2012 Winter Rose Contest for Unpublished Authors

Sponsored by the Yellow Rose Chapter
of Romance Writers of America®

 

Here’s what NYT Best-selling author Sophie Jordan has to say about the Winter Rose Contest:

“The Winter Rose Contest hosted by the Yellow Rose RWA is the contest in which I landed my agent. I shall forever be grateful to the organizers of the Winter Rose for this. The contest policy of dropping the lowest judge score goes a long way in assuring entrants the fairest score possible. Without this policy, I would not have made it into the final round … and I likely would not have signed with my agent. In my experience, very few contests offer such a policy. Also, the final judges are always top notch editors and agents — industry professionals you want to get your work in front of … the ultimate goal for every contest-goer. All my best, Sophie.”

Information for the 2012 contest

  • December 1, 2011—Contest Opens to submissions.
  • January 21, 2012— Deadline for all printed forms, payment and electronic submissions.
  • March 24, 2012 — Finalists notified by telephone or e-mail, on or before this date.
    Non-Finalists materials will be retuned by May 1, 2012
  • May 12, 2012 — Winners announced at the Yellow Rose RWA May meeting.

    • Entry Fee: $25

    Entry Form: 2012 Official Entry Form - Unpublished Category
    Rules: 2012 Unpublished Rules (RTF) 

    2012 Final Judges

    • Contemporary: Alicia Condon, Kensington
    • Historical (includes Regency):Amanda Bergeron, Avon
    • Paranormal: Heather Osborne, Samhain
    • Romantic Suspense: Deb Nemeth,Carina Press
    • Young Adult: Kari Sutherland, Harper Collins Children’s Books

    2012 Grand Prize (Agent Read): Maura Kye-Cassela, Don Congdon Asst.

    Categories

    Contemporary — romantic novels released as individual titles, including series such as Harlequin: Intrigue, Blaze, SuperRomance. Silhouette: Special Edition, Intimate Moments, etc. Word count: 50,000-100,000. Score sheet: PDF version; RTF version. 

    Historical — books set in historical setting/time period. May include traditional Regency novels. Word count: over 50,000. Score sheet: PDF version; RTF version. 

    Paranormal — paranormal element. May include Fantasy, Futuristic, Time Travel, Ghost, Vampire, Werewolf, etc. Word count: over 50,000. Score sheet: PDF version; RTF version. 

    Romantic Suspense — books that are not part of a series, in which suspense is a major element of the plot. Word count: over 50,000. Score sheet: PDF version; RTF version. 

    Young Adult — books that are targeted for young adult and teen readers such as Harry Potter or the Twilight series. Word count: 50,000. Score sheet: PDF version; RTF version. 

    Please note: Word counts are for general guideline purposes only! 

    Entrant Eligibility and Guidelines

    Enter the opening twenty-five (25) pages of romance novels of all above sub-genres (projected length of at least 50,000 words). All entrants must be RWA members in good standing who have not published a novel in the last 5 years. Also, it should be noted that entries that won the Winter Rose in years past, may not be entered in any form. 

    Official Rules

    Yellow Rose RWA reserves the right to limit entries to the first seventy-five (75) manuscripts received in each category. Failure to comply with any of the entry requirements below could result in return of your manuscript. For those entrants desiring electronic format, please see e-judging specific guidelines.

    Specific Guidelines for Electronic Entries

    Entrant MUST sign, date and mail entry form and release to Yellow Rose before entry will be entered into contest. This is mandatory. No electronic entry forms will be accepted. Once the E-judging Coordinator has release/entry form and payment is recorded, she will send a confirmation email to entrant advising them that entry can be emailed to her. Entrant has up to contest deadline of January 21, 2012. Once entry is received, the coordinator will send a confirmation email back to entrant. 

    • Entries shall consist of the first 25 pages of the novel. A prologue and/or second chapter may be included if within total page guidelines.
    • Entries will be received in RTF (Rich Text Format) files only. (To convert your file to RTF, open the document, go into File, click on Save As and choose RTF format. This will create a new document with the same title in RTF format.) Please do not send .doc or .docx files as they will be deleted, unopened.
    • Attach the appropriate category score sheet to your electronic entry by copying and pasting the score sheet to the beginning of your document. Use a page break between the score sheet and the beginning of the entry. It’s okay if the header appears on the score sheet. :) You can download the score sheet by clicking on one of the following:

      Problems? Email Contest Chair: Brenda Chitwood  

    • Entries shall be in standard manuscript format, double spaced, 12 point font (Courier or TNR suggested) with one-inch margins and unjustified right margins. The name of the author, RWA number, or any other identifying information must not appear on the entry. A cover page is not necessary. As a side note, manuscript format is not a judged component of the Winter Rose contest. Judges may or may not point out formatting issues to an entrant, but no points are deducted for perceived infractions.
    • The header on each page must contain the title of the manuscript, projected length, and the page number. Entrant may indicate target market if desired to help judges customize their comments. For those entering Contemporary, you may indicate target line (i.e., HQN, Harlequin SuperRomance, Blaze, etc.).
    • Document title should be the title of the manuscript only. Please do not add author name. Please do not name your document “Winter Rose Entry” or any other variation. Entries containing this in the title will be deleted, unopened.
    • Email your entry to the Electronic Contest Coordinator as an attachment.
    • When emailing your attachment entry file to the coordinator, type the Entry Title and category in the subject header of the email. In the body of the email please include your full name, title of entry, the total number of pages and the font used for the entry (this is to ensure there are no changes during transition).
      Entrants will receive email confirmation for receipt of their entry.
    • Format is not a judged component of the Winter Rose contest. Whether print or electronic, no points are deducted for format infractions.
    • Each entry may only be entered in one category (i.e., you can’t enter the same exact entry in both historical and paranormal). However, you may enter different entries/different categories, with a maximum of TWO entries per entrant, per category. Each entry must have a separate entry form filled out and release signed. This form may be copied. You may send one check/money order payable to Yellow Rose RWA to cover all entry fees. If you’d like to join Yellow Rose, please note that you must fill out a membership application (Membership Form (DOC)) and attach a separate check to cover membership dues.

      •  

    Mail/email entry form and contest fee to: 

    Yellow Rose Romance Writers
    Attn: Winter Rose Contest
    PO Box 975
    Hurst, TX 76053

    Email:
    Contest Chair: Brenda Chtiwood

    Category Coordinators (click on the names for the address):
    Contemporary: Geri Foster
    Historical: Ashley Kath-Bilsky
    Paranormal: Brenda Chitwood
    Romantic suspense: Mary Dickerson
    Young Adult: Ashley Kath-Bilsky

  • Electronic entries are required to be sent via email to Category Coordinator by Midnight CST on January 21, 2012. Payment and entry form also to be received by Contest Chair before accepting contest email entry.
  • NOTE: We must have entry form/release and payment in hand before accepting email entry. You can email a copy of the entry form/release along with a copy of your PayPal receipt or a note stating you’re mailing a check to expedite the process but we must still have the hard copy via regular mail.

    •  

    If you wish to enter and pay via PayPal, please use the button below. 

    Select One
    Author Name
    Title of Book/Entry

    First round entries will be judged by experienced, qualified, or published judges. Golden Heart Winners/Finalists, RWAPRO members are also a large part of our annual judging pool. Yellow Rose cannot guarantee judge commentary will be on every entry, however, we strongly encourage our judges to provide positive, constructive feedback. E-judging and print judging will use same scoring methods, same scoresheet and same pool of judges. The only difference is entry format. 

    Entries will be judged by FOUR (4) first round judges. Lowest score will be dropped to determine final average. Three highest scoring manuscripts will advance to the final round. All judged copies will be returned to non-finalist entrants following finalist announcement. Finalist entries will be returned after winners are announced. 

    Awards

    Grand Prize
    The top scoring manuscript from all five finalist categories receives a partial read from an agent. 

    First Prize
    All First place finalists receive a $50.00 cash prize, a Silver Rose Pendant, a Yellow Rose badge pin, and a certificate.

    Second Prize
    All Second place finalists receive a $25.00 cash prize, a Yellow Rose badge pin and a certificate.

    Third Prize
    All Third place finalists receivea $15.00 cash prize, a Yellow Rose badge pin and a certificate. 

    All Finalists and Winners will be recognized in Romance Writers of America’s RWR. 

    Questions? Email Us!

    Contest Chair
    Brenda Chitwood 

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