Contest

Our Spring Contest is now closed. Our Fall Contest will be open September 1 to October 31, 2023! The following are the guidelines for informational purposes only.

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

Judge TBA

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
• Acceptable file types are PDF or Word documents (.pdf, .docx, .doc, .rtf)
• 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• Previously unpublished work only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

Photo by Berk Özdemir.

Photo by Pixabay.

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Why enter this contest?

First of all, your chances of winning are much 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. 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.