Novels

Looking for a literary contest to enter with your novel? Submitting a novel is a different commitment than entering a short story or a poem: you're putting forward months, sometimes years, of work. That's not a decision to make lightly.

Before choosing a contest, check two things: what the rules say about rights to the submitted manuscript, and whether an exclusivity period prevents you from submitting elsewhere at the same time. Some contests impose these conditions, others don't. A manuscript locked into a contest with an exclusivity clause is unavailable to publishers for the entire duration of the process.

Eligibility criteria also deserve a careful read: age, residency, publication status, word count. An entry that doesn't meet the requirements is disqualified automatically, regardless of how good the manuscript is.

Entering a literary contest means giving yourself a deadline, and often that's exactly what pushes a manuscript out of the drawer. Target contests whose judges or past winners you're familiar with: that's a far better indicator of real editorial taste than the stated theme. One well-aimed submission beats ten generic ones.