San Antonio Writers’ Guild 28th Annual Writing Contest

Rules

Please review these carefully. We regret that noncomplying entries will have to be disqualified without refund.

· Entries, characters and worlds must be original to the writer unless characters are real people. Fan fiction is not allowed.

· Winning entries from previous SAWG contests are not eligible.

· Entries previously published in any medium except for brief samples on authors' social media or web sites are not eligible.

· Entries accepted before the contest closes for publication elsewhere must be withdrawn.

· Entries that do not conform to all requirements will be disqualified. 

· Entry fees are not refundable.

· Unlike many other contests, SAWG entrants retain all rights to their contest entries. SAWG will publish no  part of an entry except the author's name and the title. A piece that enters or even wins does not count as being published.

· The Guild will retain one copy of each winning entry. These will be available in case a claim of plagiarism is levied at a later date.

Categories

Book-length fiction

Short Story

Nonfiction/Memoir (either length)

Romance (either length)

Poetry

Submission Requirements

· Book-length: 500-word-maximum synopsis plus first 5,000 words

· Short story: maximum length 10,000 words

· File type must be .doc, .docx or .pdf

· Font must be Times New Roman 12-point or Courier 12-point.

· Author’s name or identifying information must not appear anywhere in the document.

· Paragraphs must be double-spaced.

· Pages must have one-inch margins all around.

· Pages must be numbered in the footer section of the page.

· Entry category and title must appear as a header of each page, including the first page.

Deadlines & Entry Fees

 Early bird: Sept 1 – Dec 15

Poems $7 per entry

All Other Genres $26

Late bloomer: Dec 16 - Jan 31

Poems $12 per entry

All other genres $32 per entry

Discount: $5 per entry except poetry for students, military and Guild members.

The contest will close at 11:59 PM Central (US) time on January 31, 2020

All entries and fee payments must be submitted digitally through Submittable.

Prizes

In each category:

· First place $100

· Second place $50

· Third place $25

· Honorable mention

Every prize includes one year’s SAWG membership (a $35 value) and a link to the writer’s web site on SAWG’s web page.

A writer may receive only one prize per category.

Number of Entries

A writer may submit two entries per category, ten total entries per person.

Judging

There are two rounds of blind judging.

· The first round is done by writer volunteers who have been screened, selected and trained by SAWG. 

· Each entry will be assessed by at least three judges who are familiar with that genre.

· Volunteer judges will have no contest entries in the genres they judge.

· The five entries in each category with the highest initial scores will advance to the final round.

· The final judges are professional writers who specialize in the entries’ genres.

· Winners will be contacted by email, announced at the monthly meeting following the completion of judging, invited to read their winning entry at a SAWG meeting, and their names and websites will be posted on the SAWG website.

· All contestants may, if they wish, receive the detailed score sheets for their work, including all judges’ comments and advice, via email after the winners are announced.

· All finalists will learn the identities of their final judges, and may correspond with them if they wish to.