Dates for the 2012 contest season

Contests will be open for entries during the following periods:

CONTESTS AND AWARDS

Romance Writers of Australia runs a range of contests each year for published and unpublished writers. The contest year runs from August through to June, and the winners' awards are made at the RWA conference in August.

Our contests offer finalists the chance to have their manuscripts read by acquiring editors and/or literary agents.

All entrants will receive scoresheets and judges' feedback to help improve their work. Contest judges are published and unpublished writers, or, for selected contests only, readers.

Our contests for unpublished writers are open to members of Romance Writers of Australia only, except for the Valerie Parv Award, which is open to both members and non-members. Please click on the links (below or to the left) for more information, including opening/closing dates, formatting instructions and entry fees/conditions.

Contests for unpublished writers:

The Emerald Award is our major contest for unpublished writers, and offers a unique opportunity to have your full manuscript judged if you make the second round. Initial entry is 18 pages ARC (around 50 pages in standard format) of your category or single title manuscript.

The Valerie Parv Award offers the winner a year of mentorship with bestselling Australian romance author Valerie Parv. Enter the first 10,000 words of your category or single title manuscript along with a 1000-word synopsis.

The HM&B High Five is for the first five pages of your category romance manuscript. A great way to hone your hook.

The Single (Title) and Loving It! (STALI) is for the first 5,000 words of your single title romance or romantic elements manuscript.

The First Kiss gives you the opportunity to showcase that romantic tension. Enter a 1500-word scene involving your protagonists' first kiss, plus a half-page set-up.

The Selling Synopsis tests your synopsis-writing skills. Enter your category or single title synopsis for the chance to impress an agent or editor.

The Little Gems contest (also open to published authors) is for romantic short stories up to 3000 words, and offers finalists the chance to have their story published in an RWA anthology.

We also run a contest for artwork for the cover of the Little Gems anthology. This is open to members and non-members.

Contests for published authors:

The Romantic Book of the Year (R*BY) is our contest for published novels by Australian or New Zealand authors. It includes sections for Short Sweet Romance, Short Sexy Romance, Long Romance and Romantic Elements novels.
Entries for the 2012 R*BY (for novels published in 2011) open in December 2011.

Our Little Gems short story contest is also open to published authors.

Looking for more contests?

In Australia, each state has a Writers' Centre. Membership of the centre will give you access to the list of many competitions being held right across Australia in various forms of writing.

Romance Writers of America contests are summarised at Stephie Smith's web page. Check the individual RWA chapter websites for full details.

Romance Writers of America are also listed on the Contest Divas website. You can sign up to receive email updates of contest dates.

Romance Writers of New Zealand contests can be found at their website.