Let's try to conditionally divide the contests into three groups:
- prestigious literary awards: "Big Book", "Booker", "National Bestseller", genre awards such as "Wanderer", etc.
- competitions held by publishers, such as "Manuscript of the Year";
- online competitions.
Prestigious Literary Awards
Prestigious literary awards are designed for publishing authors, have a solid prize pool, beautiful prizes to put on the shelf, and attract wide media attention. Even getting into the long list is already happiness and a reason to proudly announce it on the cover of the book. However, no award guarantees success with the reader.
It is very difficult to nominate yourself for such a competition, even if you published a book at your own expense - publishers, thick magazines or a panel of judges most often have the right to nominate.
Therefore, you can forget about these awards and calm down. There is one of two things: either it happens or it doesn't happen, nothing depends on our efforts.
Exception - "Debut". But it has drawbacks - it is a premium for authors under 25-35 years old.
Competitions held by publishers
These contests are mainly aimed at emerging writers and give them a great chance to jumpstart their writing career and get some initial boost.
There are no prizes in them or they are purely symbolic, but they have one big, just a huge plus.
These are, by definition, fair competitions. The organizer, who is also the publisher, is vitally interested in finding new talented authors, so each text is given attention. As far as I understand, such awards have two main tasks. Firstly, the promotion of the author - attracting the attention of the media and attracting the attention of readers with the inscription on the cover "Winner of such and such an award." Therefore, only the text determines everything. There is no point in giving impetus to a mediocre text - it will be a waste of time and money. No matter how much you kick a hedgehog, it won't fly like a bird. Secondly, the fee of a novice author in our time cannot serve as a more or less significant incentive for writing new works. But this recognition and moral support - they play their role.
Finally, this is one of the few chances to publish a non-format work.
My personal experience is very positive. Winning the Blogbuster competition allowed me to meet some great editors. Thanks to these acquaintances, my story was published, and the novel did not lie by itself for months, but was read immediately, out of turn. But you need to understand that the victory of one text in the competition does not guarantee the publication of another, the only thing you can count on is attention to your application.
Then the novel became the winner of another publishing competition - "Manuscript of the Year", thanks to which I already have something to fill in the "Media about the novel" page on the book's website.
Online contests
Online contests are just the case when participation is more important than winning. This will allow the novice author to save some time, because he will not step on the well-known rake.
Of course, not a single editor will take seriously your comment that the text won first place in the "Afftor, write escho" contest held by the "Young Star of Literature" portal.
The prize most often becomes a beautiful picture, which says "Winner of such and such a competition." You can post it on your blog or website.
The main thing that a novice author needs from an online competition is reviews, reviews and reviews. The chance of getting a review, or at least a detailed review from the editor of the publishing house that turned you down, tends to zero. For the most part, blog readers will either write "Thank you", or "Drink yada", or remain silent.
If you're lucky enough to make it to the finals of an online contest, sometimes you can get a review from a pro. If not, you will get feedback from people who are interested in literary theory, read a lot and share their impressions in detail. It can be very useful to pay attention to your mistakes, shortcomings and virtues. At a minimum, even your worst story will be read to the end by someone and will poke your nose at least in one of the reasons for failure. This is a kind of school.
It must be understood that strong "middle peasants" often win in online competitions - stories that are understandable and interesting to most judges, and also equally satisfying male and female tastes. In addition, long-standing competitions have their own established notions of a good story. Those. you have to understand that the judges of any competition are a certain target audience, a section.
There is some risk of running into a not entirely benevolent audience and getting bogged down in a vicious skirmish or some other holivar. But it is only your choice - to react to such things or not.
Finally, it is very interesting to be a judge of the contest. Therefore, do not be afraid of lynch competitions. Of course, it takes time, but what a practice it gives! Firstly, you will kind of feel yourself in the shoes of an editor considering drift and understand how to interest him. Secondly, you will easily notice a dozen logs that you could not see in your own eye. Thirdly, you will get acquainted with a huge number of clichés, and you will know how to avoid them.
How to find out about competitions
Have you discovered the grain of writing talent in yourself and want to be appreciated? In this case, there are at least two scenarios. First, you gain patience and start bombing publishing houses with a synopsis of your work and the text itself from morning until late at night for days on end in the hope that someone will want to publish a young talent at their own expense. At the same time, get ready for long months of waiting - in most cases, publishers need from a month to three to review one manuscript.
Or the second option - you send your work to a prestigious competition. If everything goes well, you win and gain popularity, and now you are no longer chasing publishers, but vice versa. However, even if the victory goes to someone else, any competition of a wide scale is a good opportunity to light up. So keep it up! And especially for you, we have compiled a list of the best competitions for the young and promising!
1. International literary competition "Russian Prize" (150,000 rubles)
When: Follow the information on the website.Organizers: Development Foundation "Eurasian Research Institute".
The Russian Prize is the only Russian prize awarded to a Russian-speaking writer living outside of Russia. The purpose of the competition is to preserve and develop the Russian language and support Russian-speaking writers of the world. The prize is awarded in three categories: "Large Prose", "Small Prose" and "Poetry". The winners are awarded prizes in the amount of 150 thousand rubles. There are no age restrictions for applicants for the award. It is important that both published and previously unpublished works can participate in this competition.
2. International Literary Competition "Coronation of the Word"
When: information about the start of the competition appears annually in the summer, so writers need to follow the updates on the website: http://koronatsiya.com and in the media.Organizers: Tatiana and Yuri Logushi.
The competition is held in the nominations "Novels", "Scenarios", "Plays" and "Song Lyrics", as well as "Coronation of Words for Children". Manuscripts of previously unpublished works are accepted for participation. The decision on the results of the competition is made by the jury. Winners receive cash prizes. Last year, the 1st prize in the nomination "Novels" was 20 thousand hryvnias, in the nomination "Scenarios" - 15 thousand, "Plays" - 10 thousand, "Song poetry" - 8 thousand. A number of special prizes are also awarded. Today the competition "Coronation of the word" is one of the most prestigious in Ukraine.
3. Competition "Writer of the Year-2016"
When: Until November 1, 2016.Organizers: Your Publishing House (Moscow)
The competition is held with the aim of "discovering new talented names and promoting their promotion to the literary Olympus," as stated on the publisher's website. Authors over 18 years of age are allowed to participate. The place of residence does not matter. To participate, the author needs to apply on the page. At the end of the year, eminent representatives of the literary world will choose one or more of the most interesting authors, who will be offered special conditions for cooperation with the publishing house and presented with a nominal award.
4. Competition "Poet of the Year-2016"
A similar competition "Poet of the Year - 2016" is held by "Your Publishing House" for poets.To take part in it, the author needs to apply on the page.
5. International literary competition of one story at LITER-RM.RU
When: until May 15, 2016.Organizers: leaders and editorial board of the Literary project LITER-RM.RU - writers, publishers, members of the Writers' Union of Russia, graduates of the Literary Institute. M. Gorky.
The purpose of the competition is to popularize literary creativity, find talented young people, and also determine the geography of authors who create in Russian. Russian-speaking prose writers over 14 years old from anywhere in the world can become participants. The competition budget is 15 thousand rubles.
The competition is held in three nominations "Realistic story", "Fantastic story" and "Fantasy story, fairy tale". Winners in each nomination receive a monetary reward in the amount of 3 thousand rubles, as well as a diploma. You can find out the details of the competition.
6. International competition of one poem at LITER-RM.RU
Also, a similar competition - the International competition of one poem on LITER-RM.RU - is held for poets.Deadline - until December 1, 2016
The competition is held in two age groups: from 12 to 27 years old inclusive and from 28 years old. The winner will receive a cash prize of at least 2,000 rubles (from 12 to 27 years old) or 3,000 rubles (from 28 years old). Subject, form and content of competitive works can be any. The details of the competition can be found.
7. International Literary and Pedagogical Competition "Kind Lyre" (Pedagogical Recognition Award)
When: until February 29, 2016.Organizers: Union of Writers of Russia, Union of Writers of St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg Academy of Postgraduate Pedagogical Education, Education Support Fund, St. Petersburg State University, Humanitarian Pedagogical Center "Citizen of the 21st Century", Center for Information Support of Scientific Research, Lyceum of Information and Communication Technologies No. 590 St. Petersburg.
The purpose of the competition is to increase the importance of modern Russian literature in the field of educating the younger generation, as well as to attract interest in the book as a source of morality. There are no restrictions for authors by age, citizenship, place of residence. The prize is awarded in the following nominations: "Fiction - primary school age" and "Fiction - no age limit". Competitive works must be written in prose in Russian, are not limited in subject matter and cannot be published earlier. The winners will receive diplomas, and the best works will be included in the final collection. Competition details: on the website.
8. International competition for the best work for children "Korneichuk Prize-2016"
When: before May 1, 2016.Organizers: Public organization "Regional Development Agency".
The Korneichuk Prize is a competition for the best works for children that have not been published before, and a real chance for novice children's authors. The works of the competition laureates attract the attention of major publishers in the country, which means that your story, story, fairy tale or poem may soon find its reader. At the end of the competition, the organizers form a collection of the best works. The brightest works are also included in literary almanacs.
The competition is one of the main events of the IV Odessa International Korneichuk Festival of Children's Literature, which is held as part of the XX International Book Fair "Green Wave". The winners in each nomination will receive diplomas, commemorative figurines and cash prizes in the amount of UAH 10,000.
Contest page.
9. Literary competition L'Officiel Online
When: all the time.Organizers: L'Officiel Ukraine.
Recently, the Ukrainian editorial office of the world famous magazine L'Officiel launched a literary competition in the novel genre. The volume of competition works is up to 2 thousand characters. Each week, the best novel will be published on L'officiel Online. No prizes, winners and losers are expected. However, if the quality of the text is high, the editors promise to mark the best author.
All details on the site.
10. 100% Fiction Science Fiction Competition
When: until February 14, 2016.Competition coordinator: Kolesnikov Oleg Ernstovich.
Jury President: Vladimir Evgenyevich Churov, Chairman of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation.
11. Literary competition of the publishing house "Smoloskip"
When: until December 31, 2016.Organizers: Smoloskip publishing house.
We wish you good luck writers!
Do you want to loudly declare yourself to the world? Tired of writing to the table? It's time to throw off the shackles of uncertainty and show your best! The site invites all young and beginners, as well as experienced writers who understand real books, to take part in unique competitions of masters of the word and pen.
Literary competitions are fertile ground for novice writers, giving not only the opportunity to show a work to a wide range of readers, get reviews, hear criticism or earn approval and trust, but also compete for a cash prize! We regularly hold up to five competitions simultaneously, in which absolutely any author who considers himself a worthy rival to other writers can apply for participation.
The loudest contests for authors
If you love to write, your works are read by friends and close people, but you believe that no publishing house will take up the publication of your work - cast aside doubts!. Our daily audience reaches several tens of thousands of readers, each of which can see your novel, story or short story and vote for the first place. In addition to monetary rewards, we offer the best author to sign an agreement with publishers that publish books by young writers in print. Agree that this is a good opportunity to wake up famous. This also applies to short stories, the best works are published as part of collections. Where else can you demonstrate to the public your brilliant talent and ability to deftly juggle words? Our massive literary talent competition lights up bright stars every year!
The editors of the site hold competitions not only for authors of books, but also for illustrators who are ready to invest a bit of their own work in the release of unique works of modern literature. If you have a talent for creating deep images that reveal key moments in the plot of copyrighted books, you love to draw and want to prove that you are worthy of a major award - register in the illustrators competition and become the new winner of the annual ART Breakthrough Award!
