2011 Contest

2010 Winners Announced!

Eligibility | How to Enter | Categories | Judges | Entry Composition | Awards | Questions | 2009 Winners

Due to recent severe weather during April as well as the myriad of major world events that affected not only our members, but RWA as a whole, we have extended our contest deadline to May 15!

You have until midnight, Sunday, May 15th to get your entry in! Don't delay. You still have time now to polish things up. If you're sitting on the fence, jump onto our side of it and get your entry in. See the details below.

Enter Celtic Hearts Romance Writers Chapter contest The Golden Claddaugh!  Don’t let our chapter name dissuade you, your entry does not have to be Celtic based to enter, unless you enter our Celtic Category.  We have six categories, Historical, FF & P, Romantic Suspense, Celtic, Contemporary & Erotic Romance.

Our contest due date is May 5th, 2011.  Finalists will be notified by July 1, 2011 and winners notified by September 1, 2011.

Eligibility

The competition is open to RWA members and non-members who have not accepted a publishing offer from a non-Subsidy, non-Vanity Publisher (self-published) for fiction in the past five years of 20,000 words or more. Entry must be a full-length novel, no novellas or short stories.  Manuscripts must be completed.  If a final judge asks for a full, you’ll want to be able to send it out immediately.  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the time of our contest (dates will be specified) you must notify the contest coordinator; your submission(s) will be withdrawn from consideration and your entry fee(s) returned.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 winning manuscript 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: $20.00 CHRW member and $25.00 non-member.

Entries are 30 pages maximum with a synopsis no longer than 5 pages, for a total of 35 pages max.  All entries are electronic.  Entry fee is $20 for CHRW members and $25 for non-members. 

How To Enter

Entries should be submitted to Althea Preston– contests@celtichearts.org.

CHRW reserves the right to discard all electronic entries and return fees if a minimum number of three (3) entries is 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. We may also refuse an entry that does not follow the rules stated here in the guidelines.

Pay by Check
Please copy or print this form and include with your payment: Contest Entry Form

Mail to:
CHRW Treasurer
c/o Rebecca Syme
4022 Rain Roper Dr.
Bozeman, MT  59715

Pay by Paypal

If paying via Paypal, please click here: Contest Entry Form
You will have the option at the end of the form
to choose Paypal

Paypal address:  treasurer@celtichearts.org

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.

Romantic Suspense: Romance novels in which suspense, mystery, or thriller elements constitute an integral part of the plot.  Main focus is still on the romantic relationship between the hero and heroine.

Historical: Romance novel set primarily before 1945 -- any location.

Celtic – Romantic fiction set in any time period and in any location, but MUST have a Celtic theme (Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Cornish, Bretons, Isle of Man). Please specify your time period and setting in your entry.

Erotic Romance: any genre or time period, erotic romance submission only - no straight erotica - this means there must be a HEA ending or at least a Happy For Now.

Judges

Final Round Judges

FF&P - Leis Pederson - Berkley

Celtic - Deb Werksman - Sourcebooks

Erotic - Katherine Pelz - Berkley

Historical - Suzie Townsend - FinePrint

Romantic Suspense - Jessica Alvarez - BookEnds

Contemporary - Angela James - Carina Press

Entry Composition

Your entry must have the following:

1. A separate cover page which includes the author's real name, address, telephone number(s), e-mail address, submission title, category and manuscript word count should be submitted in text of the e-mail. Do not include the cover page in the same attachment as your manuscript and synopsis. The manuscript and synopsis will be sent together as one document as an attachment.
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 that gives 24-26 lines per page. We will not accept entries that have colored, or designer fonts. DO NOT INCLUDE YOUR NAME ON THE MANUSCRIPT. See ENTRY FORMAT.
3. The synopsis must be included with the same file attachment as the manuscript, must be double spaced and is not to exceed five (5) pages. Do not send the synopsis in a separate attachment. Whether the synopsis is at the beginning or the end of your entry, it should start and end as though it were separate from your manuscript. Any entry that contains a single spaced synopsis and/or begins or ends on the same page as the manuscript will be refused and sent back for correction. The synopsis will be scored.

NOTE: Your entry, which includes the synopsis must not exceed thirty- five (35) pages total. ANY MANUSCRIPT, OR SYNOPSIS THAT DOES NOT FOLLOW THE RULES SET DOWN HERE WILL BE REFUSED AND YOUR ENTRY WILL BE RETURNED SO THAT YOU CAN CORRECT IT. However, our deadline still stands; corrected manuscripts will need to be returned by the midnight deadline on May 5, 2011 to be valid. (should the contest deadline be extended, you will have until that extended date to return your ms, but only if the contest deadline for entries is extended)

Entry Format: Standard manuscript and synopsis format, double-spaced, 12-point readable font, twenty-six (26) lines maximum per page, minimum 1" margins all around. Only 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 hand side. IF THE NAME OF THE AUTHOR(S) APPEARS ANYWHERE ON THE MANUSCRIPT OR SYNOPSIS, THE ENTRY WILL BE DISQUALIFIED AND THE ENTRY FEE WILL NOT BE RETURNED.

Important: Manuscript and synopsis must be in a .doc or .rtf file.

Awards

The FIRST PLACE winner in each category will receive a golden Claddaugh pin.
The SECOND PLACE winner in each category will receive a silver Claddaugh pin.
The THIRD PLACE winner in each category will receive a bronze Claddaugh pin.

All winners will receive certificates and icons to place on their websites.

Questions

For questions please contact the contest chair, Althea Preston at: contests@celtichearts.org 

2010 Winners

(Winners listed in no particular order)

Celtic
Final Round Judge:  Deb Werksman, Sourcebooks

1st Place - The Runaway Sinclair ~ Rebecca Cameron
2nd Place - The Devil’s Bride – Gail Francis
3rd Place - House on Prospect ~ Trudi Seery Gilligan

***

Contemporary
Final Round Judge:  Lois Winston - Ashley Grayson Literary Agency

1st Place - Passion ~ Jeanell Bolton
2nd Place - Fractured Paradise ~ Lexi Connor
3rd Place - Aliya Arabesque ~ Madeline Smyth

***

Erotic Category
Final Round Judge:  Kate Seaver, Berkley

1st Place - The Druid Prince ~ Camryn Rhys
2nd Place - Hustler’s Dream ~ Casey Crow
3rd Place - The Lust Boat ~ Dolores Wall Maroney

***

Future/Fantasy/Paranormal
Final Round Judge:  Leis Pederson - Berkley/Jove

1st Place - The Veil ~ Sabrina Jarema
2nd Place - The Seduction of Phaeton Black ~ G. Jillian Stone
3rd Place - The Key to My Heart ~ Julie McMullen

***

Historical
Final Round Judge:  Barbara Poelle Irene Goodman Agency

1st Place - In Longfellow’s Keep ~ Mary E. Lawrence
2nd Place - His to Hold ~ Jenna Stuart
3rd Place - Scenting Scandal ~ Suzanne Web

***

Romantic Suspense
Final Round Judge:  Laura Bradford, Bradford Literary Agency

1st Place - Deception ~ Jennifer Beane
(Full manuscript requested)

2nd Place - His Reluctant Witness ~ Lexi Connor
3rd Place - Black Ops ~ Dr. L. Pepper Norris

The Celtic Hearts Contest Committee would like to extend out congratulations to all of the winners and wish you all the best of luck with your writing careers!

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Contest Chair, Althea Preston:  contests@celtichearts.org

See previous winners