2014 Golden Claddagh Contest: Deadline May 10th

*PERMISSION TO FORWARD, GRANTED*

Enter Celtic Hearts Romance Writers Chapter contest The Golden Claddagh!

We have four categories for unpublished authors and published authors with unpublished  manuscripts.

* Historical
* Fantasy-Futuristic-Paranormal
* Contemporary
* Young Adult/New Adult

Our contest due date is May 10th. Finalists will be notified by June 15th and winners notified by August 1st–Winners will be announced at the CHRW Annual General Meeting at RWA National Convention in San Antonio, TX in July 2014.

Eligibility

The competition is open to RWA members ONLY.

Manuscripts must be unpublished and un-contracted in any form, including self-publishing. The manuscript rights must belong to the author and be available to contract, should a final judge wish to offer publication.

The GC entry must be a full-length novel (more than 40K). Novellas or Short stories will not be accepted.

Manuscripts must be completed by the time results are returned. Entrant must retain all rights to the entry and not have granted any of them to a publisher or any other party by the contest entry deadline.

If your manuscript is accepted for publication during the time of our contest (dates will be specified) you must notify the contest coordinator; your submission(s) will be withdrawn from consideration and your entry fee(s) returned.

Please Note:

• Previously entered manuscripts may be entered again, but no previous winningmanuscript shall be re-entered, even if revised.
• You may submit multiple entries so long as you pay an entry fee and submit a completed entry form for each submission.
• You may not enter the same manuscript in more than one category. *Entry fee per entry: $10.00 CHRW members and $15.00 non-member CHRWA members.

CHRW reserves the right to discard all electronic entries and return fees if a minimum number of three (3) entries are not received in any category. Entrants will be contacted before the entries are returned and given the option to place their entry in another category if it is eligible. We may also refuse an entry that does not follow the rules stated here in the guidelines.

All Payments are Electronic through PayPal. The easy link is here:

If you wish to go directly to PayPal, please use Paypal address: treasurer@celtichearts.org

Entry fee: $10.00 CHRW members and $15.00 non-member CHRWA members.

All entries will be read and scored for the first round by two trained judges and one published author, and the lowest score dropped. The three entries with the highest total scores in each category will move to the final round. An editor/agent will judge the final round and select a winner from the finalists in each category.

Categories:

Future, Fantasy & Paranormal: Romance novel where the mains focus is on the romantic relationship, but the future, fantasy or paranormal elements are integral to the story (includes time-travel).

Contemporary: Includes, single title, long and short romantic fiction with a contemporary setting set after 1945. Main focus is the romantic relationship between the hero and heroine.

Historical: Romance novel set primarily before 1945 — any location. Please specify your time period and setting in your entry.

Young Adult/New Adult:  Romance novels in which young adult or new adult themes constitute an integral part of the plot. *Romance subplot not required*

Entries

Entry Composition: No Synopsis required! Your entry must have the following:

1.     An email “cover page” which includes the author’s real name, address, telephone number(s), e-mail address, submission title, category, manuscript word count and PayPal confirmation # should be submitted in text of the e-mail. Do not include the cover page in the same attachment as your manuscript.

2.     The beginning of your manuscript, including prologue, cannot exceed thirty (30) pages. Standard manuscript format must be followed:

• 1 inch margins
• Double spaced in a standard font and size 12-point.
• The TITLE of the manuscript, the category, and any subcategory should be placed on the top left hand side of the entry. The PAGE NUMBER should be on the top right side of the entry.
• We will not accept entries that have colored, or designer fonts. DO NOT INCLUDE YOUR NAME ON THE MANUSCRIPT.

3. Manuscript must be in a .doc or .rtf file format.

NOTE: Your entry must not exceed thirty (30) pages total.

SUBMIT ENTRIES TO:

Contemporary Category - contempcat@celtichearts.org

FFP Category - ffpcat@celtichearts.org

Historical Category - historicalcat@celtichearts.org

Young Adult/New Adult Category - yacat@celtichearts.org

Final Round Judges

FF&P

Angela James - Carina Press
Kerry Buckley - Carina Press
TBA

Historical

Laurie McLean - Forward Literary, Inc
Beth Miller - Writers House
Leis Pederson - Berkley Publishing

Contemporary

Julie Mianecki - Penguin Books
Alissa Davis - Carina Press
Elizabeth Bistrow - Penguin Books

Young Adult/New Adult

Nicole Fischer - Avon Press
TBA

Awards

The FIRST PLACE winners in each category will receive a $50 dollar cash prize and a commemorative pin.

The SECOND and THIRD PLACE winners in each category will receive free workshops through Celtic Hearts Romance Writers.

Questions

For questions please contact the contest chair, Alisa Walker at: contests@celtichearts.org

2013 Golden Claddagh Contest - Open for Entries

~Permission to Forward Granted and Appreciated~

2013 Golden Claddagh Contest

CONTEST OPENS APRIL 1, 2013

Enter Celtic Hearts Romance Writers Chapter contest The Golden Claddagh! Don’t let our chapter name dissuade you; your entry does not have to be Celtic based to enter. We have four categories for unpublished manuscripts: Historical, FF&P, Contemporary, and Young Adult.

Our contest opens on April 1^st with a final due date of May 1^st, 2013. Finalists will be notified by June 15^th, 2013 and winners announced at the Celtic Hearts AGM at RWA Nationals in Atlanta. All finalists will be invited to the AGM, if they are able to attend.

ELIGIBILITY

The competition is open to RWA members and non-members. The Golden Claddagh Contest is open to published and non-published authors but the submitted work must never have been published in any format. The entry must be either a full-length novel (greater than 40,000 words) or a novella (no less than 20,000 words and no more than 40,000 words). Short stories and novelettes are not accepted.

Entry fee is $15 for CHRW members and $25 for non-members.

CATEGORIES

CONTEMPORARY: Long & Short Contemporary / Romantic Suspense / Strong Romantic Elements: Includes single title, romantic suspense, long and short romantic fiction with a contemporary setting set after 1945. Main focus is the romantic relationship between the hero and heroine.

FF&P: Future, Fantasy & Paranormal / Steampunk / Alternative History: Romance novel where the mains focus is on the romantic relationship, but the future, fantasy or paranormal elements are integral to the story (includes time-travel).

HISTORICAL / Celtic: Romance novel set primarily before 1945 — any location.

YA: Young Adult / Middle Grade / New Adult: Romance novels or novellas in which young adult themes constitute an integral part of the plot. Main focus is still on the romantic relationship between the hero and heroine.

FINAL ROUND JUDGES

Contemporary – Julie Mianecki of Penguin Books, Chelsey Emmelhainz of Harper Collins Publishing

FF&P – Alissa Davis of Carina Press and Laurie McLean of Foreward Literary Agency

Historical – Meredith Giordan of Carina Press and Susie Townsend of New Leaf Literary Agency

Young Adult – Aubrey Poole of Sourcebooks and Becky Vinter of Fine Print Literary Agency

Find the Contest Entry Form and Rules at Celtic Hearts Romance Writers website.

Sign up today! You know you want to. So what are you waiting for?

~Permission to Forward Granted and Appreciated~

Cate Parke, Rebecca Lynn
2013 Golden Claddagh Contest Coordinators