Sorry it took me so long to get this up. There was a lot of information to compile. However, here it is! I’ve copied the information and links to each contest below. You can also download the list. The downloadable annual romance writing contest worksheet offers space for you to take notes about each contest. (Just click on the link and save the file to your computer)
For example, most contests have an entrance fee. They also offer different categories, submission requirements and deadlines. The contest worksheet provides you with room to document which contests you’re going to enter and the steps you need to take.
Why Enter Contests?
It’s a great way to get noticed by an agent or editor. I have many friends who have gone on to publish due to a contest win or final.
It’s also a nice way to get some expert feedback on your manuscript.
(Note: If you’ve purchased the Writing for Love & Money home study course. many of these contests are listed in the course. )
- Romance Through the Ages www.heartsthroughhistory.com
- Passionate Ink Stroke of Midnight – www.Passionateink.org
- 2011 THE SHEILA Contest www.vfrw.com
- 2011 Between the Sheets Contest http://www.gdrwa.org/contest_bts_rules2010.html.
- 13th Annual Fire and Ice Contest – www.chicagonorthrwa.org.
- 1st Annual Query Contest – www.nhrwa.com.
- 11th Annual Inspirational Reader’s Choice Award – http://www.faithhopelove-rwa.org/
- Pacific Northwest Writer’s Association PNWA Literary Contest (Zola Awards) www.pnwa.org
- Writers’ League of Texas Novel Manuscript Contest – www.writersleague.org
- Women On Writing (WOW) Flash Fiction Contest – http://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/contest.php
- 14th Dixie First Chapter Contest – http://www.msrw.org.
- 2011 Great Beginnings Contest – http://www.utahrwa.com.
- Fab Five 2011 – www.wisrwa.org
- More Than Magic – http://rwimagiccontests.wordpress.com/.
- 20th annual Duel on the Delta – www.rivercityromancewriters.org
- The 2011 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense for – www.rwamysterysuspense.org
- Spring into Romance Contest – www.rwasd.com
- 2011 Prism Contest – PrismContest@romance-ffp.com
- Touch of Magic 2011 – www.cfrwa.org
- 2011 Magic Moment Contest – http://www.heartandscroll.com/contest_MagicMoment_rules.htm
- 2011 Royal Ascot – http://www.thebeaumonde.com/royalascot/
- 2011 Touched By Love Award – http://www.faithhopelove-rwa.org
- Fool For Love 2011 – www.virginiaromancewriters.com.
- Romancing the Script – http://www.scriptscene.org.
- Page One Contest – http://espan-rwa.com/contest/.
- 28th Annual Orange Rose Contest – www.occrwa.org
- Romantic Shorts New Year New Story 2011 – http://www.romanticshorts.com/Romantic_Shorts/Competition_Announcements.html
- Alaska Romance Writers of America Breakup – http://www.alaskawriters.com/membersites/akrwa/about.html
- Georgia Romance Writers of America Maggie Published – http://www.georgiaromancewriters.org/the-maggies/
- Heart of Denver Romance Writers of America Aspen Gold Reader’s Choice – http://www.hodrw.com/contests/
Would love to know how to enter a romance noval contest.
I just wanted to let you know that some of these contest links no longer work.
Thanks, Audri. Yes, the post is quite old.
This site was… how do you say it? Relevant!! Finally I have found something that helped me.
Cheers!
I don’t see our RWA chapter’s contest listed above. Here is the information for this year. Please include in your list. Thanks so much.
***Permission to Forward is Granted and Encouraged***
Contest Name: Ignite the Flame Contest
Sponsor: Central Ohio Fiction Writers chapter of RWA
Fee: $20 for COFW members. $25 for non-members. ELECTRONIC PAYMENT ONLY.
Deadline: COFW will begin accepting entries on June 1, 2016. All entries must be received by 11:59 p.m. EST on June 30, 2016.
Eligibility: Entry must be an unpublished completed manuscript in book-length fiction (minimum of 40,000 words).
Contest Description: Our contest is named Ignite the Flame for a reason. We want to lose ourselves in the one scene of your unpublished manuscript when your hero and heroine first meet (or reunite after a period of time) and experience that first spark of attraction, that irresistible heat drawing them together. So kindle that fire—show us your first meeting, the surprise reunion, an awkward introduction or the unforgettable moment of initial awareness. Thrill us with the promise of what is to come. We want to be there when they experience the first stirrings of attraction for one another. Tease us with a little flicker that is destined to become an inferno.
The Ignite, the Flame Contest, is designed to help you polish that critical first meet scene so that it crackles with romantic energy! ***Note: This is not a first kiss or first sex scene contest***
Entry: On-line entries only. Submit up to15 pages (15 page maximum), double-spaced, with manuscript’s title, genre and page number in the upper left-hand header. If your Igniting the Flame scene is not in the first chapter of your manuscript, please include a set-up for the judge. Set-up and entry are to be submitted as one file. The set-up will not be critiqued or affect your submission score.
Categories: Contemporary, Historical, Paranormal/Fantasy/Futuristic/Time Travel, Young Adult/New Adult, Erotic and Romantic Suspense.
Judges: First round judges will be published authors.
Finalist Judges: TBD (Editors/Agents)
Grand Prize: Full manuscript critique and evaluation from award-winning romance author and instructor Leigh Michaels, a prize valued at $295. The Grand Prize will be awarded to the entry with the highest numerical score (combined from all three judges) in the first round. In the event of a tie, the Grand Prize will be awarded to the entry with the highest score in the “Ignite the Flame” section of the scoresheet. If there is still a tie, the Grand Prize will be awarded to the entry with the highest score in the “First Impressions” section of the scoresheet.
First, Second and Third Place Category Finalists: First, Second and Third place winners in each category will be decided by the scores given by the judges in the first round and each winner will receive a certificate. Their entries will be sent to the agent/editor assigned to that category for review. Hopefully, these finalists will receive a request for a submission.
For more information, please visit: http://www.cofwevents.org Click on Navigation and select Ignite the Flame Contest. Questions: Send entries to ignitetheflamecontest@gmail.com. Send questions to Ignite the Flame Contest Coordinator, Nancy White, nancywhite0529@gmail.com.
Special Announcement: As a result of last year’s Ignite the Flame Contest, Nicole D’Arienzo, Managing Editor, The Wild Rose Press, offered Cindy James, our 2015 Ignite the Flame Contest first place winner in the Historical Category, a contract. Her book, Their Highland Trust, is scheduled for publication in June 2016. Congratulations Cindy!