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The Golden Network Proudly Announces Its Eleventh Annual Contest:

The Golden Pen 2009

FINAL ROUND JUDGES:

Series Contemporary Romance: Susan Litman, Editor, Harlequin
judges Single Title: Jennifer Enderlin, Executive Editor, St. Martin's Press
Historical: Allison Brandau, Assistant Editor, Berkley
Paranormal: Kerry Donovan, Associate Editor, NAL
Romantic Suspense: Megan McKeever, Associate Editor, Pocket Books
Inspirational: Melissa Endlich, Senior Editor, Steeple Hill
Young Adult: Regina Griffin, Executive Editor, Egmont USA
Novel with Strong Romantic Elements:Valerie Gray, Executive Editor, Mira

***Final round judges are subject to change due to unforeseen circumstances.***

ELIGIBILITY: Note: For eligibility, the term 'published' includes all non-vanity, non-subsidy publishers and works of 20,000 words and more.

Any yet-to-be published RWA member in good standing, who is not contracted by August 15, 2009.
 Any published RWA member in good standing, who has not sold or contracted a book in five years.
 Golden Pen judges who meet the above eligibility criteria may enter in any category they are not judging.

DEADLINES:

June 1st: Contest opens to receive entries. Due to the special nature of our first round judging panel (minimum each one published author, one GH finalist, one PRO), we reserve the right to limit entries to the first 150 submitted and paid. Additional entries will be accepted contingent on judge availability. We recommend submitting your entry form and payment early to secure your spot. Manuscripts may follow later, but must be received by the entry deadline.

August 15th: Entries must be emailed to the appropriate Category Coordinator. Payment and entry form also must be received by Contest Coordinator no later than August 15, 2009.

October 1st: Finalists notified. *Finalists will have two weeks from time of notification to snail-mail a hard copy of their finalist entry to the contest coordinator.

October 10th: All non-finalist entries will be returned by this date.

December 1st: Final placements will be announced on or before this date.

SUBMITTING YOUR ENTRY:

submit Step 1: Entry Form: Entry forms are electronic only, and found on The Golden Network website at http://www.thegoldennetwork.com/goldenpenform2009.html. All blanks must be filled in. When submitted, this entry form will automatically be sent to the correct category coordinator.
submit Step 2: $30 entry fee, click here for payment information. Entry fee may be paid by PayPal or by mailing a check or money order made out to The Golden Network with a printed copy of the entry form. All blanks must be filled in. When submitted, this entry form will be forwarded to the correct category coordinator.
submit Step 3: Submit entry to the appropriate category coordinator:
empty dot Series Contemporary- Terry McLaughlin: terry@terrymclaughlin.com
empty dot Single Title- Christine Johnson: christina.johns@yahoo.com
empty dot Historical- Gina Welborn: gina@gabcrush.com
empty dot Romantic Suspense- Kathy Coatney: zooker@theskybeam.com
empty dot Paranormal- Helen Scott Taylor: helenscotttaylor2@yahoo.co.uk
empty dot Inspirational- Kate Parker: kaycrs@aol.com
empty dot Young Adult- Juli Heaton: juliheaton@yahoo.com
empty dot Novel w/Strong Romantic Elements- Angi Platt: angiplatt@aol.com

Should entry form or attachment not reach coordinators by the deadline, the entry will not be judged--either portion received will be returned.

FORMATTING YOUR ENTRY:

All entries are electronic.
 Entry shall include a synopsis plus manuscript pages, together totaling not more than 55 pages. The synopsis may not be longer than 10 pages. (EXAMPLE: if the synopsis is 10 pages, the manuscript must not be longer than 45 pages. If the synopsis is 5 pages, the manuscript must not be longer than 50 pages.)
 Use Standard Manuscript Format:

empty Margins: No less than one-inch margins on all sides.
empty Font: 12-point or larger font (Courier and TNR acceptable).
empty Lines: No more than 25 lines per page.
empty Header should include: Title, category, and sub genre (if applicable) at top left. Page number at top right. Example: TOO HOT TO HANDLE/ Series Contemporary/ Desire.
empty Your name cannot appear anywhere on the manuscript.

Entries will be received in RTF (Rich Text Format) files only. (To convert your file to RTF, open the document, go into File, click on Save As and choose RTF format. This will create a new document with the same title in RTF format.)
 Document title should be the title of the manuscript only.
 Combine manuscript pages and synopsis in one file--paste synopsis at the beginning of the manuscript pages. All pages should be in standard manuscript format.
 Email your entry to the appropriate Category Coordinator as an attachment.
 When emailing your attachment entry file to the coordinator, type the Entry Title and category in the subject header of the email. In the body of the email please include your full name, title of entry, form of payment used (check or PayPal), the total number of pages and the font used for the entry (this is to ensure there are no changes during transition). Also include whether or not your entry is compatible with MS Word Track Changes (judges' comments will be in Track Changes unless you indicate your program is not compatible).
Entrants will receive email confirmation for receipt of their entry.

Enter as many times as you wish, but a separate payment and entry form must be received for each entry. Each manuscript may only be entered in one category. Submit entry form and payment prior to emailing your entry.

JUDGING:

Each entry will have three first-round judges, including at least one published author, one Golden Heart finalist, and one PRO. Judges are encouraged to comment on manuscript pages.
 The lowest of the three scores will be dropped, giving entrants a final total from their two highest scores. ALL three entries and score sheets will be returned to the entrants.
 The THREE top-scoring entries in each category will proceed to the final round. In the event of a tie, the Bonus Question (#19 on score sheet) score from all three judges will be tallied and used as a tiebreaker.

See Sample Scoresheet (RTF file)

AWARDS:

First place in each category: Engraved gold pen, a certificate and a check for $30.
Second place in each category: Certificate and a check for $20.
Third place in each category: Certificate.
Final placements will be announced in the RWR.

ANY QUESTIONS?

Email Contest Co-Coordinators
Amy Atwell: GoldenPen@amyatwell.com or Kayla Westra: kwestra@swwnet.com