STARBRIGHT ANNUAL NOVEL WRITING CONTEST

Starsongs, a publication of Written World Communications, is proud to announce our annual Starbright novel writing contest. Our goal is to assist the budding young novelist whose work shines above the rest to realize the dream of publication.

Eligibility: This contest will be divided into two categories, novel and novella

The novella entrant must be no younger than 9 yrs old and no older than 12 years old by March 15, 2013.

The novel entrant must be no younger than 13 yrs old and no older than 19 yrs old by March 15, 2013.

Each entry will be accompanied by a non-judged summary of the manuscript not to exceed 1,000 words.

Entrant must submit a document of verification (downloadable from web site) that the entry is original work created by the entrant. This document will also grant permission to Written World Communications to assign the manuscript to any member of Written World Communications staff or any person that Written World Communication deems qualified for the purpose of judging.

Entrant must accompany entry with a fee of $20.00.

Entry must be received at starsongs.mag@gmail.com no later than 12:00 midnight MST on March 15, 2013. (Entry will not be considered submitted until entry fee is paid in full).

Manuscript length: novella 20,000 – 50,000 words.            novel  50,001 – 90,000 words.

Content: This is a fiction contest with entries open to genres such as sci-fi/fantasy, speculative fiction, horror, action/adventure, paranormal, YA, historical, romance, mystery/thriller, and inspirational. Genres that illustrate extreme violence, illicit drug use, graphic violence, torture scenarios or explicit sexual situations such as “slasher” stories or erotica are not acceptable. Children’s books (for example, picture books) are not appropriate for this contest as they would not meet the required word count. Starsongs and Written World Communications welcome entries from both the Christian and secular novelist.

Format: Manuscript should be typed in Times New Roman or Courier New font size 12 with 1 inch margins top, bottom, and sides. Manuscript should be double spaced with 0.5 inch indentation to begin paragraphs. The first page, the title page, shall contain the title of the entry, author’s name, phone number, email address, and projected age of the contestant as of September 15, 2011. The second page will consist of a single-spaced summary of the story. The manuscript will begin on the third page.

Judging: Each entrant will receive a critique from three (3) separate judges. First through fifth place winners will move to a final judging round and will receive a critique from three (3) separate judges.  Entrants who advance to the final round will be afforded the opportunity to revise their entry.

Criteria for judging:

Submissions will be judged based on the following elements:

Plot development

Character development

Conflict

Believability

Originality

Contest participation does not guarantee that the entire manuscript will be read. In order to assure a complete reading of your work, it is your responsibility as the author to edit and polish your manuscript to the best it can be. This includes but is not limited to proper spelling, grammar, sentence structure, and organization of content.

Prizes:

1^st place – Publication of manuscript by Written World Communications

2^nd place - $100.00

3^rd place - $50.00

All winners will be notified via telephone no later than September 15, 2013. Official announcement of winners will be announced in the winter 2013 issue of Starsongs.

Date of publication of the first place manuscript will be subject to negotiation of editorial changes, if needed, between Written World Communications and the author.

Make check or money order payable to Written World Communications P.O. Box 26677 Colorado Springs, CO   80936.  Paypal option available on web site at www.written-world.com.