Contest

Enter the Novel Slices contest for a chance to be one of the 5 winners published in the sixth issue of Novel Slices. Each winner will receive $150, and a copy of the winning print issue. Further, we work with all winners to send literary agents & publishers copies of the issue with letters of support — currently, one third of our winners have secured either literary representation or a publisher following publication in Novel Slices.

Entry fee: $20 — includes a digital copy of the issue released after the contest.

Spring contest open March 1 to April 30th.

Our Spring Contest will be judged by Damyanti Biswas

Damyanti Biswas is the author of the crime novel, The Blue Bar, published by Thomas & Mercer USA, in January 2023 as part of The Blue Mumbai Series — an excerpt from this novel was a Novel Slices winner! Damyanti is also the author of You Beneath Your Skin, an Amazon-bestselling crime novel, which has been optioned for screens by Endemol Shine.
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Contest Guidelines:

• All novel genres welcome except for Children's and Middle Grade
• Excerpts should be approximately 4,000 to 6,000 words in length (do not send us your entire manuscript)
• We recommend you buy a copy of the current issue for a sense of the types of excerpts published (although this will obviously change with different judges)
• Your name should not appear on the submission
• Excerpts do not have to be from the beginning of a manuscript
• Standard formatting: Title on first page, double-spaced, 12 point font
• Word documents are preferred; we will also accept PDF files (.docx, .doc, .pdf)
• If needed, an introductory paragraph can be added giving any necessary background information (for excerpts not taken from the beginning)
• Excerpts need not feel complete, stand alone, or read like a short story
• Previously unpublished work only
• Simultaneous submissions accepted as long as you contact us to withdraw your submission if it is accepted elsewhere
• Multiple submissions allowed; each excerpt must be submitted with a separate entry fee
• ​Excerpts must be in English but can come from anywhere in the world; translations are allowed if the original has not been previously published
• All rights revert to the author on publication
• Novel Slices staff and their families cannot enter​
• We follow the contest code of ethics published by the Council of Literary Magazines & Presses
• We have a small contingent of free entries (one per writer) for those suffering from economic hardship; contact us at novelslices@gmail.com if you would like to apply

Photo by Berk Özdemir.

Photo by Pixabay.

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Why enter this contest?

Your chances of winning are higher, because there are five winners. Moreover, we do not expect you to carve your novel excerpt into the format of a short story, and so you are not starting out on uneven footing. In the first issue, we published 3 excerpts that started with Chapter One and two that started in the middle of the book. Last but certainly not least, our publication is marketed directly to literary agents as well as both small and large publishers, in order to give winning entries the greatest possible exposure.

Photo by Martin Vorel.