Announcing the GOLDEN CLADDAGH!

Enter Celtic Hearts Romance Writers Chapter contest The Golden Claddagh! Don’t let our chapter name dissuade you, your entry does not have to be Celtic based to enter, unless you enter our Celtic Category. We have six categories for unpublished authors (Historical, Fantasy-Futuristic-Paranormal), Romantic Suspense, Celtic, Contemporary, and Erotic Romance) and one category for all published authors (Published).

Our contest due date is May 5th, 2012. Finalists will be notified by June 15, 2012 and winners notified by September 1, 2012.

Eligibility

The competition is open to RWA members and non-members. With the exception of the Published Category, the Golden Claddagh Contest is open to those who have not accepted a publishing offer from a non-Subsidy, non-Vanity Publisher, or who are self-published for fiction in the past five years, of 20,000 words or more. The GC entry must be a full-length novel; no novellas or short stories. Manuscripts must be completed by the time results are returned. If a final judge asks for a full, you’ll want to be able to send it out immediately. Entrant must retain all rights to the entry and not have granted any of them to a publisher or any other party by the contest entry deadline. If your manuscript is accepted for publication during the time of our contest (dates will be specified) you must notify the contest coordinator; your submission(s) will be withdrawn from consideration and your entry fee(s) returned.

Any entrant published over 20,000 words (self-published or otherwise) must enter his/her manuscript in the Published category, regardless of the genre of the work in question. Published entries must be for full-length novels (no novellas or short stories) and must be in the romance genre.

Please Note:

·         Previously entered manuscripts may be entered again, but no previous winning manuscript shall be re-entered, even if revised.

·            You may submit multiple entries so long as you pay an entry fee and submit a completed entry form for each submission.

·         You may not enter the same manuscript in more than one category. *Entry fee per entry: $15.00 CHRW member and $20.00 non-member.

Entries are 30 pages maximum with a synopsis no longer than 5 pages, for a total of 35 pages maximum. All entries are electronic. Entry fee is $15 for CHRW members and $20 for non-members.

How To Enter

Entries should be submitted to:

Celtic Category – Donna Goode - celticcat@celtichearts.org 
Historical Category – Kimmy Wooten - historicalcat@celtichearts.org
Contemporary Category – Sarah Hoss - contempcat@celtichearts.org 
Romantic Suspense – Derek Dodson - romsusp@celtichearts.org 
FFP Category – Alisa Walker - ffpcat@celtichearts.org 
Erotic Category – Clancy Metzgar - eroticcat@celtichearts.org 
Published Category – ReneeLynn Scott - pubbedcat@celtichearts.org 

CHRW reserves the right to discard all electronic entries and return fees if a minimum number of three (3) 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 if it is eligible. We may also refuse an entry that does not follow the rules stated here in the guidelines.

Pay by Check
Please copy or print this form and include with your payment: Contest Entry Form

Mail to:
Rebecca Lynn
PO Box 445
Bozeman, MT 59771

Pay by Paypal

If paying via Paypal, please click here: Contest Entry Form
You will have the option at the end of the form
to choose Paypal

Paypal address: treasurer@celtichearts.org

All entries will be read and scored for the first round by two trained judges and one published author, and the lowest score dropped. The three entries with the highest total scores in each category will move to the final round. An editor/agent will judge the final round and select a winner from the finalists in each category.

Categories

Future, Fantasy & Paranormal: Romance novel where the mains focus is on the romantic relationship, but the future, fantasy or paranormal elements are integral to the story (includes time-travel).

Contemporary: Includes, single title, long and short romantic fiction with a contemporary setting set after 1945. Main focus is the romantic relationship between the hero and heroine.

Romantic Suspense: Romance novels in which suspense, mystery, or thriller elements constitute an integral part of the plot. Main focus is still on the romantic relationship between the hero and heroine.

Historical: Romance novel set primarily before 1945 -- any location. Please specify your time period and setting in your entry.

Celtic: – Romantic fiction set in any time period and in any location, but MUST have a Celtic theme (Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Cornish, Bretons, Isle of Man). Please specify your time period and setting in your entry.

Erotic Romance: any genre or time period, erotic romance submission only - no straight erotica - this means there must be a HEA ending or at least a Happy For Now.

Published Romance: Published works in any genre and set in any time period and in any location will be accepted. The same rules apply as those for Erotic Romance submissions.

Judges

Final Round Judges

FF&P – Angela James – Carina Press

Celtic – Laurie McLean – Larsen-Pomada Agency

Erotic - Katherine Pelz - Berkley

Historical – Laura Bradford – Laura Bradford Agency

Romantic Suspense – Suzie Townsend – Nancy Coffey Agency

Contemporary – Aubrey Poole – Sourcebooks

Published – Amy Pierpont – Grand Central

Becky Vintner – FinePrint Agency

***Gold Claddagh – Liz Pelletier – Entangled Publishing

Kevan Lyon—Marsal-Lyon Agency

Entry Composition

Your entry must have the following:

1.     A separate cover page which includes the author's real name, address, telephone number(s), e-mail address, submission title, category and manuscript word count should be submitted in text of the e-mail. Do not include the cover page in the same attachment as your manuscript and synopsis. The manuscript and synopsis will be sent together as one document as an attachment.

2.     The beginning of your manuscript, including prologue, cannot exceed thirty (30) pages. Standard manuscript format must be followed: 1 inch margins, double spaced in a standard font and size that gives 24-26 lines per page. We will not accept entries that have colored, or designer fonts. DO NOT INCLUDE YOUR NAME ON THE MANUSCRIPT. See ENTRY FORMAT.

3.     The synopsis must be included with the same file attachment as the manuscript, must be double spaced and is not to exceed five (5) pages. Do not send the synopsis in a separate attachment. Whether the synopsis is at the beginning or the end of your entry, it should start and end as though it were separate from your manuscript. Any entry that contains a single spaced synopsis and/or begins or ends on the same page as the manuscript will be refused and sent back for correction. The synopsis will be scored in the first round but not in the final round.

NOTE: Your entry, which includes the synopsis must not exceed thirty- five (35) pages total. ANY MANUSCRIPT, OR SYNOPSIS THAT DOES NOT FOLLOW THE RULES SET DOWN HERE WILL BE REFUSED AND YOUR ENTRY WILL BE RETURNED SO THAT YOU CAN CORRECT IT. However, our deadline still stands; corrected manuscripts will need to be returned by the midnight deadline on May 5, 2012 to be valid. (Should the contest deadline be extended, you will have until that extended date to return your manuscript, but only if the contest deadline for entries is extended)

ENTRY FORMAT: Standard manuscript and synopsis format, double-spaced, 12-point readable font, twenty-six (26) lines maximum per page, minimum 1" margins all around. Only the TITLE of the manuscript, the category, and any subcategory should be placed on the top left hand side of the entry. The PAGE NUMBER should be on the top right hand side. IF THE NAME OF THE AUTHOR(S) APPEARS ANYWHERE ON THE MANUSCRIPT OR SYNOPSIS, THE ENTRY WILL BE DISQUALIFIED AND THE ENTRY FEE WILL NOT BE RETURNED.

***PLEASE NOTE: The Gold Claddagh Category is not open to submissions. This category is strictly limited to the top-scoring unpublished finalists in each category, and will establish a single overall unpublished Contest winner.

Important: Manuscript and synopsis must be in a .doc or .rtf file.

Awards

The GOLD CLADDAGH WINNER will be chosen by the final judges and will receive a Gold Claddagh pin.

The FIRST, SECOND, and THIRD PLACE winners in each category will receive a commemorative pin.
The FOURTH, FIFTH, and SIXTH PLACE winners in each category will receive a full critique of their entry by a multi-published author. All authors will be members of Celtic Hearts with multiple current publications.

All finalists and winners will receive icons and/or banners to place on their websites.

Questions

For questions please contact the contest chair, Donna Goode, at: contestchair@celtichearts.org