Contests

First Kiss Contest (Go to Bean Pot Contest)

We are pleased to announce the finalists in the First Kiss Contest!

Congratulations!

‘Til There Was You by Elle Twifold, Baltimore, MD

Nothing Left to Lose but Me by Lynn Lindquist, Batavia, IL

The Lavender Trail by Cindy Thompson, Thunder Bay, ON Canada

How to Divorce a Vampire by Mimi Jean, Pleasant Hill, CA

The Fire Walkers by Shelley N. Greene, Columbia, MD

Encore by Bobbi Ruggiero, North Easton, MA

These entries will be sent along to Patience Smith from Harlequin by the first week in January for Judging!

Good Luck to all!

Send us the scene from your book where your couple first kisses. The scene should convey the emotion and romantic conflict between the characters, sparkle with creative dialogue, description, and characterization, and move the story forward. As one of our authors said, “Good kiss scenes are essentially emotional discoveries. The first kiss brings a new closeness… but also a new set of complications.”

FIRST PRIZE: $50.00 or FREE registration to the New England Chapter’s “LET YOUR IMAGINATION TAKE FLIGHT” Conference (2011 value: $209.00), to be held in April 2012. (Not including hotel, transportation or conference extras.)

SECOND PRIZE: $35.OO

THIRD PRIZE: $25.00

Entries will be scored by one published author and one qualified, unpublished judge. Score sheets and marked manuscript pages will be returned to entrants.

The final judge is Patience Smith, Senior Editor, Silhouette Romantic Suspense at Harlequin, will judge six finalists.

Click here to download entry form.

Click here to download First Kiss Contest Rules and Information.

Click here to download sample score sheet.

Deadline:

Entries must be emailed by October 1, 2011.

Instructions:

Scene should be 10 pages maximum plus 1 set-up page. Use standard manuscript format, double-spaced, 1-inch margins top and bottom.
Set-up page: On a separate page, set up the scene to inform judges what has happened prior to the first kiss scene. It may be helpful to state conflict and setting of your story. Use standard format as explained above. Note: This is not a synopsis but rather an aid to help judges understand what has led up to the First Kiss.
It is preferable to number pages as they would appear in your manuscript.
NO author’s name may appear on any manuscript or set-up pages. Include story title, page number, and manuscript category.
Return of first round, judged entries should be approximately December 15 (based on return from judges).

Judging:

Judges will consist of at least one published author.
Judges will be encouraged to insert comments directly on manuscript and will complete a score sheet identifying strengths and weaknesses of your scene.
In the event of a difference of 30 points or more in the entrants scores, and if that point spread would keep an entrant out of the final round, a third judge will score the entry and the highest two scores will then be used.
Final Judge: The final judge is Patience Smith, Senior Editor, Silhouette Romantic Suspense at Harlequin, will judge six finalists.

Rules:

Entrants must be unpublished in book-length fiction.
All entrants must send an application form along with their entry.
The contest may be canceled if less than 25 entries are received by October 1.
Past finalists and winners may enter but with a different scene.
Entrants do not need to be a member of RWA®.

What to send:

Set up page and manuscript to be submitted in rich text format.
NO author name on pages: One set-up page and the First Kiss Scene. Manuscript will be electronically marked up by judges.
Type in your name and date the entry form. This will constitute your acceptance to the Entry Agreement.

Fees:

Fee: $25.00 for each entry, $20.00 for NEC members, Outside U.S. $28.00.

Deadline: Entries must be emailed by October 1, 2011.

Bean Pot Contest for Published Authors (Go to First Kiss Contest)

We are pleased to announce the finalists and winners in the 2012 New England Readers’ Choice Bean Pot Award
(In alphabetical order)

**NEC Member

SHORT CONTEMPORARY
1st Place **The Heart of a Hero – Barbara Wallace
2nd Place A Rancher’s Pride – Barbara White Daille
3rd Place The Daddy Catch – Leigh Duncan

HISTORICAL
1st Place **Promise Me Forever – Diane Amos
2nd Place In the Barrister’s Chambers – Tina Gabrielle
3rd Place More Than a Mistress – Ann Lethbridge

ROMANTIC SUSPENSE
1st Place **Fatal Consequences – Marie Force
2nd Place Deadly Descent – Kaylea Cross
3rd Place Edge of Daybreak – Jannifer Hoffman

EROTIC
1st Place The Closer You Get – LA Witt
2nd Place Take Me Away – Tina Donahue
3rd Place Bastian, The Lords of Satyr – Elizabeth Amber

FUTURISTIC; FANTASY; PARANORMAL OR TIME TRAVEL
1st Place Memories of Murder – Lara Nance
2nd Place Dyad Love – Ann Hinnenkamp
3rd Place **Salad on the Side – Karenna Colcroft

INSPIRATIONAL
1st Place Nightwatch – Valerie Hansen
2nd Place Love on the Line – Deeanne Gist
3rd Place Hometown Dad – Merrillee Whren

MAINSTREAM W/ROMANTIC ELEMENTS
1st Place The Proper Care and Maintenance of Friendship – Lisa Verge-Higgins
2nd Place Blood Rights – Kristen Painter
3rd Place Promises to Keep – Char Chaffin

NOVELLA
1st Place Painted with Pleasure – Dena de Paulo
2nd Place -tie Drive-In – Kelli Scott
2nd Place -tie Stormy Wedding – Kelli Scott
3rd Place **I Love the Earl – Caroline Linden

YOUNG ADULT
1st Place Awake at Dawn – C.C. Hunter
2nd Place Love Story – Jennifer Echols
3rd Place **Tales Out of the Psych Office – Shirley Ann Howard

The 2012 New England Reader’s Choice Bean Pot Award – A contest for published authors to award excellence in published romance fiction. The contest is judged exclusively by readers, librarians and booksellers. The first place winners in each category are awarded $50.00, a Bean Pot engraved trophy, and a certificate. The second and third place winners in each category are awarded a certificate. Winners announced on our website, in our newsletter, and in RWR.

Eligibility:

Books must have a 2011 copyright date and must be postmarked by January 23, 2012.
Entry fee is $25 for each title submitted. An author may submit more than one 2011 released book with separate entry form and fee for each title.
Author must submit three autographed copies of the entered book. Books will not be returned and are given to the judges as thank you gifts for judging.
E-books accepted in electronic form ONLY IF PRINT BOOK NOT AVAILABLE and should be mailed in PDF format to vharris94@comcast.net (E-books do not need to be autographed)
No self-published entries. No membership requirements.
Finalists will be notified by March 26, 2012.
Winners announced at our 2012 Let Your Imagination Take Flight conference, April 27, 2012 and the Bean Pot trophy presented at our dinner reception.

10 Categories for entry:

Novella (20,000 to 50,000 words)
Short Contemporary (50,000 to 70,000 words)
Long Contemporary (over 70,000 words)
Romantic Suspense
Historical
Erotic Romance
Futuristic; Fantasy; Paranormal or Time Travel
Inspirational
Mainstream with Romantic Elements (50,000 to 100,000 words)
Young Adult
(Any category with less than eight entries will be incorporated into another category if possible. Entrants should suggest an alternate category.)

Judging:

Judges give each entry a score of 3-10 (10 being the highest).
The judges’ decisions are final.

For the entry form, more information, and further contact details, download the contest entry form in .doc format or in PDF format.
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