Pages From the Heart Contest
Submission period
June 1 – June 30, 2018
Submissions are closed for 2018
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Entry
Electronic entry will be no more than the first 6,000 words of your original, unpublished, and uncontracted work-in-progress or completed manuscript.
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Eligibility
– Published Author: the writer is contracted or published, but the entry itself must not be contracted or published as of June 30, 2018. Self-published authors are welcome. The manuscript must be your original work.
– Unpublished Author: the writer has not accepted a publishing offer for, or self-published, a work of original fictional narrative prose of 20,000 words or more (by June 30, 2018). The manuscript must be your original work.
Pages from the Heart Contest is open to RWA Members only.
Previous winners of the Pages from the Heart contest may not re-enter the same manuscript during the 2018 contest.
All other finalists may enter the same manuscript as they had in previous years.
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Contest Categories
Contemporary Novel – SHORT: (category romance, includes Novel with Strong Romantic Elements) Romantic novels, which may also include sensuality that may or may not be intense. Manuscript is set from 1950 to the present with a projected length between 40,000 and 65,000 words. The end of the book is emotionally satisfying and optimistic.
Contemporary Novel – LONG: (single-title romance, includes Novel with Strong Romantic Elements) Romantic novels, which may also include sensuality that may or may not be intense. Manuscript is set from 1950 to the present with a projected length of more than 65,000 words. The end of the book is emotionally satisfying and optimistic.
Historical Novel: Manuscript is set in any historical time period before 1950, has a strong romantic element throughout, and a projected length of more than 40,000 words. The end of the book is emotionally satisfying and optimistic.
Paranormal/Fantasy/Futuristic/Time Travel Novel: Romantic novels featuring paranormal happenings, a fantasy world, the future, or time travel as an integral part of the plot. Manuscript has a projected length of more than 40,000 words. The end of the book is emotionally satisfying and optimistic.
Romantic Suspense/Mystery Novel: Romantic novels featuring suspense or mystery as an integral part of the plot. Manuscript has a projected length of more than 40,000 words. The end of the book is emotionally satisfying and optimistic.
Young Adult Novel: Romantic novels appropriate for young adult readers. Includes young adult heroes and heroines not exceeding 18 years of age. Manuscript has a projected length of more than 40,000 words. The end of the book is emotionally satisfying and optimistic.
Hero of Our Heart Award: “Hero” means the main love interest of the main character (or protagonist) of the entry, regardless of gender. The author may opt-out of consideration for this award.
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FTHRW reserves the right to cancel a category if an insufficient
number of entries are received, and to limit the total number of contest entries to 150.
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Divisions of the same category may be combined if the number
of entries is insufficient for one of these categories.
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Contemporary-Short and Contemporary-Long may be combined if the number of entries is insufficient for one of these categories.
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Judging
First Round: Three Judges per entry. The lowest score will be dropped, but will be used in case of a tie.
Volunteer to judge our first round!
Second Round: Ranking completed by two professionals in the publishing industry. Scores from both judges will be combined. Highest total score determines each category winner. A comment section will be available for judge feedback, though it is not required.
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FTHRW reserves the right to change a final judge if the initial judge must bow out.
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Second Round Judges
PUBLISHED AUTHOR DIVISION
Published Author – Long Contemporary
Agent: Andrea Cascardi – Transatlantic Agency
Editor: Patience Bloom – Harlequin
Published Author – Short Contemporary
Agent: Erin Niumata – Folio Literary Management
Editor: Alycia Tornetta – Entangled Publishing
Published Author – Historical
Agent: Andrea Somberg – Harvey Klinger, Inc.
Editor: Norma Perez-Hernandez – Kensington Books
Published Author – Paranormal/Fantasy/Futuristic/Time Travel
Agent: Kimberly Brower – Brower Literary
Editor: Mackenzie Walton – Carina Press
Published Author – Romantic Suspense/Mystery
Agent: Dawn Dowdle – Blue Ridge Agency
Editor: Allison Lyons – Harlequin
Published Author – Young Adult
Agent: Laura Bradford – Bradford Literary Agency
Editor: Jennie Conway – St. Martins
UNPUBLISHED AUTHOR DIVISION
Unpublished Author – Long Contemporary
Agent: Michelle Grajkowski – Three Seas Literary Agency
Editor: Stephanie Doig – Carina Press
Unpublished Author – Short Contemporary
Agent: Scott Eagan – Greyhaus Literary Agency
Editor: Susan Grimshaw – Loveswept (Penguin-Random House)
Unpublished Author – Historical
Agent: Pam Victorio – D4EO Literary
Editor: Deborah Gilbert – Soulmate Publishing
Unpublished Author – Paranormal/Fantasy/Futuristic/Time Travel
Agent: Laurie McLean – Fuse Literary
Editor: Laura Costello – Sourcebooks
Unpublished Author – Romantic Suspense/Mystery
Agent: Ann Leslie Tuttle – Dystel, Goderich & Bourret
Editor: Kristine Swartz – Berkley Publishing
Unpublished Author – Young Adult
Agent: Colleen Oefelein – Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency
Editor: Janet Clementz – Soulmate Publishing
HERO OF OUR HEART AWARD
Agent: Cate Hart – Corvisiero Agency
Agent: Carrie Pestritto – Laura Dail Literary Agency
Agent: Jessica Errera – Janet Rostrosen Agency
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Prizes
All prizes are for all categories in both unpublished and published authors’ divisions.
First Place: $30.00 (Payable through Paypal) Website/avatar graphic + printable e-certificate + name in contest winners section of the RWA Report
Second Place: 1-year paid membership to FTHRW + Website/avatar graphic + printable e-certificate + name in contest winners section of the RWA Report.
Third Place: Website/avatar graphic + printable e-certificate + name in contest winners section of the RWA Report.
Honorable Mention Website/avatar graphic + printable e-certificate + name in contest winners section of the RWA Report.
Hero of Our Heart Prize:
First place receives $50 (Payable through Paypal) + name in contest winners section of the RWA Report + and a website/avatar graphic + printable e-certificate. Second through fourth place will receive a website/avatar graphic + printable e-certificate.
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– All finalists’ and winners’ names will be listed on the FTHRW website with a link to one social media site of the writer’s choice.
– All entrants will receive the scoresheets from each judge along with their judged submission, including the dropped score. Judges are encouraged to give additional feedback comments at their discretion.
– Blank First-Round Judging Scoresheet as well as Judging Guidelines are available below so potential entrants can see what’s being evaluated.
– We stay connected to you every step of the way through our Contest News yahoo loop. You will be updated when the contest closes, when Judges have received entries, when Judges have started returning entries, etc.
– Upon exiting the contest, we will encourage feedback from contestants, judges, and other volunteers. We want to provide a contest that YOU want to be a part of!
Important Dates
June 1st: Contest opens for submissions
June 30th: Deadline for submissions 11:59 PM Pacific Time
September 1: Finalists announced
November 6: Winners announced on or before this date.
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Fees
Entry fee: $26 RWA members and $21 for FTHRW members (US funds paid through PayPal on entry form.)
Multiple entries: $16 for subsequent entries (US funds paid through PayPal on entry form.) Please note that each manuscript can only be entered once.
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Formatting:
- Entry must be 6,000 words or less
- Entry must be saved as a .doc file
- Entry must have one-inch margins, first line of paragraphs indented, and is double-spaced or set to have exactly 25 lines per page
- Font is either Times New Roman 12 or 14 or Courier 12
- Header: Title / Division – Category / page number
- Author’s name must NOT appear anywhere on the manuscript and personal information must be cleared from the file. See our FAQ for directions on how to clear your identifying information.
Fill out the Cover Sheet. The Cover Sheet is designed to provide judges with a great deal of information about your entry that will help them to critique/comment in the most objective manner possible. The Cover Sheet also indicates if you want your entry to be considered for the Hero of Our Heart Award. If the Cover Sheet is not filled out, your entry’s hero will not be entered for this award.
You must send the cover sheet and your entry as two separate files. Please attach the cover sheet to the same email you use to attach the entry.
Please see our FAQ page for guidelines on how to format using some versions of Microsoft Word.
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How to Submit: SUBMISSIONS ARE CLOSED THIS YEAR
There is a three-step submission:
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1. Submit the electronic entry form beginning June 1.
Please fill out one form for each entry. See links to forms below.
For second and third entries, etc., choose the “Additional Entry” option in the paypal drop down menu.
2. Download the Cover Sheet and fill it out.
3. The ENTRY and Cover Sheet must be emailed as two separate attachments to the correct category coordinator right after you submit your entry form and pay the entry fee through paypal.
Please use the following subject line:
FTH Contest Entry – Title / Category
example: PFTH Contest Entry – Fifty Shades of Lust / PA-Hist
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Email to the following address:
Published Author Division
PA-Hist@fthrw.com
PA-LongCntp@fthrw.com
PA-Para@fthrw.com
PA-ShortCntp@fthrw.com
PA-Susp@fthrw.com
PA-YA@fthrw.com
Unpublished Division
UA-Hist@fthrw.com
UA-LongCntp@fthrw.com
UA-Para@fthrw.com
UA-ShortCntp@fthrw.com
UA-Susp@fthrw.com
UA-YA@fthrw.com
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Would you like to become a Judge?
2018 PFTH Judging Guidelines and Application
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Would you like to see a copy of our scoresheets?
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Questions?
Click Here! Frequently Asked Questions
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Please note: All judges’ decisions are not the responsibility of the contest coordinators.
All decisions are final.
Errors or omissions stand.
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Disclaimer: The rules on this web page as of June 1, 2018, override any previous rules.