Romance writing contest open for submissions

From: Romance Writers of New Zealand
17 December 2009

Romance writing contest open for submissions

The Clendon Award, an annual writing contest in which unpublished authors submit an entire romance novel manuscript to be judged by devoted romance readers, is now open for submissions for the 2010 award.

Administered by Romance Writers of New Zealand, Inc., The Clendon Award is believed to be the only contest in the world where every entrant’s full manuscript is read and given detailed feedback. Seven of the previous 11 Clendon winners and a further 11 former finalists have gone on to international writing careers, including New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh, Emily Gee (daughter of Maurice Gee) and popular Mills & Boon authors Tessa Radley, Yvonne Lindsay and Jan Colley.

Entries are judged by between three and eight romance readers, depending how far they progress in the contest. Finalist manuscripts are judged by an editor at Harlequin Books in New York, the world’s largest publisher of romance and women’s fiction.

The contest was founded by Barbara and Peter Clendon of Barbara’s Books, the specialist Auckland romance bookstore, after they realized that most people who start writing a novel never manage to finish it. The Clendon Award was an incentive to writers to get to “The End”.

``These days, we have a small army of dedicated volunteers who collate, read and judge the anonymous manuscripts, all hoping to discover the next international star,’’ says Barbara Clendon, whose bookstore continues to sponsor the award.

Romance Writers of New Zealand president Abby Gaines, a former Clendon Award winner and now a Mills & Boon author, says the Clendon Award gives women an opportunity to go after what’s often a long-held goal. ``Many women say they hope to write a book one day. RWNZ’s theme for 2010, our 20th anniversary year, is ‘Make this year your writing year’ – do it now! Entering the Clendon Award is a great incentive to jump in and write.’’

The 2010 Clendon Award closes 26 February. Manuscripts must be between 40,000 and 110,000 words. Full details, including the entry form, can be found on the Romance Writers of New Zealand website, www.romancewriters.co.nz.

ENDS