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CaRWA Presents
The Writer's Voice Contest
Sponsored by the Calgary Chapter of Romance Writers of America

Contest Entry Form | Contest Rules | Contest Scoresheet
Printable Version | Payment by Paypal

Contest Timeline 2006

June 30th Contest deadline extended to June 30th, 2006. Entries must be received by midnight
September 15th Finalists notified
November 10th Winner announced at Calgary “Crossing the Publishing Threshold” Conference
December 1st Results emailed to contest entrants

Eligibility

  • Participation is open to all unpublished authors of novel length romance fiction and those who have not published within three years prior to contest deadline.
  • Participants do NOT have to be members of RWA.
  • E-books and print-on-demand books are recognized as publications.
  • An individual may enter more than once but each submission must have its own entry fee, completed entry form, and signed release.
  • Entries that won the Writer’s Voice Contest in past years may not be entered.

    Manuscript

  • Enter maximum of 25 pages of romance novels for all categories (projected length of at least 50,000 words). Pages to be composed of the following:
      • Maximum 2 pages (not judged) synopsis
      • First chapter, or prologue and first chapter of your manuscript. Maximum length 23 pages in total.
      • Manuscripts are accepted by email only.

    Categories

  • Contemporary - romantic novels, which may also include sensuality that may or may not be intense.
  • Romantic Suspense - romance novels in which suspense may constitute a strong element in the romance plot.
  • Historical - novels set in the past that have a strong romantic element throughout. This category includes regency and era romances.
  • Paranormal/Time-Travel/Futuristic - romantic novels with any time setting that contain elements such as time-travel, angels or other mystical/paranormal themes or set in the future.
  • Erotic - romantic novels which also include intense sensuality
  • Inspirational - romantic novels with Christian characters

    Entry Fee

The contest entry fee is $10 for CARWA members or $15 for non-members.

How To Enter

  1. Complete and sign the entry form and mail it to:

    The Writer’s Voice Contest
    52 Midvalley Cres S.E.
    Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2X 1N3

    Entry forms must be received by midnight June 30, 2006. Do NOT mail your manuscript. Manuscripts are accepted by email only.

  2. Payment can be made by Paypal (www.paypal.com, send payment to calgaryrwa@shaw.ca) or by cheque. If paying by cheque, mail along with the entry form to the address show above. The cheque must be drawn on Canadian funds, made payable to Calgary Chapter RWA.

  3. Email your submission as an attachment in RTF format. Only emailed submissions will be accepted. When emailing please put the subject as ‘Writer’s Voice Contest’ . Email to the address shown below for the appropriate category.

    4. Contemporary: lee.halford@accesscomm.ca
    Romantic Suspense: write4me@shaw.ca
    Historical: cjcarmichael@shaw.ca
    Paranormal: pmcnish@shaw.ca
    Erotic: kjfm@amzach.com
    Inspirational: 4theview@pathcom.ca

  4. Submissions should be in standard manuscript format:
    • 1 “ margins
      double-spaced
      easily read font that is acceptable for submission to publishing houses, such as Courier
      a maximum of 25 lines per page.
      In the header on each page, include title, category, and page number.
      your name must not appear on any manuscript page. Your name may only appear in the email.

  5. You will receive an email confirmation of your entry when the entry form, payment and manuscript have been received.

Awards

• First through third place in each category will be awarded
• 1st place – will be awarded a certificate and, if attending the “Crossing the Publishing Threshold” conference, a cocktail with an editor/agent
• 2nd and 3rd place – will be awarded a certificate

Special Award

The ‘Best in Chapter’ award - awarded to the member from the CARWA chapter achieving the highest score in the preliminary round. This award is a trophy, a certificate and extra time with an editor/agent at the conference.

Judges

Preliminary round judges will be experienced, qualified, or published judges, who are encouraged to comment on entries. Each entry will be judged by three judges. The judges scores will be normalized. The five high scoring entries in each category will advance to the final round.

Final Judges will be Editors/Agents and will be announced when confirmed.

  • Contemporary - Hilary Rubin, associate editor, St. Martin's Press
  • Romantic suspense - Jennifer Jackson, agent, Donald Maass Literary Agency
  • Historical -Paige Wheeler, agent, Creative Media Agency
  • Paranormal - Chris Keeslar, acquiring editor, Dorchester Publishing
  • Erotica -Robin Miller, acquiring editor, Red Sage Publishing
  • Inspirational -TBD

Special Note

If fewer than five entries are received in the entry’s category, it will be reassigned to an alternate category.

If an entry is disqualified for any reason (clearly not romance fiction, etc.), the entry fee will be returned to the contestant.

Questions can be addressed to pmcnish@shaw.ca.