Deadline
Monday, January 31, 2022
Categories
Children’s, Crime/Thriller, Drama, Fantasy, Fiction, General, Horror, Mystery, Publishing, Romance, Science Fiction, Young Adult
Entry Fees
$5 CAD
Optional feedback for $20 CAD (delivered after the contest closes).
Prizes
First place: $700 CAD
Second place: $200 CAD
Third place: $100 CAD
All three finalists will be published on the Chopping Blog and receive complimentary access to a Darling Axe self-paced course.
Description
Clash of the Query Letters: A Writing Contest for Novelists
In the fiction world, a query letter alone is not enough to land representation. The manuscript’s first sentence, first paragraph, and first page are the crucial test. However, a query letter acts as a writer’s resume or c/v. It sets the tone, lays out the book’s market potential, and introduces the human behind the words and ideas. And of course, it also pitches the story itself. While an ideal query letter may not seal the deal, it will fill literary agents with eager excitement—a most helpful frame of mind for them to be in as they turn to your sample pages.
Our judge, Michelle Barker, will be asking herself one question: “does this query letter convince me that I’m in the hands of an adept novelist with a unique and engaging story to tell?”
Contact Information
David G. Brown
Founder & Senior Editor
Darling Axe Editing
[email protected]