Pages From the Heart Contest
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Electronic entry will be no more than the first 6,000 words of your original, unpublished, and uncontracted work-in-progress or completed manuscript..
Eligibility
The Pages of the Heart contest is open to all authors who have not accepted a publishing offer for, or self-published, a work of original fictional narrative prose of 20,000 or more (by August 1, 2019) in the genre they are entering. The manuscript must be your original work. Authors who have previously been published may enter if they have not been contracted or published in the last three years (has not been published or contracted since August 1, 2016)
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.
Please note: 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. Contemporary-Short and Contemporary-Long may be combined if the number of entries is insufficient for one of these categories.
Judging
First Round: Three Judges per entry.
Read our judging guidelines here.
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.
FTHRW reserves the right to change a final judge if the initial judge must bow out.
Second Round Judges
Long Contemporary
Agent: Scott Eagan – Greyhaus Literary Agency
Editor: Stephanie Doig – Carina Press
Short Contemporary
Agent: Michelle Grajkowski – Three Seas Literary Agency
Editor: Carly Silver – Harlequin
Historical
Editor: Erin Molta – Entangled Publishing
Editor: Sue Moore Brown – Dreamspinner Press
Paranormal/Fantasy/Futuristic/Time Travel
Editor: Lexi Small – Forever Yours (GrandCentral)
Editor: Mary Altman – Sourcebooks
Romantic Suspense/Mystery
Agent: Dawn Doddle – Blue Ridge Literary Agency
Editor: Allison Lyons – Harlequin
Young Adult
Editor: Jenny Silver – Tule
Editor: Jenny Conway – St. Martin’s Press
HERO OF OUR HEART AWARD
Editor: Char Chaffin – Soulmate Publishing
Editor: Dana Grimaldi – Harlequin
.
Prizes
All winners will receive a Website/avatar graphic, certificate & name in contest winners section of the RWA Report
First Place: Full edit of manuscript.
Long Contemporary – Full edit by Catherine Arguelles
Short Contemporary – Full edit by Happily Editing Anns
Historical – – Full edit by Jeni Chappelle Editorial
Romantic Suspense – Full edit content edit with a 30 minute Skype consultation by Liana Brooks
Paranormal/Sci-Fi – Full edit by Megan Records
Young Adult – Full edit by Beth Lake, Create Input Editing Service
Hero of the Heart – Edits of first 6000 words or blurb by Crazy Diamond Editing
Second Place: Choice of:
Copy edit of 1st 3 chapters of entered manuscript (6000 max) by Liz Dempsey – The Error Eliminator
Copy edit of 1st 3 chapters of entered manuscript (6000 max) by Reina – Rickrack Books
Copy edit of 1st 3 chapters of entered manuscript (6000 max) by Holly Atkinson at Evil Eye Editing.
Full edit of 1st 3 chapters of entered manuscript (6000 max) by Bettye-Lynn at Red Pen Edits by BLU
Full edit of 1st 3 chapters of entered manuscript (6000 max) by Happily Editing Anns
Free “A What-to Course for Author Newletters” including 30 minute consultation call by Heather Duff at Newsletter Craft
Website Evaluation with actionable Tips for Improvement by Heather Duff at Newsletter Craft
Third Place: Mentorship/consultation with a From the Heart RWA PAN author. *Winners will be given a list of authors in their genre to choose from.
OR Free 1 year membership to FTHRW, which includes free workshops, support groups!
Why should I enter the Pages From the Heart Contest?
–All entrants and judges are invited to participate in our webinar “Inside the Mind of a Contest Judge” to help understand how to polish your manuscript for entering and/or judging your entry.
– 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. 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.
– 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
August 1st: Contest opens for submissions
August 31st: Deadline for submissions 11:59 PM Pacific Time
November 1st: Finalists announced
January 1: Winners announced on or before this date..
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.
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.
How to Submit:
There is a three-step submission:
- Submit your entry form for the category you wish to enter by clicking the link below. After hitting submit, it will direct you to paypal.
Please fill out one form for each entry. For second and third entries, etc., choose the “Additional Entry” option in the paypal drop down menu.
UA – Long Contemporary Category
UA – Short Contemporary Category
UA – Historical Romance Category
UA – Romantic Suspense Category
UA – Paranormal/Sci-Fi Category
- Download the Cover Sheet and fill it out.
- Email the entry (not to exceed 6000 words) and Cover Sheet as two separate attachments to the correct category coordinator.
Please use the following subject line: FTH Contest Entry – Title / Category
example: PFTH Contest Entry – Fifty Shades of Lust / Hist
Email to the following address:
UA-Hist@fthrw.com
UA-LongCntp@fthrw.com
UA-Para@fthrw.com
UA-ShortCntp@fthrw.com
UA-Susp@fthrw.com
UA-YA@fthrw.com
Would you like to become a Judge?
Read the judging guidelines here. Fill out an application.
Would you like to see a copy of our scoresheets?
First Round Score Sheet
Questions?
Click Here! Frequently Asked Questions
Please note: All judges’ decisions are not the responsibility of the contest coordinators.
All decisions are final.
Errors or omissions stand.
Disclaimer: The rules on this web page as of August 1, 2019, override any previous rules.