2011 Indie Publishing Contest

The Process:
Writers mail an entry form, the correct fee and up to the first 5,000 words of a complete, unpublished manuscript, short story, essay or poem in one of the following categories:

  *  Fiction

  *  Non-Fiction/Memoir

  *  Children’s/Young Adult (YA)

  *  Poetry

A group of judges approved by the San Francisco Writers Conference management team will select the top 25 entries in each category, then these finalists will be judged by a group of publishing industry professionals to select the grand prize and first and runner-up winners in each category.

Cost per entry is $35 for the fiction, non-fiction and children's categories and $25 for the poetry category. The winners will be announced at the annual San Francisco Writers Conference in San Francisco in mid-February, but you do not have to register for the conference to enter or win. Contestants can enter multiple items in multiple categories without limit. Each entry must have a separate form and separate fee.

Entries must be received in the Indie Publishing Contest office by 5 pm Pacific Standard Time on January 5, 2011:

Indie Publishing Contest, 1029 Jones Street, San Francisco, California, 94109

The Prizes:

The four category winners will receive their choice of a one-hour private consultation with a literary agent in their category (either at the SFWC or via telephone) or a free publishing package from the appropriate Author Solutions imprint, plus an award certificate and publicity. The runner-ups in each category will receive $50 and a 50% discount coupon for a genre-appropriate publishing package from Author Solutions.

The Grand Prize winner will receive an indie publishing contract that includes:

  *  A print publishing package from Author Solutions

  *  eBook format conversion from Author Solutions

  *  90 days of mentoring from a literary agent selected by SFWC

  *  90 days of consulting and publicity from an AuthorHive publicist

  *  A high quality video book trailer from AuthorHive

  *  The scheduling of a blog tour and a video press release from AuthorHive

  *  Distribution of the book online and in bookstores from Author Solutions

  *  Book signing at a bookstore near the winner's home (Continental US only) from Author Solutions

  *  Public announcement and promotion at the San Francisco Writers Conference

  *  ISBN number from Author Solutions

For further information on this contest, contact Laurie McLean, Contest Director for the San Francisco Writers Conference and Dean of San Francisco Writers University, 650-747-0796 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              650-747-0796      end_of_the_skype_highlighting or email her at contest@sfwriters.org.

RULES:

1. Entry must be received at our office at 1029 Jones Street, San Francisco,
  CA 94109 by 5 p.m. on January 5, 2011. Put "Indie Publishing Contest" prominently
  on the envelope.

2. Entrants must live in North America to enter, including the continental
  United States, Hawaii, Alaska and Canada.

3. You may enter as many times as you wish, provided that the entry has
  not been traditionally published prior to the contest. The entry may be
  unpublished or self-published.

4. Include the completed and signed official entry form (found at www.sfwriters.org),
  appropriate entry fee ($25 for poetry, $35 for all other categories) and
  one copy of up to the first 5,000 words of your entry printed on one side
  (not double-sided) of white paper in 12-point type (Times New Roman preferred).
  You may include multiple entries in one envelope if each entry is paper
  clipped together (not stapled) with the appropriate entry form. The check
  must include entry fees for all your entries. If the check total does not
  include enough entry fees, we will arbitrarily select entries from your
  envelope and discard extra entries. Do not include printed pages from a
  self-published book as part of your entry. All entries must be printed
  on white bond paper in 12-point type.

5. Do not put your name on any page of your entry except the check and
  the official entry form.

6. No employee, board member, volunteer or family member of Larsen Pomada
  Literary Agents, the San Francisco Writers Conference, San Francisco Writers
  University or Author Solutions, Inc. may participate in this contest.

7. Announcement of the winners will occur at the Saturday lunch of the
  San Francisco Writers Conference, February 19, 2011. Within one week, the
  winners will be listed at www.sfwriters.org. Please do not call or email
  for a list of winners as they will be posted on the website only. Individual
  winners will be contacted if they do not attend the San Francisco Writers
  Conference and informed of their prize.