NOLA STARS' Suzannah Nelson Davis Writing Contest

The Suzannah

2005 Contest Rules and Guidelines

Eligibility

: Only those unpublished (as defined by RWA Golden Heart guidelines) are eligible to enter. Enter as many times as you wish, but each entry must be mailed separately. Entries must be RECEIVED by the category coordinator by October 1, 2005. Manuscripts placing 1st - 3rd place in previous NOLA STARs contests may NOT be entered again.

Categories

: For ease of judging, author must designate the category of entry:
* Contemporary Romance,
* Historical Romance, or
* Paranormal Romance (including Time-Travel, Ghosts, Futuristic).
The top 5 scoring in each category will advance to the final round of judging.
PLEASE NOTE: If less than ten entries are received in a category, that category will be eliminated. Entrants for that category will have the choice of having their entry and fee returned or having their entry reassigned to a second choice category.

Entry content and format requirements.

Entries will consist of four (4) copies of Chapter 1 and four (4) copies of a ONE-page SINGLE-spaced synopsis, with estimated word count for manuscript. The synopsis will not be judged. It will only serve to let the judges know where the story is going. The maximum total length of entry, including prologue and first chapter, may not be more than 30 pages, plus the ONE page synopsis. Any pages over the entry limit will be discarded before the entry is sent for judging.

Entries must be typewritten, double-spaced, numbered pages and in proper manuscript form. (25 lines per page. 12 point. 1 inch or 1 ¼ inch margins. No 9 pin dot matrix print.)

Put the type of romance and word count in the UPPER RIGHT CORNER of the first page.

Put the title in the UPPER LEFT CORNER of every manuscript page.

DO NOT PUT YOUR NAME ANYWHERE ON THE MANUSCRIPT.

Include a cover page with your name, address, telephone number, category, and title. Enclose a 10 X 13 SASE for return of critiqued/marked manuscripts. We recommend the Tyvek envelopes available FREE at the post office. NO METERED POSTAGE FOR RETURN ENVELOPES. DO NOT SEND ENTRY BY ANY MEANS THAT REQUIRES A SIGNATURE FOR DELIVERY.

If you would like notification of the receipt of your entry, send a SASPostcard.

Include your entry fee of $25.00, made out to NOLA STARs.

Judging

Preliminary Round Judging:
Each entry will be judged by three experienced writers; at least one of whom will be a published Romance author. The two highest scores for each entry in the preliminary round of judging will be used to determine standing in the contest. All three critiques will be returned to the entrant.

Final Round Judging:
The top 5 entries in each category (Contemporary, Historical and Paranormal) will progress to the final round to be judged by an editor and an agent. In the case of a fifth place tie, the third score from the preliminary round will be used to determine which entry makes the finals.

Finalists' manuscripts and judges' score sheets will be returned to finalists in the enclosed SASE so changes can be made for the final round. Finalists' revised entries must be RECEIVED by the contest chair no later than December 31, 2005. If the manuscript is not received by that date, the 4th file copy of the original entry will be used for final round judging. NO EXCEPTIONS FOR LATE REVISED ENTRIES WILL BE MADE.
In the final round, each category will be judged by an editor and agent as indicated below:
Contemporary - Linda Sawicki (Dorchester) and Mary Sue Seymour (The Seymour Agency)
Historical - Keyren Gerlach (MIRA/Red Dress Ink) and Elaine P. English (Graybill & English)
Paranormal - Kate Seaver (Berkley/Jove) and Roberta Brown (Brown Literary Agency)

A signed entry form/waiver is required for entry acceptance

Late entries (those received after Oct. 1, 2005) will be disqualified and the entry fee returned along with the entry.
Those disqualified for ANY OTHER REASON will forfeit the entry fee.

Contest timeline: