Tag Archives: Royalties

2021 Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Competition

Minotaur Books (Macmillan) and Mystery Writers of America are sponsoring the First Crime Novel Competition. This contest is open to writer’s age 18 and older, who has never been published or under contract to be published with a novel. The submitted manuscript must involve murder or another serious crime or crimes at the heart of the story. The winner will be offered a standard form author’s agreement and a $10,000 advance against future royalties. Submissions must be received by 11:59pm EST on January 1, 2021. For complete rules, go here.

As always, good luck!

P.D. Pabst
Writer and blogger of MG/YA fiction

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Hachette Imprint Open for Submissions!

Hodder & Stoughton

Hodder & Stoughton, John Murray Press (Hachette Imprint) will be opening for unagented submissions on December 1, 2017 (12am GMT) and close on December 7, 2017 (11:59pm GMT) for THE FUTURE BOOKSHELF! Although this is an United Kingdom publisher, they will be taking international submissions for fiction and non-fiction. This is an exciting opportunity because big houses don’t often open their doors to unagented writers.

Some of the authors Hodder & Stoughton publishes is Stephen King, Martina Cole, Jodi Picoult, The Sidemen, Stieg Larsson, Trevor Noah, David Mitchell, Andrea Levy, Katie Piper, Mo Farrah, Graham Norton, and many more. Wouldn’t it be awesome to be one of the great writers added to this list?

If chosen, you will get paid an advance and royalties. They’ll set you up with an editor and publicist, as well as have a marketing campaign. So, you’ll get all the perks of a bestselling author! A few of the rules are:

  • Must be over 18.
  • An underrepresented writerly category (see their guidelines for descriptions).
  • Fiction (any genre) and non-fiction works must be over 50,000 words.
  • Must be written in English.

But they have more requirements than this. For complete rules and how to submit, go here. As always, good luck!

P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA fiction.

2018 Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Competition 

Minotaur Books (Macmillan) and Mystery Writers of America are sponsoring the First Crime Novel Competition. This contest is open to writer’s age 18 and older, who has never been published or under contract to be published with a novel. The submitted manuscript must involve murder or another serious crime or crimes at the heart of the story. The winner will be offered a standard form author’s agreement and a $10,000 advance against future royalties. Submissions must be received by 11:59pm EST on January 12, 2018. For complete rules, go here.

As always, good luck!

P.D. Pabst
Writer and blogger of MG/YA fiction

New Voices Award – Picture Book Manuscripts is Ending Soon

Lee & Low Books

Established in 2000, the New Voices Award is given annually to an unpublished author of color for a picture book manuscript. Previous winners include award-winning titles such as As Fast As Words Could Fly, Juna’s Jar, It Jes’ Happened, and Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds.

Manuscripts may be FICTION, NON-FICTION, or POETRY for children ages 5-12. Manuscripts should address the needs of children of color or native children by providing stories they can identify with and which promote greater understanding of one another. Themes relating to non-traditional family structures, gender identity, or disabilities are also of interest.

Contestants must meet all of the following criteria to be considered:

  • Self-identify as a person of color or a Native/indigenous person.
  • Be at least 18 years old at the time of entry.
  • Be a resident of the United States.
  • Not have had a children’s picture book published.

The Award winner receives a cash prize of $1000 and their standard publication contract, including their basic advance and royalties for a first time author. An Honor Award winner will receive a cash prize of $500.

But the window for submission is closing soon! All manuscripts must be postmarked no later than September 30, 2017. Be sure to read their entire guidelines before submitting. As always, good luck!

P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA fiction

The Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition

Chicken House Books

While they no longer accept unsolicited manuscripts, they do offer unpublished and unagented writers of children’s fiction the chance to submit their work to the annual Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition. They’re looking for original ideas, a fresh voice and a story that children will love!

First prize is a worldwide publishing contract with Chicken House with a royalty advance of £10,000 (approximately $12,500 US), plus representation from a top children’s literary agent.

To enter, you must have written a completed full-length novel suitable for children/young adults aged somewhere between 7 and 18 years. The full-length , manuscript should be minimum of 30,000 words and do not exceed 80,000 words in length.

The deadline to enter is midnight on December 8, 2017. Also, there is an entry fee of £15 (approximately $18.76 US). For complete guidelines and entry form, go here.

P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA fiction.

New Voices Award Ending Soon

Lee & Low Books

LEE & LOW BOOKS, award-winning publisher of children’s books, has been sponsoring the seventeenth annual NEW VOICES AWARD. The Award will be given for a children’s picture book manuscript by a writer of color. Woo-hoo! Another contest just for PB’s!

Eligibility:

  1. The contest is open to writers of color who are residents of the United States, 18 years or older at the time of entry, and who have not previously had a children’s picture book published.
  2. Writers who have published work in other venues and genres, including children’s magazines, young adult, and adult fiction or nonfiction, are eligible.
  3. Only unagented submissions will be accepted.
  4. Work that has been published in any format, including online and self published, is not eligible.
  5. Manuscripts previously submitted for this award or to LEE & LOW BOOKS will not be considered.

Submissions may be Fiction, NonFiction, or Poetry for children ages 5 to 12. (Note: Stories with Anthropomorphic animal characters will not be considered.) Manuscripts shouldn’t be any more than 1500 words.The Award winner will receive a cash prize of $1000 and their standard publication contract, including their basic advance and royalties for a first time author. An Honor Award winner will receive a cash prize of $500. But you need to hurry because submissions have to be postmarked by September 30, 2016. (That’s right, no digital entries!) For complete submission guidelines, go here.

As always, good luck!

P.D. Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA fiction.