Deadline: October 27, 2024
Entry fee: $20
About the competition
The Masters Review believes that every writer has a novel in them, which is why we host a call for novel excerpts every autumn. So dig through those desk drawers, dust off your manuscripts, crack your knuckles, and get revising! For this contest, we’re looking for excerpts that exhibit a sense of style, with a clear grasp on craft: character, setting, and most importantly, story. Your excerpt may come from any place in your novel, but choose wisely—a synopsis should not be required for understanding the excerpt. As always, we have no limitations on genre, though we are primarily interested in literary fiction. Submissions for the Novel Excerpt Contest will open on August 28 and close on October 27.
The winning excerpt will be awarded $3,000; online publication; and an hour-long consultation with Marin Takikawa, a literary agent with The Friedrich Agency. Second- and third-place excerpts will be awarded online publication and $300 and $200 respectively, in addition to written feedback from Takikawa.
Submitted work must be previously unpublished. This includes personal blogs, social media accounts, and other websites. Previously published excerpts will be automatically disqualified.
Writers from historically marginalized or underrepresented groups are invited to submit for free until we reach fifty submissions in this category.
This contest is for emerging writers only. Writers with single-author book-length work published or under contract with a major press are ineligible. We are interested in providing a platform to new writers; authors with books published by indie presses are welcome to submit unpublished work, as are self-published authors.
Competition guideline
- The winner receives $3,000; online publication; and a consultation with Marin Takikawa, a literary agent with The Friedrich Agency.
- The second- and third-place finalists receive cash prizes ($300/$200), online publication, and agent feedback.
- Submitted excerpts must be under 6,000 words.
- Submitted work must be previously unpublished. This includes personal blogs, social media accounts, and other websites. Previously published excerpts will be automatically disqualified.
- The entry fee is $20.
- Simultaneous and multiple submissions are allowed, though each submission requires a $20 entry fee.
- Writers from historically marginalized or underrepresented groups are invited to submit for free until we reach fifty submissions in this category. NOTE: SUBMISSION CAP HAS BEEN MET.
- If your excerpt is accepted or contracted elsewhere, please withdraw your submission on Submittable, or contact us otherwise to let us know the piece is no longer available.
- Read the whole guideline and submit your entry here.
