Sure, contests come and go, but this is a brand new one, it’s cheap to enter, it’s being held by a prestigious organization, and here’s the best part—the judges are such stars it would be an honor to have them even set eyes on your manuscript!
It’s the first annual contest to be held by the National Women’s Book Association, for fiction and poetry, and it’s about time. “After years of celebrating published authors, outstanding book women, and others in the field, we’ve decided it’s time to celebrate emerging authors,” said the press release. And so, say we (that is to say, me), should every writers’ organization. These groups are really a new writer’s best chance to find mentors and supporters and to me, that should be built into our agendas. I joined this group because of its deep interest in literacy and I consider supporting new writers part of that effort.
Okay, cat out of bag—I’m not only a member, I’m on the contest committee. Which is one reason I’m so proud of having such outstanding judges: Valerie Martin for fiction, and Julie Kane for poetry. Valerie is the author of nine novels, three story collections, and a biography, and winner of the Kafka Prize and the Orange Prize. A nice trivia point: her fine novel, MARY REILLY, was adapted for a film starring Julia Roberts. If you haven’t read her, you’re missing a treat. If she picks your short story as the winner, you won’t need to do anything else in life to feel good about yourself.
The poetry Judge, Julie Kane, is the author of no less than three volumes of poetry,
plus three other books, and is Louisiana’s poet laureate. A sitting poet laureate! Who
could be reading your poetry. Even poets have websites these days—visit Julie here.
It’s only $10 to enter if you’re a WNBA member and $15 if you’re not. That covers three poems or one short story. The cash prize is $250, plus publication in the Bookwoman, WNBA’s highly regarded national publication. Multiple submissions more than welcome! (The money goes to scholarships to writing conferences.) You’ve got until November 1st, but the sooner the better: Enter here!