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2011/2012 Contest Rules

Prizes: The winner in each category will receive $100.

Deadline:

• All entries must be received by the midnight, December 5, 2011.
• In order to be considered “received,” CTRWA must have confirmed completion of the following:

• • The online entry form has been completed.
  • The cash or PayPal payment has been received, or the check or money order has been sent (verified by post mark).
  • The entry has been received via email, and is in acceptable electronic format

Fees:

• $20 for members of any RWA chapter located in Connecticut. This includes CTRWA, CORW, and CoLoNY.
• $30 for all others.

Eligibility:

• The work must be unpublished and un-contracted as of December 2011.
• The entrant must be unpublished or, if published, cannot have earned $1000 or more in advances and/or royalties for a single work of fiction as of December 2011.
• The writer does not need to be a member of RWA and, as long as the submission is in English, can be from anywhere in the world.

Completing the entry:

Formatting

• • Entry is submitted electronically – no printed copies.
  • Entry is in .rtf format.
  • Entry consists of the first 15 pages of the manuscript.
  • Entry is double spaced with 1 inch margins, with no more than 25 lines per page.
  • Entry is in 12 point font, Times New Roman or Courier New.
  • Pages are numbered.
  • Author’s name does not appear anywhere on the entry.

Payment is made using one of the following three methods:

• • Via PayPal (save your confirmation number)
  • Check or Money order, payable to CTRWA and sent to Post Office Box 816, North Haven, CT  06473
  • Cash, presented directly to the Treasurer at a CTRWA meeting or event

Registration

• • The online electronic form is completed, including payment information
  • The payment information is included on the form.
  • Once the form has been successfully submitted, both the entrant and the contest coordinator will receive a confirmation email.

Categories

Categories were chosen so that virtually no work will be ineligible based on its genre or content.  Choose the category that best represents the central plot in your story. Erotic content is considered a story element, not a category, and is appropriate for any of the following categories except for Young Adult Fiction.

• Contemporary Romance includes novels with a central love story, set in the present, regardless of length or target line.
• Historical Romance includes novels with a central love story, and having an historical setting.
• Paranormal Romance includes novels with a central love story, that include substantial supernatural, fantasy, or science fiction elements.
• Adult Mainstream Fiction includes novels intended for an adult audience, in which the central plot is not a love story.
• Young Adult Fiction includes novels intended for an audience aged eighteen or younger. YA entries do not have to include a romantic plot.

Judging

• First Round Judging. Each entry will be judged by at least three first round judges, which will include both published and unpublished writers.
• Final Round Judging. The top three (or more, depending upon ties) works in each category will be sent to final round judges, who will determine the placing in their category. Final round judges are editors and agents with a recent history of acquiring or representing debut works in their assigned category.

Confirmed Judges for 2011/2012

• Contemporary Romance – Sara Megibow, Nelson Literary Agency
• Historical Romance– Deb Werksman,  Sourcebooks
• Paranormal Romance– Laura Bradford, Bradford Literary Agency
• Adult Mainstream Fiction– Jessica Alvarez, BookEnds Literary Agency
• Young Adult Fiction– Jill Corcoran, The Herman Agency

Calendar:

• December 5, 2011: Last day to receive entries
• March 1, 2012: Finalists announced on www.CTRWA.org and through Chaplink
• May 12, 2012: Winners announced at CTRWA’s annual conference: Connecticut Fiction Fest.

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2010/2011 Winners:

Congratulations to the winners and to everyone who finaled, and thanks to all who entered and helped judge!