2010 GOLDEN ROSE CONTEST
Contest Rules and Information
June 1st to August 7th, 2010
Download A Copy of the Rules and Information
Click Here for the Online Entry Form
Download The Score Sheet
June 1st to August 7th, 2010
The Golden Rose is one of the few contests that allows entrants a high submission page count. Since most agents and editors request partials with a query, our contest affords the best opportunity for a real-world critique for your potential submission. Many of our finalists receive requests from the final judges and many of those have gone on to secure agents and publishing contracts. In addition, all entrants receive:
- Three comprehensive critiques from the first round judges. Judges are highly encouraged to make detailed, constructive comments explaining their scores.
- Score sheets are returned to entrants in time for them to revise manuscripts before the Golden Heart entry deadline, allowing you time to polish your entry based on informed feedback before you enter.
- Category finalists get one week after notification of status to review their entries before they are sent to the final round judges thereby increasing the potential of a full request.
- First Place Winners in each category will be offered a free chapter membership. In addition each first place winner will receive a one-of-a-kind handcrafted rose pendant necklace.
- All finalists receive a beautiful certificate they can proudly show off their placing as well as a lovely banner for their websites.
- Winners will be announced on the RCRW website and in the Romance Writers Report (RWR).
- The top score overall wins a gorgeous, gold-plated American Beauty rose.
Submission Deadline: August 7th 2010 Midnight PST
CATEGORIES & FINAL ROUND JUDGES
Contemporary Series – Susan Litman, Editor, Harlequin
Single Title Contemporary – Megan Records, Editor, Kensington
Historical – Emmanuelle Alspaugh, Agent, Judith Ehrlich Literary Management
Paranormal, Fantasy, and Futuristic – Alexandra Machinist, Agent, Linda Chester Literary Agency
Romantic Suspense – Kristin Sevick, Editor, Tor
Young Adult – Andrea Somberg, Agent, Harvey Klinger, Inc.
Novel w/Strong Romantic Elements - Amberly Finarelli, Agent, Andrea Hurst & Associates
ELIGIBILITY
The contest is open to all writers of romantic fiction (RWA and non-RWA members) unpublished in book-length fiction (40,000 words or more) in the last three (3) years. RCRW recognizes e-books and print-on-demand books as published. The term 'published' includes all non-vanity, non-subsidy publishers. Entrants must have retained all rights to their entry and not have granted any rights to a publisher or other party by the contest entry deadline.
Entries must be a full-length novel with a projected length greater than 50,000 words, no novellas or short stories. The projected final word count should be appropriate to the target line or publisher (see publishers’ websites for their guidelines.)
Previous first place winners may not re-enter the winning entry, even in edited format. They may, however, enter another work. Previous 2nd and 3rd place entries will be accepted, revision encouraged.
If your manuscript is accepted for publication during the time of our contest (June 1, 2010 through December 15, 2010), you must notify the Contest Coordinators. Your submission(s) will be withdrawn from consideration and your entry fee(s) refunded.
While not required, all entries should be part of a completed manuscript. Finalists have often received requests for the full manuscript.
The author’s name may not appear anywhere on the manuscript or synopsis.
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2009 Contest Finalists
2008 Contest Winners
2007 Contest Winners
Winner's Experiences
"I owe a lot to this chapter and the 2009 Golden Rose contest. Winning the contest introduced me to my agent. I can still barely believe it, but she negotiated with my editor ('my Editor', I love saying that), and my winning YA novel, PULL, will be published and in bookstores October 2010!"
Barbara Binns w/a B. A. Binns
First Place, 2009 Golden Rose - YA
Selling my debut book, Romancing the Storm, to Harlequin American Romance was the fulfillment of a life-long dream. I believe that taking First Place in the Golden Rose Contest played a huge part in making that sale happen. I know a lot of writers weigh the importance of entering contests, but I'm not one of them. I’m convinced that a contest win is a milestone on the road to publication, especially when the win comes in a contest as prestigious as the Golden Rose.
Lee Rhuday Duncan (Leigh Duncan) First Place, 2007 Golden Rose Series Contemporary
"The Rose City, Golden Rose was a career making contest for me. I was a triple finalist, a double winner, with two editor requests for full manuscripts. Five months and two revisions later, I sold 'Lily In Wonderland' to the final editor judge from Ellora's Cave. Well done Rose City for helping one writer bloom."
~ Kelly Fitzpatrick
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ENTRY FEE
- Multiple entries from one writer must each have a separate entry form and fee.
- $30 for RCRW chapter members
- $35 for non-RCRW chapter members
- $50 for non-RWA/non-RCRW entrants.
- You may pay by check or PayPal. PayPal payments include an additional $1.50 charge to cover the PayPal fees. If you're paying by credit card, you can do so once you submit your entry form. It will pass you through to Paypal. On the Paypal page, if you don't see the credit card form, look for – “Don't have a PayPal account? Use your credit card or bank account (where available)” then click on “Continue.”
- To pay by check, please print a copy of the form to send with your check THEN SUBMIT THE FORM ELECTRONICALLY SO WE HAVE YOUR ENTRY IN OUR DATABASE. Make checks, in the appropriate amount, payable to Rose City Romance Writers and mail the form and check to:
RCRW 2010 Golden Rose Contest
c/o Donna Keihle
2184 NE Village Court
McMinnvile OR 97128
ENTRY FORMATTING
Your entry must include:
- A signed Entry Form/Entrant’s Agreement. (by both entrants if work is co-authored) with entrant’s given name, not pen name, submitted electronically whether paying by check or PayPal.
- We accept up to 50 pages max. A prologue may be included with the first chapter as long as the total entry does not exceed 50 pages. Any manuscript submitted beyond the allowed maximum pages will not be read and the entry fee will not be refunded. This year the only acceptable file format is .rtf and your file must be named the same as your entry name. Manuscripts the coordinators cannot open will be returned. If a properly formatted entry is not resubmitted by the contest deadline, the entry will be disqualified and the entry fee will not be refunded. To convert your file to RTF, open the document, go to “File”, click on “Save As” and choose RTF format. This will create a new document with the same title in RTF format.
- Entry fee receipt or confirmation of payment. Send as an attachment to your email along with your manuscript submission.
- This year we are also accepting an optional one-page single spaced synopsis that will not be judged. It is for the judge’s reference only. Title your synopsis, Synopsis for “Name of Work”, and attach it as a separate RTF document to your email. A maximum of a 2 page synopsis will be requested if you final; however it will not be judged either.
Format Entry as follows:
- 8.5 x 11 paper
- 1-inch margins
- Double spaced
- Standard font (Courier or Times New Roman 12)
- Header on each page must include title, category and page number only. If the name of the author(s) appears anywhere on the manuscript, the entry will be disqualified and the entry fee will not be refunded.
- Chapter headers begin approximately 1/3 down the page.
HOW TO ENTER
- Submit your entry form electronically.
- Send your payment receipt and up to 50 manuscript pages in electronic form to the appropriate category coordinator:
Series = Mary Stepec = GR-series@rosecityromancewriters.com
YA = Meredith Clark = GR-ya@rosecityromancewriters.com
Romantic Suspense = Lori Hoskins = GR-romanticsuspense@rosecityromancewriters.com
Paranormal = Cathryn Cade = GR-paranormal@rosecityromancewriters.com
Single Title Contemporary = Heather Hiestand = GR-singletitle@rosecityromancewriters.com
Novel with Strong Romantic Elements = Lynda Aicher = GR-novelsre@rosecityromancewriters.com
Histocial = Sarah MacDermed = GR-historical@rosecityromancewriters.com
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Please put GR Entry, your full name, and the title of your book in the subject line. (i.e., GR Entry - Your Full Name - My Mamma Makes Me Mad). This will help prevent your email from getting lost or eaten by spam filters.
- You may submit multiple entries as long as you pay an entry fee and submit a completed entry form for each submission, under separate email. You may NOT enter the same manuscript in more than one category.
Any questions, contact your Contest Coordinators goldenrose@rosecityromancewriters.com or Mae Pen at maepen30@yahoo.com.
JUDGING
First Round
All entries will be read and scored by three trained judges, at least one of which will be a published author or RWA-PRO. The final score will be the sum total of all three scores.
FINAL ROUND JUDGES
Finalist Round
The top three manuscripts in each category will be forwarded to the finalist judges for ranking (first, second, third). In the case of a tie, no more than five (5) entries will be forwarded to the finalist judges. If necessary, ties will be broken by averaging in the third (lowest) score from the first round
Finalists will have the opportunity, FOR ONE WEEK ONLY, to edit your manuscript based on the preliminary comments, before your manuscript is sent to the final judges.
Note: RCRW reserves the right to discard all electronic entries and return fees if a minimum of seven (7) entries are not received in any category. Entrants will be contacted before the entries are returned and given the option to place their entry in another category.
FINALIST NOTIFICATION
Finalists will be notified via e-mail or phone by October 11th, 2010. Finalists will have 1 week to fix their entries and return, along with a 1-2 page synopsis, to Contest Coordinators (by October 18th, 2010). Once all finalists have been notified, all other entrants will have their critiqued entries returned via e-mail.
Winners will be notified on or before December 6th, 2010, via a phone call or by e-mail.
CATEGORIES
For contest purposes:
- A novel is typically over 40,000 words. Many contemporary single title publishers expect novels of over 80,000 words.
- Series is defined as those books issued under a common imprint/series name, which are usually numbered sequentially and released at regular intervals, usually monthly, with the same number of releases each time.
- All categories may have varying levels of sensuality, ranging from sweet to erotic. Please be sure to check the appropriate box on your entry form regarding the level of your entry’s (not your complete manuscript’s) level of sensuality.
CONTEMPORARY SERIES ROMANCE
Romances that target series romance publishers (Harlequin, Silhouette) and focus primarily on the romantic relationship. The finished manuscript should meet the target line’s specific requirements for length, sensuality, and subject matter.
CONTEMPORARY SINGLE TITLE
Romance novels set after 1945 that focus primarily on the romantic relationship and are released as individual titles. Single Title romances are typically not shorter than 85,000 words.
HISTORICAL (prior to 1945)
Romance novels set in time periods prior to 1945. Manuscripts targeting both single title historical publishers and series publishers (e.g., Harlequin Historical) should be entered into this category.
MAINSTREAM WITH STRONG ROMANTIC ELEMENTS
A work of fiction in which a romance plays a strong role in the story, but other themes or elements take the plot beyond the traditional romance boundaries (e.g., women’s fiction or chick lit, could also be urban fantasy). In this category, the heroine and hero may not meet for the first fifteen (15) pages or so.
PARANORMAL, FANTASY, and FUTURISTIC
Romances with paranormal, fantasy, futuristic, steampunk and supernatural elements. Entries targeting paranormal series romance lines (e.g., Silhouette Nocturne) may be entered in either this category or the contemporary series romance, but not both.
ROMANTIC SUSPENSE
Romance novels in which suspense, mystery, or thriller elements constitute an integral part of the plot. Entries targeting series romance lines that include suspense elements (e.g., Silhouette Romantic Suspense, Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense, Harlequin Intrigue) may be entered in either this category or the contemporary series romance, but not both.
YOUNG ADULT
Romance novels or novels with strong romantic elements where the protagonists are young adults or teen. Entries targeting both single title young adult publishers and series lines with a young adult audience (e.g., Harlequin Teen) should be entered in this category.
