The Amazon breakthrough novel award. Free contest; $110,000 in prizes

On Little Wings by Regina Sirois
one of two grand prize winners in 2012

One Grand Prize winner will receive a publishing contract with an advance of $50,000, and four First Prize winners will each receive a publishing contract with an advance of $15,000.

The contest is free; there’s no cost to enter.

The categories to include five popular genres: General Fiction, Romance, Mystery/Thriller, Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror and Young Adult Fiction.

 

Here's how the contest works:

To enter, you must have a free CreateSpace account. 

Round 1 (Pitch) Amazon-selected editors will read and rate an up to 300-word pitch from each entrant. The top 400 entries in each of the five categories will advance to the second round.

Deadline: You must enter your pitch between January 14 and January 27, 2013

Round 2 (Excerpt) Amazon Expert Reviewers will read and rate the 3,000- to 5,000-word excerpts and provide feedback to the entrants. The top 100 entries in each of the five categories will advance to the Quarter-Finals.

The Beautiful Land by Alan Averill,
the other grand prize winner in 2012

Quarter-Finals (Full Manuscript) Reviewers from Publishers Weekly will read and rate the full manuscripts and provide feedback to the entrants. The top five entries in each of the five categories will advance to the Semi-Finals.

Semi-Finals Editors with Amazon Publishing will read full manuscripts of the 25 Semi-Finalists and select five Finalists, one in each of the five categories.

Finals Amazon customers will read the Finalists excerpts and vote for their favorite. The novel with the most votes will win the Grand Prize. All remaining Finalists will receive a First Prize.

Complete contest information here.

For information on annual creative writing contests in Canada, order the 2013 Canadian Writers’ Contest Calendar, just $20 at Brian Henry’s workshops or courses or $23.50 to get it delivered by mail. More details here. To order your contest calendar now, email brianhenry@sympatico.ca

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Milton, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.