CONTESTS...

Writing contests provide steps up for a writer - especially a struggling writer. A portfolio with a few writing contest wins or honorable mentions means more than many clips. Can't afford the entry fees? Consider entering one a quarter or something more amiable to your pocketbook. Contests provide prizes, prestige and usually publication with many offering book contracts. Denouncing contests from your writing repertoire is like discounting an entire genre or refusing to eat yellow vegetables. You're giving up something valuable.

Hi Hope, we met at the SCWW conference in Myrtle Beach last October, and I was so impressed with your lecture that I subscribed to FFW as soon as I got home. I wanted to drop you a line to let you know that because of FFW, I submitted AND WON The 2008 William F. Deeck-Malice Domestic Grant for Unpublished Writers! My novel will be finished this week, and next weekend I'm going to Malice Domestic to accept the award. Thanks you, and keep up the great work. 

~Robin Hewitt, co-author of "The Joyous Gift of Grandparenting"  http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781578262670 - and - www.HewittsBooks.com

(Find 15+ contests like this in TOTAL FundsforWriters every two weeks. This list is just a sample of what you receive in the newsletters.) In the meantime, sign up for our free newsletters below. 

 

DISCOVER MYSTERY AWARD
http://www.poisonedpenpress.com/contest/
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$20 ENTRY FEE
Poisoned Pen Press would like to announce the first annual Discover Mystery Award, a first book contest for unpublished writers trying to break into the mystery genre. This spring, join us by entering your mystery manuscript of 60,000-90,000 words in an effort to win a $1000 prize, the Discover Mystery title, and a publishing contract from Poisoned Pen Press. Deadline May 31, 2012.

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BIRDS AND BLOOM BACKYARD BLUNDER CONTEST
http://www.birdsandblooms.com/Contests/Backyard-Blunder-Contest
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NO ENTRY FEE
Do you have a funny birding or gardening story to share from your backyard? We want to hear it! Send us your best "backyard blunder," and the winning story will receive $500. To enter, email your true story (no more than 400 words) to contests@birdsandblooms.com . Please put "backyard blunder contest" in the subject line. Deadline March 15, 2012.

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THE EAST INDIA PRESS SHORT STORY CONTEST
http://www.nightingalenovel.com/contest.html
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NO ENTRY FEE
Win $1,000 cash prize plus your story will be published as an opener to the Nightingale enhanced novel, as well as a stand-alone e-book. East India Press will also consider your novel submission for publication. Open to all – any nationality, any age – with teens especially encouraged to enter. Your story must be no more than 2,500 words long. Deadline March 1, 2012. Only one submission per person.

This contest is sponsored by East India Press and David Farland, author of over fifty published novels and anthologies, a former prize writer himself, who launched his novel writing career with a short story written for a contest much like this. When he was discovered, agents stood in line for the chance to be his publisher.

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NEXT GENERATION INDIE BOOK AWARDS
http://www.IndieBookAwards.com
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$75 ENTRY FEE ($50 for subsequent entries).
Open to all indie book authors and publishers - including small presses, mid-size independent publishers, university presses, e-book publishers, and self-published authors. Entry Deadline February 24, 2012.

$1,500 cash prize and trophy awarded to the best Fiction Book and Non-Fiction Book

$750 cash prize and trophy awarded to the second best Fiction Book and Non-Fiction Book

$500 cash prize and trophy awarded to the third best Fiction Book and Non-Fiction Book

$250 cash prize and trophy awarded to the Best Design Book

$100 Cash Prize and a Gold Medal awarded to the winner of each of the 60 categories

Finalist Medals will be awarded to up to four finalists in each of the 60 categories

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TARCHER/PENGUIN NOVEL CONTEST
www.tarchertopartist.com/writing-competition-details/
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NO ENTRY FEE
Tarcher/Penguin is celebrating the continued success of Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way by presenting the Seeking the Next Top Artist Writing Contest. The top prize is $5,000 and a manuscript review by a Penguin editor. Julia Cameron will select the winning entry from among 10 semi-finalists. Writers residing in the USA are invited to submit an unpublished novel, novella-length fiction, or a work of narrative nonfiction. (Limit one entry per person.) Deadline March 2, 2012.

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TINY LIGHTS ANNUAL ESSAY COMPETITION
http://www.tiny-lights.com/contest.php
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$15 ENTRY FEE
Deadline: February 17, 2012. Tiny Lights invites entries that feature a distinctive voice, discernible conflict and an eventual shift in the narrator's perspective. We are looking for writers who weave the struggle to understand into the fabric of their essays. This year, we offer 5 prizes in the "Standard" category and 3 "Flashpoint" prizes. Standard word count is 2,000 words. Flashpoint word count is 1,000.

First Place: $350
Second Place: $250
Third Place: $150
Two Honorable Mention Prizes: $100 each.
Three FLASHPOINT prizes of $100 are also offered.

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NOTE: See more contests by joining our newsletters.  FundsforWriters offers 3 contests of this caliber per week. TOTAL FundsforWriters offers 20 contests like this biweekly. We can keep you loaded with contests without you looking anywhere else! And these are not scams.

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