Manuscript Contest ~ You Could Win Cash and Publication

Write Integrity Press is thrilled to announce the Books of Hope Contest. We are seeking books in series of three, and winners could receive a three-book publication contract! The series of books can be fiction or nonfiction, but must carry a message of HOPE in some form or fashion. Be creative. Give us characters we can love in the novels, and issues we can care about in the nonfiction.

One First Prize FICTION Winner will receive a $500 Cash Prize and our standard publication contract for the three-book series.

Two runners-up in fiction will receive our standard publication contract for at least one book, and perhaps all three.

One First Prize NONFICTION Winner will receive a $500 Cash Prize and our standard publication contract for the three-book series.

Two runners-up in nonfiction will receive our standard publication contract for at least one book, and perhaps all three.

There will be two rounds of judging:

1) Entries must include ALL of the following for Round One Judging by June 15, 2012. (These are just the basics - see the Nitty-Gritty details at the bottom of the post.)

• Submit a one-page, single-spaced synopsis of the entire three-book series.
• Submit a 100-word blurb for each book of the series.
• Submit the first chapter of Book 1 (length should be 2500-5000 words.)
• Entry fee of $25 paid through the Paypal link below. Be sure to write down the PayPal Transaction ID# because the Paypal Transaction ID# must be placed on the Cover Page of your entry, along with your Name, Address, Phone, E-mail, Website, and Series Title.

2) Finalists will be selected from these entries and notified by July 31st. In Round Two:

• Finalists will be required to submit a completed manuscript of Book 1 by November 30th. Full manuscripts should not be submitted prior to your being notified as a finalist.
• Instructions for submitting final manuscript will be sent with finalist notification.

Final Winners will be notified in January 2013.

Now for the Nitty-Gritty details (and these have been deal-breakers in the past, so please follow the guidelines - they're here for a reason):

• Use Times New Roman font, size 12.
• Use double-line spacing, except for the synopsis and blurbs.
• Pages should have 1" margins all around.
• Use black ink.
• Include a header on each page (except the cover page) that includes your last name and page number in top right corner.
• In the subject line of the e-mail entry, please indicate - BOOKS OF HOPE: Fiction or BOOKS OF HOPE: Nonfiction, so the manuscripts are routed properly.
• Entries should be submitted in a Word document, attached to the e-mail (editor [at] writeintegrity [dot] com).
• The e-mail itself should serve as an introduction - tell us who you are and a little about you. Nothing formal, fancy, or lengthy - just let us get to know you a little.

Your attached entry should include:

• Cover page with Name, Address, Phone, E-mail, Website, and Paypal Transaction  ID#.
• One page, single-spaced synopsis of the entire three-book series. Give us the ending, don't leave us guessing.
• One 100-word description of each of the three books (300 words total - separated under each book title.)
• The first chapter of Book 1 (2500-5000 words in length.)

Final manuscripts should be in the 50,000-80,000 word range. We are trying to keep all of these books uniform in size, so please follow the word count guidelines.


UPDATE: We've had several questions come in, so I thought I'd add our answers here for everyone:

• This contest is open to published and unpublished authors. 
• The second and third books do not have to be completed at the time a contract is issued. 
• Previously published books are not considered.

Be sure to check our FAQ page for other questions, but if you can't find the answer, drop me an e-mail.


Writers may enter manuscripts for both the Fiction and Nonfiction categories, but they must pay an entry fee for each.


Submit your Entry Fee below:

Your Series Title

Fiction or Nonfiction?

PLEASE NOTE: We have learned that the Chrome browser does not play well with Paypal, so if you use Chrome and have problems submitting your entry free, you may want to either try another browser, or just send payment directly through Paypal, using editor [at] writeintegrity [dot] com as the recipient address. If you choose to do it that way, just make sure to put your Series Title and whether your submission is Fiction or Nonfiction in the "Notes" section when you send payment.

You will receive a confirmation of receipt within 24 hours of payment. (48 hours on weekends.)

Thanks!