Calling Unpublished Authors!
The 2023 CALEB Award will open for entries in April 2023. This year’s award will welcome entries in the following categories:
- Unpublished Adult Fiction
- Unpublished Young Adult Fiction
- Unpublished Adult/Young Adult Nonfiction
Omega Writers created the CALEB Unpublished contest to support and encourage unpublished writers towards the pursuit and achievement of excellence.
The CALEB Unpublished Award therefore considers unpublished authors, not unpublished manuscripts.
There have been a couple of minor rule changes this year. The main change is that only completed manuscripts will be accepted. This year, entrants will upload two files:
- Their first 10,000 words, plus a synopsis of up to 1,000 words.
- Their full and complete manuscript.
The opening and synopsis will be judged in the first round, while finalists will be judged on their full manuscript. Only the contest coordinator and final-round judges will see the full manuscript.
So it’s time to get writing, to ensure you have a full manuscript and are therefore eligible to enter the 2023 CALEB Award.
Why should you enter a writing contest?
I can think of several good reasons:
Honest Feedback
Writing contests are a great way to get honest feedback on your writing, and we all need honest feedback. Feedback is a gift which can show us what we’re doing well, and where we need to improve on.
Feedback from Writers
But it’s important to get feedback from the right people. We can ask family and friends for feedback. While they might give encouraging feedback (You’ve done a great job! Keep it up!), it might not be accurate. Family and friends will be proud of you for having written a book, and may be able to tell you what they enjoyed and why, but they probably can’t tell you what needs to be improved (unless they happen to be successful writers who know your genre).
In contrast, contest judges are fellow writers, usually people who write in the same genre. Some will be fellow unpublished authors, some will be published authors, some will have won awards. All are willing to give up their time to help other writers improve their craft.
Targeted Feedback
Because they are writers (or editors, or agents), they know what good writing looks like, and they will judge accordingly. Most contests use a score sheet which looks at different aspects of the writing, such as the opening, the characters, the plot, and use of point of view or showing vs telling. Entering a writing contest will show you if you have issues in some of these areas.
Finding out you’re not using point of view well may be painful, but it’s better to find out from an anonymous contest judge early in your writing career than to polish the manuscript for months (or years), submit to a publisher and be rejected because of your point of view. (And point of view isn’t your opinion on a subject. If you’re a fiction writer and don’t understand what I mean by point of view, you need to learn).
Anonymous Feedback
Judging in unpublished contests is blind, which means the judges don’t know whose entry they are reading and judging. Most contests for unpublished writing ask writers to say who has read the entry so the contest organiser can avoid assigning the entry to a judge who may be biased. In addition, judges are encouraged to notify the organiser if they have seen any entries before so they can be reassigned.
Blind judging means judges can give feedback without worrying about that feedback potentially affecting a relationship (as can happen if you ask family or friends to critique your writing).
Bragging Rights
Finalling in or winning a contest gives you bragging rights aka a line in your query or proposal to an agent or editor. Many well-known Christian writers credit contests with helping them land an agent and/or publishing deal.
Genesis Contest
If your fiction manuscript is already complete, you might want to consider entering the Genesis contest.
The Genesis Contest is run by American Christian Fiction Writers, and judges the first fifteen double-spaced pages plus one-page single-spaced synopsis. Entries “must be consistent with a traditionally accepted understanding of Scripture and Christian world view.”
The award has the following categories:
- Contemporary
- Historical
- Historical Romance
- Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
- Novella
- Romance
- Romantic Suspense
- Short Novel
- Speculative
- Young Adult
Yes, these are all fiction categories … American Christian Fiction Writers contests are for fiction manuscripts only. However, ACFW isn’t just for American Christian writers–international authors are welcomed, and become part of the Beyond the Borders zone.
Entries are currently open, and close on 15 March 2023. The entry fee is USD 35 for ACFW members and USD 95 for non-members.
If you are looking to publish in the US market, then I recommend entering the Genesis Contest. Many Christian authors are previous Genesis winners or finalists, including David Rawlings (who went on to win a Christy Award for his debut novel, The Baggage Handler.)
Click here to find out more about how to enter.
Click here to check out lists of previous winners (I’m sure you’ll recognise some names.)
