As Maeve Greyson counts down the months to the April, 2012 publication of her new Brava paranormal romance, Eternity’s Mark, all you aspiring writers can look forward to your own chance to join the Kensington family as a published author. Our new Brava writing contest is up and running!
This year, we’re looking for original romance novellas of 15,000 – 20,000 words rather than full-length books. Submissions in any sub- genre will be accepted, providing they’ve never been published in print or ebook form and have a sensuality level suitable for our Brava imprint. (You know just how hot that is, because you’re our most loyal readers.) So that means historical romance, contemporary, paranormal or romantic suspense. We need your submission by midnight of August 15, 2011 – plenty of time for you to write the winning novella or polish up one you’ve already begun.
Once again, Brava authors and editors will narrow down the entries to our top eight contestants, and each of the writers selected will be given a Brava mentor to help her navigate the four challenges ahead. Romantic Times readers will be voting each month to narrow the field, and the winner will be announced at the awards ceremony of the RT convention in April, 2012. Here’s your chance to work with professional writers, publicize your story and win a contract with a New York publisher.
We’ll be posting more details on BravaAuthors.com as well as RT Book Reviews in the weeks to come. Discovering fresh new voices is the best part of the job for Megan and me, so we’re excited to see what you come up with!
Hi Alicia
Can you advise, is this year’s contest open to all? I am published in ebook and also in print by a small press.
I am so excited to hear that there will be another Brava writing contest! I also can’t wait to read Maeve’s story.
Thanks Cynthia!
Squee~ WIP here I come!
Yay, this is exciting and I’m looking forward to submitting my novella to it!
Writing with the Stars is a great opportunity for aspiring authors. Come on everyone! You don’t want to miss this chance.
How exciting! I can’t wait for more news.
I would be curious to know if previously pubbed ebook authors are eligible as well. Thanks so much! I’m looking forward to this contest.
After a lot of hard thought, we’ve decided to limit entries to authors who have not published in either ebook or print form. We’d be happy to consider your project as a regular Brava submission though.
Thankyou Alicia, I will definitely do that! Best of luck to everyone who enters!!
I urge everyone who seriously aspires to become a published author to consider entering Writing with the Stars. As a runner up in this year’s contest, I have to say being a finalist was an amazing opportunity that opened numerous doors. Working with a mentor (mine was the talented and generous Mary Wine)gave me tremendous insight into the industry while also helping to hone my writing. The judges were tough but that meant they expected a lot from us and made their compliments mean so much more. Take a leap and go for it!
I’m glad you found it a positive experience, Diana. That’s definitely our intention!
Looking forward to it.
Quick question – Can we enter more than one manuscript?
Really looking forward to this contest!
Judith
Hi Judith,
Because we’re expecting a lot of entries, we’re asking each contestant to limit herself to one manuscript. So pick the one that shows your writing at its very best and get ready to send it on in.
Hi there,
I’m a wee bit confused. This page states that the contest is for novellas. I was sent another page that has different time limits and speaks only of full length manuscripts. Also, the rules state that if you are e-pubbed you are eligible… help?
Thanks
Lauren
Hi Lauren,
The contest this year is for novellas and e-pubbed authors are not eligible. Hope that clears things up!
since epub are not eligible for this I noticed you said above we could send in a normal submission. Do we need an agent to send in a manuscript and are you accepting novellas for submission or only full length novels for epublished and print published authors at this time? Is there a link you can refer me to as well?
Thanks,
Mahalia
Darn it! I have a short story that was put in an epub anthology last year. Look forward to seeing the winners.
Hello –
I really want to enter this contest, but want to be sure and comply with the rules.
Does having short stories (around three thousand words each, without author’s name anywhere on the cover) epubbed in anthologies disqualify a person? Or is it novella and novel length publication under the author’s name/pen name that disqualifies?
May be a silly question, but thanks for allowing me to ask!
I’m sorry, but any epub counts as publication. For those who would like to submit to us directly, Kensington does accept unagented submissions. Please check out kensingtonbooks.com for a list of our editors and the kinds of books each of us acquires.
Thank you, Alicia! I appreciate the clarification. Best of luck with the contest. It’s a fantastic opportunity Kensington is offering.
I have a contract with an Samhain but am not officially published and won’t be at the deadline. It’ll be 2012 before my digital book comes out.
Am I disqualified from this contest?
Congratulations on your Samhain contract, Cynthia! Under the rules of this year’s contest, you won’t be eligible to enter Writing with the Stars, but your career as a published author is already off to a great start!
Has this switched to a single title length contest or are there two contests this year? I’m finding conflicting information and don’t want to draft a novella if there is no contest!
Hi…I’m confused as well. I went to the contest page and now it shows a different length for the novella, from the original 15K – 20K. It also shows a different entry date.
Is this a different contest?
Thanx so much!
I agree. Theconflicting information is confusing. There was a contest for full-length manuscripts (80,000-90,000 words) with a deadline of July 15. I submitted under that one. Now the site shows a contest for novellas. No sure if there is only 1 contest and Brava changed the rules, or if there are in fact two separate contests. If just one contest this year, there is nothing on the site that acknowledges there was a change in contest rules and criteria.
Hi!
The message says the contest is up and running. How do I go about sending in my novella? I sent in a novel earlier for another contest and there were guidelines; will these be forthcoming?
Thanks. And thanks Brava for the opportunity.
Hi JoAnne,
Actually, the contest is no longer running, but we’d be happy to consider your submission. Just submit it to me at acondon@kensingtonbooks.com.
Alicia