The Olympia
THE OLYMPIA
is COTT's yearly contest for unpublished writers.
Submissions:
September 16, 2013-November 1, 2013
Send submissions to:
cottsubmissions@gmail.com
September 16, 2013-November 1, 2013
Send submissions to:
cottsubmissions@gmail.com
As always at COTT, the outcome of the contest is in the hands of readers,
not industry professionals.
not industry professionals.
You’ve written the book of your dreams, now what do readers think? Enter the arena and find out.
Olympia 2014 Preliminary Information
The OLYMPIA provides an opportunity for unpublished novelists to have the first two chapters (or 3,500 words) of their work judged and critiqued by readers that are well-versed in Christian fiction yet not a part of the CBA industry.
ELIGIBILITY: Any author whose novel-length work (30,000+ words) has not been previously published in ANY format is eligible for entry. That includes the manuscript being submitted as well as any other manuscript the submitting author has written. To reiterate, if an author has a publishing history with a work having a word count less than 30,000 words, he is eligible for the Olympia.
The novel does not need to be complete, however it's intended length should be over 30,000 words.
One entry per author. Co-authored entries accepted. The manuscript should not contain profanity, graphic sex, or other objectionable material. Clash of the Titles staff reserves the right to reject submissions not meeting these requirements.
*We consider self-published authors "published" and ask that our self-published friends submit to the 2013 Laurel Award.
The novel does not need to be complete, however it's intended length should be over 30,000 words.
One entry per author. Co-authored entries accepted. The manuscript should not contain profanity, graphic sex, or other objectionable material. Clash of the Titles staff reserves the right to reject submissions not meeting these requirements.
*We consider self-published authors "published" and ask that our self-published friends submit to the 2013 Laurel Award.
FEE: Pending
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: All entries must include a single-spaced one page synopsis of the manuscript immediately followed by the first two chapters of the novel. Word count limit is 3,500. Further guidelines will be posted closer to the date submissions open.
JUDGING:
Round One. Entries will first be judged by Clash of the Titles staff, which includes published authors and writers experienced in judging. During this round, COTT staff will be looking for those excerpts which do not meet content standards listed in “Eligibility” above. Because COTT wishes to send only the best quality of writing to its judges, in addition to content eligibility, they will be reading for a higher level of experience in the craft.
Round Two. By this date all entrants will have received an email notifying them whether or not their manuscript has moved on to Round Two. Manuscripts making it to this round will be read by a group of judges who are comprised of your average reader of Christian fiction and that are in no way associated with the CBA industry. This includes agents, writers, avid reviewers, publicists, editors, etc. They are, in short, your audience.
Round Three. By this date, all remaining entrants will be notified of whether or not their manuscript will be moving on. Only three manuscripts will be chosen for this round. 2014 Round Three judges TBA.
2013 ROUND THREE JUDGES WERE:
DEBORAH RANEY--award-winning author
AMANDA LUEDEKE--literary Agent of Macgregor Literary
STEVE HUTSON--literary Agent of WordWise Media
Authors will receive an anonymous digital copy of each of their judge’s scores and comments. Under no circumstance should comments given by a judge be used for publicity or promotional purposes without the express consent of the judge.
PRIZES: One first-place winner will be chosen. He/she will receive a special feature on Clash of the Titles' blog. A tour through COTT’s Blog Alliance. A beautiful plaque. Additional prizes pending.
