CURRENT CONTEST
PASIC "Book of Your Heart" Contest
is the contest to enter!
The Published Authors Special Interest
Chapter, Inc. of RWA® (PASIC) is proud to sponsor
the Book Of Your Heart Contest (BOYH),
a one-of-a-kind contest for material that is unpublished
and non-contracted. The contest is open to both published
and non-published authors. All authors may enter as many
categories as desired, whether or not the author is published
in one or all of the categories.
The preliminary judging will be done by
booksellers and librarians across the United States with
published authors used if needed; the final round will
be judged by top editors. All submissions will remain
anonymous to the judges, making this the perfect opportunity
for an author to place something "different" in
front of an editor without any biases or preconceived
ideas as to what that author should or should not be
writing. It's the chance for writers to try their hands
at something new, to give that “book of your heart” a
chance to be read.
BOOK OF YOUR HEART CONTEST RULES
Deadline: Application, fee and entry
must be received no later than May 27, 2008.
Entry Fee: PASIC members $20.00 each
entry
All
others $30.00 each entry
Note: If you meet PASIC membership
requirements and would like to join PASIC now--taking
immediate advantage of the membership discount--you may
do so by joining online or filling out a membership
application and sending it, along with your check
or Money Order for the appropriate amount, to PASIC,
c/o Treasurer Vicky Burkholder, P.O. Box 474, Lititz,
PA 17543. (If you have any questions, email treasurer@pasic.net)
You must have joined PASIC at least 10 days before the
contest deadline to qualify for the reduced PASIC member
entry fee. The application and fee must be received by May
17, 2008. To join PASIC, you must be a general
member in good standing of RWA and be published by an
RWA-recognized publisher.
Entries: Contestants may enter as many
categories as desired, and multiple entries in any one
category are permitted. FIVE copies of the first chapter
(maximum length is 25 manuscript pages) and ONE copy
of the synopsis (3-10 pages) per entry are required.
The chapter may be printed or typed in either standard
manuscript format or in faux galley format. Word length
for the chapter must not go beyond 6500 words. The synopsis
should be printed or typed in standard format. The synopsis
will not be included in the first round judging, but
will be sent to the editor judge when an entry reaches
the final round. Anyone may enter any or all categories
as long as an entry fee and an entry form accompany each
entry. (Category coordinators may not enter the category
they coordinate, nor may the contest chair enter any
category). Entrants must be 18 years of age or older.
Judges: All preliminary round judges
are booksellers, librarians and published authors. The
five highest scoring entries (six in the case of a tie)
in each category will be judged by editors.
Contemporary Series: Diana Ventimiglia, Silhouette
Desire
Paranormal category: Heather Osborn, Tor
Historical category: Leis Pederson, Berkley
Single Title Contemporary: Latoya Smith, Grand Central
(Forever imprint)
Mainstream: Becky Vinter, NAL
Young Adult: Megan McKeever, MTV Books
Erotic Romance - Hilary Sares, Kensington
Categories and Coordinators:
Single Title Contemporary
Coordinator – Liz Flaherty, lizkflaherty@yahoo.com
Contemporary Series
Coordinator – Amy Addison, amyaddison@verizon.net
Historical
Coordinator – Cindy Holby, cindyholby@aol.com
Mainstream
Coordinator – Renee Halverson, RM316@aol.com
Paranormal
Coordinator -- Winnie Griggs, winnie@winniegriggs.com
Young Adult
Coordinator -- Brenda K. Jernigan, bkj1608@juno.com
Erotic Romance
Coordinator – Roni Denholz, RSusan51@aol.com
If you would like mailing addresses for the coordinators,
please send an email to BOYHCoordinators@pasic.net for
the complete list.
If you have questions about a category, please email
the appropriate coordinator. For general questions about
the BOYH, email the BOYH Contest Chair at BOYH@pasic.net.
Entries, applications and fees must be received no
later than May 27, 2008. ANY
ENTRY RECEIVED AFTER MAY 27, 2008 WILL
BE RETURNED REGARDLESS OF POSTMARK. Winners
will be announced on or about September 20, 2008. All
winners in all categories will receive a winner's certificate,
cash award and special promotion by PASIC.
Award in each category:
- 1st place winner: $50 and certificate
- 2nd place winner: certificate
- 3rd place winner: certificate
Entries in the romance categories (Historical, Contemporary
Single Title, Contemporary Series, Erotic Romance and
Paranormal) must be appropriate to the romance category
in which they are entered. If they are not, the entry
may be disqualified and the entry fee will be returned.
However, as the Mainstream and Young Adult categories
are not necessarily romance, it will be assumed any entry
in these categories are intentional. Should any category
fail to receive a minimum of ten (10) entries, that category
will be canceled and the author will be given the opportunity
either to choose a different category for the entry (should
it meet the criteria of another category) or to have
the entry fee returned.
Headers on manuscript and synopsis must contain only
the title of the book, category entered, and page number. The
author's name may not appear anywhere on the manuscript
or synopsis. A cover sheet must accompany each
entry listing: title, first line of manuscript, author's
name, address, phone number, e-mail address (if applicable),
category for submission, and approximate word counts
for both entry and the completed book.
A self addressed, stamped envelope (preferably a #10
business envelope) must accompany each entry form for return
of bookseller score sheets only. Judges are
instructed to destroy all entries they judge.
Unused entries will not be returned.
Please note that each entry will be submitted to three
judges drawn from a pool of booksellers, librarians and
published authors in the preliminary round, however,
the lowest score of the three received will be discarded
for all entries. Finalist status will be determined
by the total of the two highest scores received for each
entry. In the event that the third judge
is not able to complete the judging process, those entries
will receive only two scores. In addition, please
note that despite the elimination of the third lowest
score, wide discrepancies are still possible.
One of the purposes of this contest is to get the candid
opinions of booksellers, librarians and published authors,
whether those opinions are good or bad. If wide
discrepancies amongst the top two judges occur, there
will be no additional judging. If, however,
a minimum of two scores are not received for all entries,
those affected entries will be sent for additional judging,
using the fourth copy of the entry.
By signing the entry form, entrants acknowledge their
acceptance of these rules.
 ENTRY CHECKLIST:
Mail To Treasurer:
______ One signed entry form for each entry
______ Check or money order for each entry, $30 in U.S.
funds ($20 for PASIC members) payable to: PASIC Chapter
#143
Please note: The original entry form with payment
must be sent to: PASIC, c/o Treasurer Vicky
Burkholder, P.O. Box 474, Lititz, PA 17543;
a photocopy of the form must accompany the entry itself.
Mail To Coordinator:
______ Photocopy of signed entry form for each entry
______ One cover sheet per entry (see description above)
______ FIVE copies of the prologue/first chapter (not
to exceed 25 pages)
______ ONE copy of the synopsis (3-10 pages)
______ One SASE per entry for return of score sheets
______ Optional self-addressed stamped postcard for confirmation
of entry arrival
Mail entry form and payment to PASIC Treasurer and
entry package to appropriate coordinator.
Entry form, payment and entry package must
arrive at the appropriate addresses no
later than May 27, 2008.
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR NON-US ENTRIES:
Non-US entrants can pay for their entry fee using PayPal.
Please include an additional $5.00 to cover the cost
of return postage. Make payments to treasurer@pasic.net in
the amount of $35.00 US for non-PASIC members and $25.00
US for PASIC members.
Include a self-addressed envelope with your entry when
mailing to the appropriate coordinator. Sufficient postage
will be placed on your envelope for the return of your
score sheets.
QUESTIONS? Email Contest Chair, Barb
Ferrer, at BOYH@pasic.net.
 Click
here for a printable entry form. For additional
entry forms, send an SASE to Barb Ferrer, 1605 Inkberry
Lane, Jacksonville, FL 32259
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