Deadline: May 31, 2023
Entry fee: $5
About the competition
According to literary agent Sarah Davies, a good query submission can be described in terms of concept and craft. In other words, you want to convey an original idea or fresh take and demonstrate a mastery of narrative structure. These elements are both important in your pitch, but even more so in your synopsis. So lay out your story’s chain of consequence, and demonstrate character, context, and conflict—with style but without gimmick. And may the best plot summary win!
Our judge, Michelle Barker, will be asking herself one question:
does this synopsis convince me that I’m in the hands of an
adept novelist with a unique and engaging story to tell?
First place: $700 CAD
Second place: $200 CAD
Third place: $100 CAD
Competition guidelines
- One single-spaced page to a maximum of 500 words
- Multiple submissions accepted
- Only original, unpublished, unrepresented work may be submitted
- Word documents & PDFs accepted
- The winning submissions will be published on the Chopping Blog
- All entrants will be notified of winners and shortlist by email
- Prize money will be awarded via PayPal
- Conflict of interest: authors who have previously purchased a Darling Axe query critique or other editing service may not submit work with which we are already familiar (previous CONTEST FEEDBACK, however, is fine)
- Contest closes May 31
- Read the whole guideline and submit your entry here.
