2013 First Crime Novel Competition

PLEASE NOTE: I will not be posting the winner here--this is strictly a post letting people know about the opportunity to enter the contest.

So many great competitions this season! Minotaur Books and Mystery Writers of America have opened the 2013 First Crime Novel Competition for submissions.

And they've made an important, 21st century change in their guidelines: they're now accepting electronic submissions! They used to make you mail in an application to get the mailing address for your reader, and that just made it unnecessarily complicated.

What else do you need to know?

• Deadline is December 17
• Must be at least 18
• Must be an unpublished author
• "Murder or another serious crime or crimes is at the heart of the story"
• You must agree to their standard "boilerplate" contract

Full details are at the links above, and good luck if you enter!

PLEASE NOTE: I will not be posting the winner here--this is strictly a post letting people know about the opportunity to enter the contest.

Minoutaur Books First Crime Novel Competition

Minotaur Books, along with the Mystery Writers Association, is once again running a First Crime Novel competition.

There is no entry fee, but there is an extra step of requesting an entry form by sending an e-mail to MB-MWAFirstCrimeNovelCompetition@StMartins.com, with the following information:
Name of Entrant:
Manuscript Title:
Address:
Phone:

All requests for entry forms must be received by Minotaur Books by email by November 15, 2011. DO NOT SEND MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSIONS TO MINOTAUR BOOKS.

Each entrant will receive an entry form by email containing the address of the judge to whom he or she will send (by regular mail or next-business-day delivery service) his or her manuscript. Entries must be postmarked no later than November 30, 2011 and received by judges no later than December 15, 2011. Winners will be notified March 31, 2011.

The winning entrant will receive an "offer to enter into its standard form author's agreement with the entrant for publication of the winning Manuscript. After execution of the standard form author's agreement by both parties, the winner will receive an advance against future royalties of $10,000. On the condition that the selected winner accepts and executes the publishing contract proposed by Minotaur Books, the winner will then be recognized at the Edgar Awards Banquet in New York City in April 2012."

So if you are an unpublished author over the age of 18, here's your chance at a publishing contract! Good luck to those who enter!