30 to design and submit your kiss. The winner will be chosen from the top ten kisses with the most votes. So don’t forget to vote for your favourite kisses in the gallery too!

Contest ends 30/03/11. Click here for details.

Harlequin Patent Your Kiss Website
Patent Your Kiss Contest
Official Rules

From the Harlequin Office for the Preservation of the Kiss

The kiss is the cornerstone of romance. It can change lives, break hearts, start a rumor or ignite passion. The mission of this office is to preserve and celebrate the kiss and we have done so proudly for more than 60 years. So pucker up and come see the important work we do.

The Romance Junkies FREE 2011 Writing Contest is Open For Submissions

Carina Press is sponsoring this years Romance Junkies Writing Contest. Entries will be accepted Feb.1st - April 1st, 2011. And guess what, there's no entry fee! Woo-hoo!

The contest is FREE!

The contest is open to all published and non-published authors, with the exception of all contracted Carina Press authors. Readers will do the voting, so they will have a chance to win, too! Awesome, isn't it?

Want to know more? Here's some info I snipped from the Romance Junkies website:

Entries should contain two scenes: the first 2500-3000 words of the book and then one scene or 2500-3000 words of the author’s choice that features a pivotal moment. This could be the meeting of two characters, a first kiss, a conflict scene, an action scene, a scene of discovery or anything else the author considers a pivotal moment in the book.

About Carina Press

Carina Press, Harlequin’s digital-first imprint, is open to submissions. Our mission is to connect readers with authors who write the stories they want to read.

Carina Press features books from talented authors in all genres of romance, erotica, science fiction, fantasy, horror, mystery, women’s fiction, and more. If the book of your heart fits into a niche that has very little shelf space in a traditional bookstore, Carina Press is eager to read and potentially publish your story.

The Prizes for the Writers!

The Editorial Staff of Carina Press will select winners from among the Finalists.

The Grand Prize will be a Kindle plus a critique* from a Carina editor.

Second, Third, and Fourth place critiqued* by editorial staff of Carina Press.

*Critiques will be offered for a set number of pages, not just the contest entry. Length of critique piece will be decrease from Grand Prize to Fourth place, but will not be less than 15 pages.

The Prizes for the Readers!

The voting process allows readers to provide feedback to the writers through our online form. Each week an email address will be selected at random from these posts and will receive a digital Carina title of the winner’s choice.

The Grand Prize will be 25 digital Carina titles of the winner’s choice and will be selected at random from all of those who voted.

About Writing Contest 2011

FAQs

It's free.

Contest is open to both published and unpublished authors, however authors contracted with Carina Press are not eligible to enter or win.

Categories were created for the convenience of the readers. All entries will be judged the same, we will not be breaking it up into winners by category.

Each week we post a group of entries to be voted on by readers.

The entry that receives the most votes from each week will be entered into the final round of competition..

Two Wildcard Finalists will be selected by the Romance Junkies staff from the entries that did not win their week.

Carina Press editors will review the Finalists and select a Grand prize winner and three runners-up

Contest Schedule

February 1st– April 1st-- Take in Entries

Feb 14th– through May 14th– Post entries (every week a group of entries are posted on the contest page to be voted on by readers)

May 30th– Winners Announced

For more info, eligibility, rules and guidelines, visit the Romance Junkies Contest Page.

Good Luck!

Carina Press
Romance Junkies Contest
Romance Junkies Readers Yahoo Group

Writer's Digest Annual Writing Competetion

For 80 years, the Annual Writer’s Digest Competition has rewarded writers just like you for their finest work. We continue the tradition by giving away more than $30,000 in cash and prizes!

Win a trip to the Writer's Digest Conference in New York City !

GRAND PRIZE: $3,000 cash and a trip to New York City to meet with editors or agents. Writer's Digest will fly you and a guest to The Big Apple for the conference. While you're there, a Writer's Digest editor will arrange for you to meet and share your work with four editors or agents!

Deadline: May 2, 2011.
Late Deadline: May 20, 2011.

Compete and Win in 10 Categories!

•Inspirational Writing (Spiritual/Religious)
•Memoirs/Personal Essay
•Magazine Feature Article
•Genre Short Story (Mystery, Romance, etc.)
•Mainstream/Literary Short Story
•Rhyming Poetry
•Non-rhyming Poetry
•Stage Play
•Television/Movie Script
•Children's/Young Adult Fiction

Entry Fee: Poems are $15 for the first entry; $10 for each additional poem submitted in the same online session. All other entries are $25 for the first manuscript; $15 for each additional manuscript submitted in the same online session.

Add $5 per manuscript to all entries submitted after May 2, 2011. Entries submitted after May 20, 2011, will not be accepted.

PRIZES

Grand Prize: $3,000 cash and a trip to the Writer's Digest Conference in New York City to meet with editors and agents.

While you are there a Writer's Digest editor will arrange for you to meet with four editors or agents ! (Includes airfare within the U.S., meals, transportation and related expenses.)

• First Place: The First Place Winner in each category receives $1,000 cash and $100 worth of Writer's Digest Books.
• Second Place: The Second Place Winner in each category receives $500 cash, plus $100 worth of Writer's Digest Books.
• Third Place: The Third Place Winner in each category receives $250 cash, plus $100 worth of Writer's Digest Books.
• Fourth Place: The Fourth Place Winner in each category receives $100 cash, plus $50 worth of Writer's Digest Books..
• Fifth Place: The Fifth-Place Winner in each category receives $50 cash.
• Sixth through Tenth Place: The Sixth- through Tenth-Place winners in each category receive $25 cash.

First through Tenth Place Winners also receive a 1-year Writer's Digest VIP membership, which includes a one-year subscription (new or renewal) to Writer’s Digest Magazine, 1 year access to WritersMarket.com, 10% off Writer's Digest University workshops and purchases at WritersDigestShop.com and more.

11th through 100th Place: All other winners receive distinctive certificates honoring their accomplishment.
Entry Deadline: May 2, 2011

Late Entry Deadline: May 20, 2011 (Add $5 per manuscript or poem to Entry Fee(s))

80th Annual Writer's Digest WRITING COMPETITION COLLECTION

The Grand Prize manuscript, the First Place manuscript in each category, and the names of the top 100 winners in each category will be printed in a special competition collection. Purchase a copy online or use the coupon on the printable entry form. (Publication date: November 2011. You are not required to purchase the collection to enter the competition.)

Go here for more info, rules and guidelines.

Writer's Digest 80th Annual Writing Competition

The History Channel Magazine American Hero Contest

Here's a fun little contest for all of you history buffs out there.

The folks at the History Channel are currently putting together the next issue of The History Channel Magazine and they need your help! They're looking for one of their Living History readers to write a 500 to 800 word article about their favorite American history hero and why he/she's important to you. This can be anyone: Abe Lincoln, Ben Franklin, Rosa Parks, Mickey Mantle ... anyone. It's up to you. The most well-written submission will be published in the History Alive section of an upcoming issue under the Heroes department. This contest is open to anyone interested in American history, so let your friends and family know.

Please e-mail all submissions—along with a digital image of yourself to: editorial@thehistorychannelclub.com

Good Luck!

*NOTE: For the record, I got this info from the History Channel's Living History Newsletter. I tried to verify the guidelines and the deadline, etc., but I couldn't find anything about the contest on the website. If you want to try and check it out yourself, links to the website are below. Hopefully you'll have better luck then I did. :)

History Channel
History Channel Magazine

Cleopatra Literary Contest for Young Women

This literary contest is named after the inspirational Cleopatra VII of Egypt, who was an author of works about cosmetics, pharmacology and weights & measures. Established and sponsored by author Stephanie Dray, the competition is aimed at discovering and mentoring aspiring young female writers. In particular, the award seeks to foster new voices with an appreciation for women’s history. Deadline March 1, 2011. Entries are limited in length to 2,000 words. Short stories, essays, poems, and excerpts from novels and novellas are welcome, in any genre, as long as they focus on one of the themes.

Teen Category Winner: Choice of $100 cash or a brand new E-reader, in addition to an award certificate, a month-long writing mentorship with Ms. Dray, a feature article in her blog and newsletter, and a critique from NY literary agent, Jennifer Schober of Spencerhill Associates.

Young Women Category Winner: Choice of $100 cash or a brand new E-reader, in addition to an award certificate, a month-long writing mentorship with Ms. Dray, a feature article in her blog and newsletter, and a critique from NY literary agent, Jennifer Schober of Spencerhill Associates.

Finalists: Constructive feedback from publishing professionals, mention on Ms. Dray’s blog and newsletter, an award certificate, and a free book courtesy of contest sponsors.

Females ages 13-18 for the teen category.

Females ages 19-22 for the young women’s category.

This is an international contest, so writers outside of the US are eligible.

Before she wrote novels, Stephanie Dray was a lawyer, a game designer, and a teacher. Now she uses the transformative power of magic realism to illuminate the stories of women in history and inspire the young women of today. She remains fascinated by all things Roman or Egyptian. Her book Lily of the Nile, comes out in January 2011, about the daughter of Mark Antony and Cleopatra.

Read more at Stephanie’s website.

NOTE: I snipped this contest info from Hope Clark’s blog. C. Hope Clark is editor and founder of FundsforWriters.com . Her newsletters reach over 37,000 writers. Writer's Digest selected FundsforWriters one of its 101 Best Websites for Writers every year since 2001. www.fundsforwriters.com

You can sign up for Hope’s newsletter(s) on her blog. I recommend you subscribe to at least one of them, if you haven’t already. They’re chock FULL of information.

The Marshall Plan Contest For Aspiring Authors

Get a Fiction Makeover for National Novel Writing Month!

A Contest Sponsored by The Marshall Plan®

In celebration of National Novel Writing Month (November 2010), Evan Marshall and Martha Jewett, leading literary agents and authors of The Marshall Plan® Novel Writing Software and The Marshall Plan® for Novel Writing ebook, are sponsoring a contest for aspiring novelists. Send them a proposal for your novel for a chance at winning a free copy of the software and a free Fiction Makeover—professional advice on revising your material for better chances of a sale!

Contest rules:

Entrants must not have published a novel with a major commercial publisher. Submit the first 25 (no more!) double-spaced pages of your novel, any genre, along with a synopsis no longer than 1 single-spaced page. Send your material in one .doc file as an email attachment to: evanmarshall@optonline.net.

Submission deadline:

November 15, 2010. Winners will be announced on November 30, 2010, on writeanovelfast.com as well as Facebook and Twitter. Entrants who do not follow rules exactly will be disqualified.

Become a fan on Facebook and follow on Twitter for contest updates and writing tips.

Prizes:

2 Grand Prizes:

•The Marshall Plan® Novel Writing Software ($149 value)
• A copy of The Marshall Plan® for Novel Writing Ebook ($10 value)
• A Free Fiction Makeover for your novel proposal: top literary agents Evan Marshall and Martha Jewett will tell you what you need to do to get your novel published faster in today’s competitive publishing climate. 3 Runner-Ups:
•A copy of The Marshall Plan® for Novel Writing Ebook ($10 value)

About Evan Marshall & Martha Jewett

Evan Marshall is an internationally recognized expert on fiction writing and author of the “Hidden Manhattan” and “Jane Stuart and Winky” mystery series. A former book editor, for 27 years he has been a leading literary agent specializing in fiction. His Marshall Plan® Novel Writing Software, written with Martha Jewett, is an adaptation of his bestselling Marshall Plan® series.

Martha Jewett is an internationally recognized expert on business books. A former award-winning business book editor at McGraw-Hill, John Wiley & Sons, and HarperBusiness, she is currently a literary agent and editorial consultant specializing in business books. An avid memoirist, she blogs at http://www.writeyourmemoir.com/. She co-created with Evan Marshall The Marshall Plan® Novel Writing Software, an adaptation of the bestselling Marshall Plan® series.

QueryTracker Contest for Writer's of Children's/YA Fiction

Do you write Children's books? If so, here's a great oppourtunity at QueryTracker to get your work in front of Agent Joan Paquette of the Erin Murphy Literary Agency. This is a ONE DAY ONLY contest that begins today, Wednesday, October 27th at 9:00am Eastern time and ends on Thursday, October 28th at 9:00am Eastern time.

Ms. Paquette wants to see a one-line pitch and the FIRST 100 words (plus or minus 1/2 sentence--don't just cut it off mid sentence) of completed children's picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, or young adult novels. More details on this contest will be posted as the opening date for submissions nears!

I don't write childrens' or YA, but apparently Ms. Paquette does not accept queries outside of referrals or personal contact (conferences), so this is a GREAT opportunity, so hurry and get pitch and submissions in!

Go here for more info.

Good Luck!

QueryTracker Blog

Author Tawny Taylor's SOME LIKE IT HOT Writing Contest

Starting October 25th, 2010, Romance Author Tawny Taylor will be hosting a FREE writing contest!

The final judge is an editor from Ellora’s Cave.

All SubGenres of erotic romance accepted.

This contest is open to both unpublished and published authors of erotic romance fiction. All entries shall be the author's original work and not contracted for publication prior to the entry deadline. (Authors currently published with Ellora's Cave are not eligible to enter.)

How the contest works:

* You may submit one chapter--not to exceed 5000 words. Stories must be complete. (A one-page synopsis may be included.)

* Each Monday, two stories will be selected by Ellora's Cave editor Grace Bradley. At the end, six weekly winning authors will submit a partial (first three chapters, last chapter and synopsis) to the final judge for ranking.

The first place winner will receive ...

A critique of the full winning manuscript by EC editor Grace Bradley!

The second place winner will receive...A critique of the partial manuscript by EC editor Grace Bradley (first three chapters, last and synop).

The third place winner will receive...

A critique of the first chapter by EC editor Grace Bradley.

Additional Prizes:

One entry will be selected each week by random drawing to received a detailed critique by an author published with Ellora's Cave.
THE DETAILS:

* Starting Date: October 25th 2010. Entries will be accepted until 11:59 pm November 12, 2010.

* Three rounds

Submissions received between 12:00 am October 25th and 11:59 pm October 29th will be considered for round one. Submissions received between 12:00am Oct. 30 and 11:59 pm November 5th will be considered for round two. And submissions received between 12:00am November 6th and 11:59 November 12th will be considered for round three.

* Weekly Finalists Announced on November 1, 2010, November 8, 2010 and November 15, 2010.

* NO Entry Fee or purchase necessary to win.

* Send entries to writingcontest@tawnytaylor.com. Include genre, word count, and your name and contact information. A one-page synopsis may be included.

Before entering, please see all the details at: http://www.tawnytaylor.com/WritingContest.html

For any questions, email Tawny (tawny@tawnytaylor.com)

Tawny Taylor Writing Contest
Tawny Taylor Website

Win a Contract for Christmas with Pink Petal Books

I received the following contest info in my inbox this morning. I'm posting it for those of you who are interested.

Good Luck!

*permission to forward*

Pink Petal Books is spreading the holiday cheer with a Contract For Christmas contest! We're looking for erotic romance novellas between 25,000 and 40,000 words long. Give us any pairing (or multiples), any orientation, and any sub-genre of romance as long as it is hot! We want erotic romance where the sexual tension starts from the first page and maintains its intensity throughout the entire story.

Submissions accepted through December 1. We will announce the winners on December 24, and yes, we'll be offering a contract for at least one lucky author's Christmas (or other winter holiday).

Want to find out how to enter? Visit our Contract for Christmas page for more information!

Pink Petal Books...because love is a beautiful thing!

http://www.pinkpetalbooks.com/

* Pink Petal Book is listed with the RWA as a non-vanity, non-subsidy publisher *

Glamour Magazine Seventh Essay Writing Contest

Have an Amazing Real Life Story to Tell?

Then enter Glamour’s Seventh Essay Writing Contest! If you have an inspiring story about a life changing event, an obstacle overcome, a relationship or passion that’s defined you—then we want to read it!

You may see your essay appear in an upcoming issue of Glamour (check out the winner of our 6th annual contest here), and you could win $5000 and a meeting with a top literary agent.

Promotion begins May 10, 2010 12:01PM EST and ends September 15, 2010 11:59 EST (“Promotion Period”). Online entries must be received by 9/15/2010. See complete rules for details.

PRIZE DESCRIPTION. There will be one (1) winner. The prize is a $5,000 cash prize, possible publication of the winning manuscript in an upcoming issue of Glamour (winner understands that Sponsor does not guarantee publication), and the opportunity to speak with a literary agent. The approximate retail value of the prize is $5,000.00

Glamour Magazine

Another One Day Pitch Contest With Agent Irene Goodman At Classic Romance Revival Blog

Wow, this must be pitch day! Such GREAT opportunities! We have another one day pitch contest going on today at Classic Romance Revival.

Submit your pitch for a chance to win a 3-chapter critique from a New York literary agent Barbara Poelle of the Irene Goodman Literary Agency.

To enter, leave a comment on the CRR blog with the following information:

1. Your Name
2. Title of Book
3. Genre of book (for example historical romance)
4. Your one paragraph pitch (yes, please keep it to one paragraph!)
5. Your e-mail

Good luck!

Classic Romance Revival Blog
Irene Goodman Literary Agency

Casablanca Editor Deb Werksman Is Having Another Pitch Contest Today

Casablanca Editor Deb Werksman is doing another pitch session. This is a one day only contest (today), so hurry and get your entry in!

The winning pitch gets a synopsis and 3 chapter critique from Deb. You have until midnight tonight (Thursday, 6/24/10) to submit. The winner will be announced by midnight tomorrow night (Friday).

For more information (including what Deb is looking for in a pitch), visit the Casablanca Authors Blog.


Casablanca Authors Blog
Sourcebooks

Good Luck!

Logo Design Contest

Here's something a little different. Class Act Books is having a logo design contest. It's open to all who want to enter. The winner will receive a pink Sony e-reader.


Check out their site at: http://classactbooks.com/

3 Line Pitch Contest With Joanna Stampfel-Volpe Of The Coffery Lit Agency At Savvy Authors

3 line pitch contest with Joanna Stampfel-Volpe of the Nancy Coffey Literary Agency.

Get those pitches ready! Joanna Stampfel-Volpe will be dropping by our blog on Friday June 25th. The contest will run from 9 a.m. EST to midnight EST. Joanna will pick AT LEAST ONE pitch and the winners will be posted on the Savvy blog.

This contest is open to ALL members of Savvy. (Basic membership is free!)

Joanna's specific interests are: non-fiction for kids and teens, chapter books to YA novels, adult romance (historical, paranormal), fantasy (urban fantasy, steampunk), up-market fiction (dark, literary, horror, women's fic, commercial thrillers, historical, magical realism, speculative fic), and commercial non-fiction (pop culture, environmental, foodie). *She is also interested in graphic novels for kids/teens, or novels with a high graphic element.

Joanna Stampfel-Volpe has been with the Nancy Coffey Literary Agency for two years. She represents children's and adult books, fiction and non-fiction.

Register here!

Nancy Coffey Literary Agency
Savvy Authors

The 79th Annual Writer's Digest Writing Competition

Enter the 79th Annual Writer's Digest Writing Competition

GRAND PRIZE: $3,000 cash and a trip to New York City to meet with editors or agents

Submit your manuscript for a chance to win a trip for you and a guest to New York, where you'll spend three days and two nights in the publishing capital of the world. While you're there, a Writer's Digest editor will escort you to share your work with four editors or agents.

The Grand Prize manuscript, the First Place manuscript in each category, and the names of the top 100 winners in each category will be printed in a special competition collection.

Reserve your copy of the 79th Annual
Writer's Digest Writing Competition Collection.

Compete to Win in 10 Categories:

1. Inspirational Writing (Spiritual/Religious)
2. Memoirs/Personal Essay
3. Magazine Feature Article
4. Genre Short Story (Mystery, Romance, etc.)
5. Mainstream/Literary Short Story
6. Rhyming Poetry
7. Non-Rhyming Poetry
8. Stage Play
9. Television/Movie Script
10. Children's/Young Adult Fiction

Copyright © F+W Media, Inc.
All rights reserved.
4700 East Galbraith Road
Cincinnati, OH 45236

Forwarded w/ permission.

NEWSFLASH! - Kensington/Brava Writing With The Stars Contest For Unpublished Writers

(Snipped from The Brava Authors blog)

In conjunction with RT Book Reviews, Brava is sending out a call to unpublished writers of paranormal, historical and contemporary romance , as well as romantic suspense: We’re looking for a hot debut novel to be published in 2012 under the Brava imprint at Kensington.

If you’ve written a sensual full-length romance novel, this is a great opportunity to submit to the editors at Brava, who will be reading the entries and selecting the top ten finalists. Starting in September, each of our top ten will be paired with one of Brava’s star authors for the next stage of the competition – creating one-of-a kind opening hooks, to-die-for heroes, sizzling love scenes and more.

For more info, vist The Brava Authors blog.

Avon Romance Contest

*reposted with permission from Cindi Myers Market News Blog:

Avon Books is giving away $1000 to the person who comes up with the best idea for a collection of Regency-set historical novellas. The novella collection will be titled It Happened One Season and the novellas will be written by best-selling authors Stephanie Laurens, Mary Balogh, Jacquie D’Alessandro and Candice Hern. You job is to come up with the theme of the stories and three major plot points.

The deadline is Valentines Day, February 14th, 2010. Go here  for rules and guidelines. .

Avon Blog
It Happened One Season Contest Page
Cindi Myers Market News Blog

Agent Pitch At Musetracks Coming up SOON!

Want a opportunity to pitch your ms to an agent? On Sunday Feb. 7th.at 10:00 a.m. E.S.T. you'll have your chance, and you won't even have to leave your house!

Once a month Musetracks blog hosts an "Agent Shop" where the first 30 people to submit their pitch will have the opportunity to get their ms in front of an agent. This month (February) Stan Soper from the Soper Literary Agency will be the featured agent.

Pitches accepted in: Romance – All genres, subgenres, elements and Women’s fiction. (At this time we are not offering any other areas of writing, but you can always check back. If more agents become interested – we might expand.)

The following is from the site:

Agent Shop will only be ‘open’ one day, per month, and I’m only taking the first thirty pitches that I receive. But don’t worry, if you don’t get in the top thirty this time, you can try again the next month. Hopefully, enough great pitches come in to keep these agents coming back for more.

After the pitches go up, the agent(s) have one week to read and decide. They will then contact me and I will forward on information to the author(s) who received requests. I will also be posting results after the week is up. Just the total number of requests made – no specifics or names.

 Sounds awesome, doesn't it? For rules, guidelines and more info, visit  MUSETRACKS.

MUSETRACKS 
Soper Literary Agency

Nathan Bransford YA Writing Prompt Contest

In celebration of Jennifer Hubbard's YA debut novel,THE SECRET YEAR, Nathan Bransford is having a writing prompt contest.  To enter, write the most compelling (fictional) teen diary entry. It may be a diary entry or an unsent letter, but it should be in a teen's voice.

Prizes:
The GRAND PRIZE ULTIMATE WINNER of the THE SECRET YEAR Teen Diary Writing Contest Extravaganza will win:

- A signed copy of THE SECRET YEAR (pending winner's proximity to the US of A)

- Their choice of a query critique, partial critique, or 10 minute phone conversation/consultation/dish session

- The pride of knowing OMG you are like the greatest writer for teens ever.

Runners up will receive a signed THE SECRET YEAR bookmark (pending finalists' proximity to USA), plus a query critique and/or other agreed-upon prize.

The contest deadline is 4:00 PM Pacific Time on Wednesday January 6th.

Visit Nathan's Blog for rules & guldelines.

Good Luck!

Secret Agent Contest For Middle Grade and YA

Every so often (I think every month) over at the Miss Snark blog, there is a Secret Agent Contest for certain genres. This month's contest is for:

Middle Grade fiction, all genres

Young Adult fiction, all genres

Submissions will open on Monday, January 11 at 12:00 PM EST

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:

• Submissions will be open for 24 hours or until 50 eligible entries have been received, WHICHEVER COMES FIRST.
• Submissions received before the contest opens will be disqualified.
• Submissions are for COMPLETED MANUSCRIPTS ONLY. If you wouldn't want an agent to read the entire thing, DON'T SEND IT. If an "entire thing" doesn't exist, you shouldn't even be reading these rules.
• Manuscripts THAT HAVE BEEN IN A SECRET AGENT CONTEST DURING THE PAST SIX MONTHS (June-November) will not be accepted.
• You may submit A DIFFERENT MANUSCRIPT if you've participated in any of the 2009 Secret Agent contests.
• Only ONE ENTRY per person per contest. If you send more than one, your subsequent entry(ies) will be deleted. 
• If you are PAST WINNER, please DO NOT ENTER THIS CONTEST. (Unless it's a different manuscript.)
• Submissions are for THE FIRST 250 WORDS of your manuscript. Please do not stop in the middle of a

Your submission for this contest should be formatted as follows:

SCREEN NAME

TITLE
GENRE

(Followed by the excerpt here.)

•  No "chapter one," chapter titles, etc.
• You will receive a confirmation email with your post number. I don't always get through quickly. Don't resend.
• Submissions go to facelesswords(at)gmail.com. They DO NOT GO to my authoressmail address. Those of you who are subscribed to this blog via email will note the latter address as the "from." If you use this address for the contest, I WILL NOT SEE YOUR SUBMISSION.

For more information, visit Miss Snark Blog