SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Congratulations to the 2024 Winners!
Click here to discover the winners and read their winning chapters.
Next submission period: Feb 3 – March 3, 2025
Entries for the 2025 competition will open on Monday, February 3, 2025 and close at 5:00 PM (17:00) (Eastern Time) Monday, March 3, 2025. Please check this time zone converter to convert the deadline into your own time zone in order to avoid disappointment and inability to enter.
Only entries received and paid for by the entry deadline will be considered. The entry fee for each entry is $20.00 in US dollars.
Entries that are not paid for, are incomplete, formatted incorrectly or submitted after the deadline will not be considered.
Please submit only the complete first chapter of your unpublished novel-in-progress (fiction only). Please do not include title pages, dedications, prologues, introductions or any other opening pages—submit only your complete first chapter. There is no page limit or word count limit.
Format your submission as follows (this is industry standard for manuscript submissions):
– 8.5” x 11” or A-4 page
– 1-inch (2.54 cm) margins all around
– 12-point font (use your preferred font)
– Double-spaced (not 1.5 or 1.15 spacing) with no extra spaces between paragraphs (extra space for section breaks is allowed). NOTE: If you're working in Word, there's a setting that sometimes automatically puts an extra space between paragraphs, and you can change that in your Word settings to get rid of that extra space. Click here for a 45 second video that shows you how.)
Submittable accepts the following types of documents (when in doubt, save your chapter as a PDF to preserve the formatting): .doc, .docx, .odt, .pdf.
Please note: if your formatting is not exactly as specified above, your entry won't be considered and you'll forfeit your $20 submission fee.
Your name should not appear anywhere on your pages or in the name of your document, but you're welcome to include the novel's title if you wish (there's a place to enter the title in the submission form, too).
By entering this competition, each entrant agrees that if they win first, second, or third prize, or an honorable or notable mention, they are agreeing to share their winning chapter on the prize website so that others may read their winning chapter. All rights remain with the author.
No alterations may be made to the entry once it is submitted.
Each entry must be accompanied by the $20 (USD) entry fee.
Writers are welcome to submit more than one entry—each entry needs to be submitted and paid for as a separate entry.
Please read through the terms & conditions before you submit your entry.
All entries must be made through Submittable.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Entries that do not precisely follow these guidelines will be disqualified without refund of the entry fee.
Have questions? Read our FAQs.