Smoke City Narrators' Novel Pitch & 1st Five Pages Contest
Our 2009 contest received entries from 24 states, an excellent turnout for a contest's first year. Congratulations to all our winners and honorary mentions!
NEW RULES: Please read the rules carefully for our next contest because there will be several changes. The 2010 contest will be open internationally, as long as the entries are written in English. Entries others than the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners in the 2009 contest may enter the same novel -- if the first five pages have been revised beyond the level of pushing commas around. However, each writer may enter only one novel. The deadline and complete rules TBA.
JUDGES' COMMENTS: Although we didn't originally plan to provide comments from the judges, we changed our minds after receiving so many good entries that needed a few revisions to make them great stories. We sent the first ten semifinalists specific pro and con remarks. Below we summarized the best comments on the winners, and gave general suggestions on how to improve the other entries. We hope this will help writers find success when entering future contests or submitting their fiction for publication.
Final Judge - Author, Cindy Dyson:
Both of the top two
winners had compelling voices.
The author of SECOND CHANCES made great
word choices for their descriptions and nicely mixed scene setting,
character introduction and action.
CHIN LEE'S PLACE employed visceral
details and characters with unexpected subtlety in a
play
on classic detective novels with a nice twist.
The third place winner used great imagery to heighten
tension. The plot and main character in The BODY of HELEN feel fresh,
unique.
===============================================
Many of the semifinalists I didn't rate had competent writing, but no voice, nothing
unexpected or compelling. A couple had voices but were so unfocused, not
putting that voice to any use I could detect. In some, nothing of import
happened. I would encourage the writers who didn't rate
to:
1. Be more fearless with writing personality into
your prose. Give a narrator who has a voice, a way of looking at the
world, an attitude that is unique.
2. Tame your strengths. If you're great at moody description, make
the most of it by using it in calculated ways.
3. Consider starting somewhere else. Experiment with starting other
places, feeding any info we need into subsequent chapters. I think
everyone should try this before deciding on a final placement of scenes. Take a scene from chapter two and imagine it as the opening scene. Imagine
what would change. Try this with several possible scenes. Time is
just a plaything in a story.
NOVEL PITCH & 1ST FIVE PAGES CONTEST ~ 2009 WINNERS
1st Place - $150: SECOND CHANCES …… Theresa J. GRANT …… Newaygo, MI Pitch: Four dead girls, three years in hiding, two men with secrets; for forensic anthropologist Jo Birch, one second chance.
2nd Place - $75: CHIN LEE'S PLACE …… Vance H. WHITE …… Niceville, FL Pitch: Reporter Robert Gage turns detective in this hardboiled thriller set in San Francisco on the eve of World War II.
3rd Place - $40: The BODY of HELEN …… Tracy KORETSKY …… Berkeley, CA
2009 Honorary Mentions
HM #1: MY NAME IS SADIA …… Erika Dusen TAMINDZIJA …… Arlington Heights, IL Pitch: A young slave navigates the 16th century Islamic World and struggles to regain her family.
HM #2: IN the SHADOW of the LONE STAR …… B. J. BATEMAN …… Damascus, OR Pitch: In 1938 Texas, a runaway white girl finds work and love in a colored nightclub, cultivating friendships and inciting violence.
HM #3: The THIRD STEP …… Ginger MARCINKOWSKI …… Pella, IA Pitch: Two countries, two rivers, and her father's funeral cause a woman to confront the incestuous past that's haunted her life.
HM #4: KILLING RABBITS …… Mary Ann KOHENSKEY …… Maryland Heights, MO Pitch: Joe Detrie runs away from an abusive family but returns to rescue his younger brother and kill their father.
2009 SEMIFINALISTS - Alphabetically By Title
The BODY of HELEN …… Theresa J. GRANT …… Newaygo, MI
CHIN LEE'S PLACE …… Vance H. WHITE …… Niceville, FL
The END of ALL ROADS …… Jan Rider NEWMAN …… Lake Charles, LA
The FIRST YEAR …… Kelli B. HAYWOOD …… Litt Carr, KY
IN and OUT of MADNESS …… Delores "Dee" JORDAN (as N. L. Snowden) …… Mobile, AL
IN the SHADOW of the LONE STAR …… B. J. BATEMAN …… Damascus, OR
The INVISIBLE VAMPIRE …… C. Allan BUTKUS …… Ash Flat, AR
KILLING RABBITS …… Mary Ann KOHENSKEY …… Maryland Heights, MO
LETTERS from the DEAD …… Mary Ann KOHENSKEY …… Maryland Heights, MO
MY NAME IS SADIA …… Erika Dusen TAMINDZIJA …… Arlington Heights, IL
NO LIFE but THIS …… Frank CARDEN …… Las Cruces NM
RISEN …… Michael J. LaMARCHE …… St. Peters, MO
SECOND CHANCES …… Theresa GRANT …… Newaygo, MI
SHADOWS of the COMANCHE …… Pat Capps MAHAFFEY …… Weatherford, TX
SOMEWHERE HOME …… Kelli B. HAYWOOD …… Litt Carr, KY
The SOUND of INK …… Alison KLESMAN …… Gainesville, FL
THICK and THIN …… Elizabeth BARTON …… Chicago, IL
The THIRD STEP …… Ginger MARCINKOWSKI …… Pella, IA
NOVEL PITCH and 1ST FIVE PAGES CONTEST
SPONSORED BY SMOKE CITY NARRATORS
DEADLINE: September 9, 2009 EXTENDED to SATURDAY OCTOBER 17, 2009
We're pleased to announce our2009 Contest Judge: Cindy Dyson, author of THE LAST QUERY: A New Approach to Crafting a Novel Query Letter. Dyson shows how-to hone in on the most intriguing qualities of your novel and your life, even if you lack writing credits, and shape them into a unique query.
Her query letter hooked Agent Marly Rusoff, who sold Dyson's first novel, AND SHE WAS, to Harper Collins.
Dyson's nonfiction credits include numerous magazine articles, five nonfiction YA books and three literary biographies in Harold Bloom's BioCritiques college library series. She grew up in Alaska and now lives in Montana, where she's working on her second novel. Learn more about her and her writing process on these websites:
In SCN's contest, every entry wins. A deadline, especially one that rewards effort and talent with cash, often motivates writers to take the next step in the publishing process.
Many industry professionals decide to reject, request the complete manuscript, or make an offer within the first few pages of a novel. Agent Noah Lukeman explains why in THE FIRST FIVE PAGES: A Writer's Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection Pile.
A short and snappy synopsis that reveals the heart of the story, especially when rendered in the tone, style or voice of the novel, can hook an agent. Some agents have used that descriptive sentence to pitch the book to editors and land a publishing contract.
Shrinking a novel into one sentence sounds daunting but it's not impossible. TV Guide does it daily. Turning readers into life-long fans with just five pages may sound even harder. Yet debut authors accomplish that every year.
We hope you use this contest's deadline to create a killer query packet and advance your writing career. Due to the subjective nature of story-telling, entries that miss the final cut may still appeal to the agent or editor of your dreams.
RULES: Contest open to residents of the United States, with the exception of members of Smoke City Narrators. Entries must be original and unpublished (includes Internet). Multiple entries OK but only one prize awarded to any winner.
Submit: Two copies of each entry in standard manuscript format: Double-spaced, 1-inch margins, 12 pt. font, Courier New or Times New Roman.
* First five pages of a novel, 1,500 words max.
* One-sentence pitch for the novel (mini-synopsis), 20 words max.
* $8 fee for each entry.
Enclose a separate cover page containing only: Novel Title, Author's Name, Snail Mail Address, Phone Number and E-mail Address.
At the top of the first page of the manuscript, include: Novel Title, Word Count for the First Five Pages, Pitch and its Word Count. Number the pages but DO NOT show author's name anywhere on the manuscript.
Make checks or money orders payable to: Janice Wiley-Dorn. Send contest entries and fees to:
Janice Wiley-Dorn, SCN Contest Director P. O. Box 1031 Pell City, AL 35125
NOTE: For delivery confirmation (optional), please include a self-addressed stamped postcard (SASP). To receive a List of Winners, please include a #10 self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE).
Prize winners and Honorable Mentions will receive a certificate of merit and may have their novel pitch posted (optional) on the website of Smoke City Narrators and on the blog, PUBLISHED NOVELIST: Are We There Yet? Authors retain all rights because novel pages will not be published.
*Rule violations will result in disqualification, and entry fees will not be returned.*