Earlyworks Press Fiction for Children or Teens Competition

£100 Cash Advance & Royalty Contract

Small Press Publication

OR £350 Cash

 for the winner

Professional Critiques of Submissions

Advice on Synopses and Proposals

Author-Signed Books

and

Cut-Price Club Membership

for the the top ten.

Readers: Laura West, Nicki Crossley, Alan Gibbons, Kate O'Hearn, Ali Sparkes

Sponsored by Circaidy Gregory Press

Rules and Conditions

If the winning entry merits publication, the author will be awarded a choice of two prizes. 

Option one: publication of the winning work, with a £100 advance royalty payment, a contract securing 10 free advance copies of the book, further copies as required at 50% of the cover price, and 10% of the profit from sales. If the publisher considers that the style and age range of the book suggests illustrations would be appropriate, artwork will be commissioned for that purpose. 

Option Two: if the winner wishes to go on and try for mainstream publication, a full appraisal and edit of their entry (worth £500) plus £350 cash prize will be offered instead of a publication contract.

If none of the entries justify book publication, a cash alternative, totalling £350, will be shared between the top ten authors.

Closing date September 30th, 2010.

Entrants must be over 16 years of age and by entering, undertake to provide legal, original work that is their own and is not previously published or under contract to any other organisation.

Manuscripts are not returnable. ALWAYS KEEP A COPY OF YOUR WORK. If you would like acknowledgement of receipt of paper copy, please enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope with your entry.

Entries which do not have the correct postage, or do not have a valid cheque, PO or Paypal transaction number, will be disqualified.

Discussion of the results will not be entered into.

How to enter: Please send up to 5000 words, including proposal and/or synopsis, in the same way that you would when approaching an agent or publisher. We will not be publishing age specification on the book but would like entrants to consider the age range of their potential readers (see guide below) so please send a short covering letter describing your manuscript and detailing who the likely readers are.

Send paper copy, with a sterling cheque for the entry fee, made out to Kay Green, or a Postal Order, to Earlyworks Press, The Creative Media Centre, 45 Robertson Street, Hastings, Sussex TN34 1HL.

OR

If you don't have access to UK post or sterling cheques please use the Paypal button below to pay your entry fee then send your submission by email, including your Paypal transaction number, IN THE BODY OF THE EMAIL, NOT AS AN ATTACHMENT, please.

For both postal and email entries, please ensure that your contact details - preferably email as well as postal address, are included. 

Guide: If your manuscript is aimed at children under six, the total word count should not exceed 300 words.

Age six to eight, up to 5000 words.

Age nine to twelve, up to 50,000 words.

Twelve upwards, up to 60,000 words.

If your total word count is under 5000 words, please send the complete manuscript, with a synopsis or proposal and covering letter when you enter. 

If your total word count is over 5000 words, please send sample text - preferably the first and two other chapters, and a synopsis or proposal such that your entry does not exceed 5000 words in total.

Authors may enter more than one manuscript. Entries will be judged separately and anonymously.

Note: If you have any questions about this competition, or the kind of publishing contract which is on offer, please email them to us and we will build a FAQ page from the questions we receive. The competition is open until 30th September 2010 so there is plenty of time for all the questions to be answered.

Here is the FAQ page

EMAIL ENTRIES

1. Please pay here, and record your transaction number.

  Entry fee £14 per manuscript

2. Please email your entry (up to 5000 words,

    including covering letter/proposal/synopsis) here...

     Click here to email entries

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