Erato GLBT is proud to announce our first ever fiction contest! Open to all GLBT fiction, the Orpheus Fiction Contest gives all writers a chance to skip the slush pile and go for the grand prize of a two book deal with Musa Publishing!
At Musa, we believe in finding the best stories, no matter where they might come from. And in that spirit, the Orpheus Fiction Contest is open to all genres; speculative fiction, romance, YA, literary and more. This contest is for our GLBT imprint, so your main character(s) must be somewhere in the spectrum, but other than that, show us what you’ve got!
What makes the Orpheus Fiction Contest different from other contests is that you, our readers, writers, and friends get to pick which manuscripts the judges will read. Here’s how it works:
Stages
- First Round – Queries
- Second Round – First three chapters or 50 pages
- Final Round – Full MS
Contest Dates
- Contest to be announced: February 7, 2012
- Open for Entries: February 28-March 8, 2012
- First Round Voting: March 12-19, 2012
- Second Round Judging: March 22-29, 2012
- Final Round Judging: April 2-10, 2012
- Winners announced: April 16, 2012
Prizes
- First place – a two book deal with Musa
- Second place – a one book deal with Musa
- Third place – full critique by Musa Editorial Director
- Honorable Mentions – first chapter critique and $10 Musa gift card
Rules
- You must be at least 18 years old to enter. Under 18, please see out our quarterly Young Adult Writing Contest at Euterpe
- Entries will be deemed ineligible if they have content on Musa’s do not publish list or have been previously turned down for publication by Musa
- Plagiarism is grounds for immediate disqualification
- Entrants cannot be staff, contracted writers (past or present) with Musa, or immediate family thereof. Writers who have only participated in a Musa anthology are still eligible to enter
- Entries must be previously unpublished works
- Entries must be at least 20,000 words in length, formatted according to Musa’s submission guidelines
- Entries must be GLBT fiction
- Sample chapters and complete manuscript must be for the originally queried story
- Limit two (2) entries per person
Voting and Judging
First Round Voting: Open voting to general public to be on https://vote.heliosvoting.org/. At the end of the voting period, the top ten (ten) entries will be moved on to the second round.
One vote per person. Multiple votes from single individuals will be disqualified.
If a contestant is proven to be guilty of, or encouraging, first round ballot stuffing, the entry becomes invalid.
In the event of a tie in the first round, the top twelve (12) contestants will be forwarded to round two.
If a contestant fails to respond to a request for second round materials (first three chapters or fifty pages, whichever is greater) by 12:01 AM, March 21, 2012, they will be marked as voluntarily withdrawn from the contest and a runner-up will be selected
Second Round judging: In the event of a 10-entry semi-final, the panel of three judges will each choose five (5) entries to “save” for the final round. The five (5) entries with the most “saves” will continue onwards. If there is a 12-entry semi-final, six (6) entries will be selected and saved for the final round.
In the event of a tie in the second round, the entry that received the greater number of popular votes in round one will be sent to the final round.
If a contestant fails to respond to a request for final round materials (full manuscript) by 12:01 AM EST, March 31, 2012, they will be marked as voluntarily withdrawn from the contest and a runner-up will be selected.
Final round judging: Full manuscripts will be scored by each judge based on plot, technical proficiency, characterization, conflict, and overall story. Each category will have a maximum score of 5 (five) points, for a total maximum score of twenty-five (25) points from each of the three judges. The total final score of no greater than seventy-five (75) points will be the final score.
In the event of a tie in the final round, up to two (2) entries may share a winning position. If the tie is between three (3) or more entries, an outside judge will be brought in to break the tie.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
For inquiries: submissions@musapublishing.com
Website: http://erato-glbt.blogspot.com
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