Entry Form      Download Score Sheet      See Past Winners The results are in… Congratulations to our Winners and all of our finalists! We received some fantastic feedback from final round judges, as well as a number of requests to see more. Best of luck! 2009 Southern Heat Winners *Partial Requested by Agent **Partial Requested by Editor Single-Title 1) The Long Road Home – Sara Walter Ellwood 2) A Different Beat – Susan Breeden 3) Cinderolda – Janet Periat Romantic Suspense 1) Degrees of Death* – Linda Lovely 2) Slay Me Tonight* – Veronica Alderson 3) Verdict – Jean Mason Paranormal 1) Jinn & Tonic – Kay Hudson 2) Hand Picked – Melissa Reynolds 3) The Burning Seal – Jennifer Ward Young Adult 1) Personal Demons – Lisa Desrochers 2) Windborne – Brenda Nelson-Davis 3) Life’s Too Short – Ally Cowee Historical 1) How to Reform a Rake* – Anne Barton 2) Kissed by a Rose* – Hanna Rhys Barnes 3) Thief by Night – Connie Queen Contemporary Series 1) Off the Deep End** – Barbara Cool Lee 2) An Accidental Family** – Ami Weaver 3) After the Storm – Elizabeth Pina 4) Reluctant Nude – Meghan Murphy Inspirational 1) Violets & Violins – Keli Gwyn 2) Sicilian Sunrise** – MaryAnn Diorio 3) Prize of My Heart – Lisa Norato ***10/30/09 -- Congratulations to our finalists!  Thank you to all who participated! Entries are with Final Round Judges*** 2009 Southern Heat Finalists Single Title: Janet Periat – Cinderolda Susan Breeden – A Different Beat Sara Walter Ellwood – The Long Road Home Romantic Suspense: Linda Lovely – Degrees of Death Jean Mason – Verdict Veronica Alderson – Slay Me Tonight Paranormal: Kay Hudson – Jinn & Tonic Jennifer Ward – The Burning Seal Melissa Reynolds – Hand Picked YA: Brenda Nelson-Davis – Windborne Lisa Desrochers – Personal Demons Ally Cowee – Life’s Too Short Historical: Anne Barton – How to Reform a Rake Hanna Rhys Barnes – Kissed by a Rose Connie Queen – Thief by Night Series: Barbara Cool Lee – Off the Deep End Elizabeth Pina – After the Storm Ami Weaver – An Accidental Family Meghan Murphy – Reluctant Nude Inspirational: MaryAnn Diorio – Sicilian Sunrise Lisa Norato – Prize of My Heart Keli Gwyn – Violets & Violins 2009 Contest is now Closed!  Come back next year! Welcome to the 2009 Southern Heat Contest! The RWA-East Texas Chapter proudly hosts its annual contest to see if your writing has that special SPARK that will FIRE-UP editors and agents. That’s right, an editor AND an agent will be judging each category this year, and we make every effort to provide two published authors as first round judges. What a fantastic use of your contest dollars! Also new this year – ELECTRONIC ENTRIES ONLY Entries include the FIRST 10 PAGES plus a 5-page max double-spaced SYNOPSIS. Entry Fee: Members of RWA-ETC $20 Members of RWA $25 Non-Members $30 PAY FEE **UPDATE 8/30/09 -- PAYPAL is NOT giving an "options box" for entering your name/title as anticipated.  Please just let the coordinator know which name and/or email address you used at paypal -- we've had no trouble matching up entries with names so far. :)  Thanks! ~~Sarah C. Categories: (listed with Final Round Judges) Help! Which Category Should I Enter? Young Adult (including all YA sub-genres like paranormal/fantasy -- not strictly "romance") (Sarah Shumway, Senior Ed. HarperCollins and Jennifer Schober, Spencerhill Associates) Paranormal (Leah Hultenschmidt, Dorchester and Laurie McLean, Larsen-Pomada Agency) Historical (Amanda Bergeron, Avon/HarperCollins and Susannah Taylor, Richard Henshaw Group) Contemporary Single Title (Margo Lipschultz, HQN and Tina Wexler, ICM) Contemporary Series (Wanda Ottewell, Senior Ed. Harlequin SuperRomance and Melissa Jeglinski, The Knight Agency) Romantic Suspense (Deb Werksman, Sourcebooks and Tamar Rydzinski, Laura Dail Literary Agency) Inspirational (Melissa Endlich, Harlequin Steeple Hill and Natasha Kern, Natasha Kern Literary Agency) Contest Timeline: September 1, 2009 Entry and Fee Payment Deadline October 30, 2009 Finalists contacted by Phone and/or Email November 2009 Non-finalist score sheets returned December 20, 2009 Winners announced After December 20, 2009 Finalist score sheets returned Questions? Contact Sarah Castleberry, Contest Coordinator: RWAsouthernheat@gmail.com Contest Rules: Competition for the Southern Heat is open to both published and unpublished writers, which simulates the real world of publishing. Unpublished authors may enter in any category as long as they are not contracted to a publisher by September 1, 2009. Published authors may enter only in a category in which they have not published in the past five years.  **For entrants, "published" = RWA recognized/PAN-eligible only.  We would like as many people to be able to enter as possible.  If you are not PAN or PAN-eligible, according to RWA National's guidelines, then you are free to enter any category.  For questions, contact the Contest Coordinator. Entries may be limited to the first 30 submissions in each category. Participants may enter as many manuscripts as they wish, including multiple entries per category.  However, entrants may not enter the same manuscript in two different categories.  Each entry must be accompanied by the appropriate fee and separate entry form. Each entry should include: - First ten (10) pages of your manuscript, including a prologue, if applicable - Double-spaced, judged synopsis of five (5) pages max Entry pages must be double-spaced with one inch margins all around and in 12 pt Courier New or Times New Roman font. At the top of each manuscript page in the header, place the following information: Left side header: - Title - Category Entered Right side header: - Page Number Your name should NOT appear anywhere on the entry pages. This is mandatory. First Round Judging: Every effort will be made to have two published judges for each entry. Judges will be given a comprehensive score sheet to use. They are encouraged to comment on both the score sheet and the manuscript. For electronic entries, comments are inserted and highlighted. Bonus points on the score sheet will be used as tie-breakers. A discrepancy judge will be used for any entry whose two scores differ by at least 25 points when one of those scores is at least 85 percent of the total points possible. Final judging for each category will be performed by both an editor and an agent, wherever possible. The decision of the judges is final. Electronic Submissions: Fill out the Southern Heat Entry Form with all the required information, including your name typed at the bottom. This constitutes your electronic signature. Save your entry form file as a Word .doc file using the name “EntryForm_Your Name_Category” Prepare your manuscript according to the contest format. Save your first 10 pages and synopsis TOGETHER in ONE file as an RTF (rich text format) file using the name “Title_Your Name_ Category.” On the subject line of the email message with your submission, enter “Title_Your Name_Category” Attach your entry form and manuscript and submit to the Southern Heat Contest Coordinator at: RWAsouthernheat@gmail.com. Entrants must submit their fee payment at the same time as their entry. Payment will be verified before the entry is allowed into the contest. Please consider the deadline of September 1, 2009 when determining your entry date and form of payment. PayPal payment of entry fee: Use the “Pay Fee” links provided above. In the PayPal options box, enter your Name, Entry Title, and Contest Category in which the entry should be judged. This is important, so that your entry is marked as paid. **UPDATE 8/30/09 -- PAYPAL is NOT giving an "options box" for entering your name/title as anticipated. Please just let the coordinator know which name and/or email address you used at paypal -- we've had no trouble matching up entries with names so far. :) Thanks! ~~Sarah C. Once receipt of the payment is verified, the Contest Coordinator will contact you via e-mail confirming your submission into the Southern Heat Contest. Check payment of entry fee: Please make checks payable to RWA-ETC for the appropriate fee. Send checks to RWA-ETC, P.O. Box 131322, Tyler, Texas 75713. Allow sufficient time for the Contest Chair to receive your payment. Include a printed signed copy of the entry form. (Do not submit paper manuscript entries.)  Once your payment is received, the Contest Coordinator will contact you via e-mail confirming your submission into the Southern Heat Contest. All entries must be received by the Southern Heat Contest deadline, September 1, 2009. Entries received after the deadline will not be considered. If you have questions, please contact the Contest Coordinator at: RWAsouthernheat@gmail.com Best of Luck!!