2012 Genesis Contest
2012 ACFW GENESIS CONTEST RULES
The Genesis Contest is the ACFW contest for unpublished Christian writers. Genesis has a number of categories/genres to enter, the opportunity for unbiased feedback on writers' work by published authors and experienced judges, and the chance for the category finalists to have their work read by Christian publishing house editors and literary agents. ACFW has been pleased to see previous category winners and finalists move further in their writing careers to become published authors.
The Genesis Contest opens January 2, 2012 8:00 a.m. CST.
ELIGIBILITY - The 2012 ACFW Genesis Contest is open to ACFW members and non-members unpublished in adult or young adult fiction or unpublished since September 1, 2005. If you have been published by a small press or electronic book publisher, see the FAQ page for more information about your eligibility.
Any author contracted for publication before March 2, 2012 is not eligible to enter the Genesis Contest. After March 2, 2012, if an entrant receives a contract on a manuscript entered in the Genesis Contest, the manuscript may remain in the contest. See FAQ page for a more detailed explanation.
Self-published authors are eligible, however they may not enter a manuscript that is in print or that was/is available for purchase at any time between September 1, 2005 and September 1, 2012.
Previously entered manuscripts may be entered again, but category winning manuscripts from previous ACFW contests or FaithWords finalist manuscripts (from the 2006 Genesis Contest) may not be entered again. Manuscripts that have been finalists, not category winners, may be entered again. See FAQ page for a more detailed explanation.
PRIZES - Each category will have one first place winner. The first place entry in each category will receive a winner's plaque, a gold Genesis lapel pin, and first choice for editor/agent appointments at the 2013 ACFW National Conference, plus one hour of telephone mentoring time with a published author. The winners will be announced at the 2012 ACFW Conference. The finalists in each category will receive a certificate and silver Genesis lapel pin. Finalists will be announced by May 28, 2012.
ACFW and the Genesis Contest do NOT guarantee that a winning or finalist entry will receive a publishing contract.
FEES - The ACFW member fee is $35 per entry. Non-ACFW member fee is $95 per entry. You may choose to join ACFW at the time of entrance in order to receive the member entry fee rate. Once your membership has been processed, you will be eligible to use the member rate. Multiple entries will require multiple entry fees. (If you are entering the Genesis Contest will multiple manuscripts, please wait 20 minutes in between entries to allow our system to fully process each individual entry.)
Any break in membership during the course of the contest will result in withdrawal of the entry and forfeiture of the entry fee.
If an entrant must withdraw from the contest for any reason they must forfeit their entry fee.
GUIDELINES - Please enter using the Genesis Online Entry Form. Entrants must fill out one entry form for each manuscript they enter.
All entrants are required to check the "accept" box on the entry form for the Contest Release, indicating acceptance of terms. If the "accept" box is not checked for the Contest Release, entry will be disqualified and returned.
Please do not use pseudonyms on the entry form.
This is an all e-mail contest. Do not send hard copies of manuscripts. They will not be returned or judged. Only entries from novel manuscripts (completed or projected manuscript word count at 45,000 words or longer) will be accepted, not short stories or novellas. No co-authored entries will be accepted.
All contest entries and contest fees must be received by 3:00 p.m. CST on March 2, 2012. If any entry and/or fees are received after 3:00 p.m. CST on March 2, 2012, entrant will be notified of disqualification and fees will be returned.
All entries will receive a confirmation e-mail of receipt of their entry. If an entrant does not receive a confirmation e-mail by MIDNIGHT CST March 4, 2012, the entrant should e-mail the head coordinator, at genesis@acfw.com, immediately.
Each entrant must upload their entry as an .rtf (rich text) or .doc (Microsoft Word document) when filling out the Genesis Online Entry Form. PLEASE DO NOT UPLOAD .DOCX FILES (WORD 2007 OR LATER). The entries will be judged using Microsoft Word's Track Changes feature. If the entrant does not have Microsoft Word, the judged entry can be returned as a .pdf file instead. See the FAQ page for more information.
The entrant must submit the first 15 pages of their manuscript, double-spaced, and a one-page single-spaced synopsis. The manuscript and the synopsis must be in the same file, not in two different files. If an entry does not have a one-page single-spaced synopsis, the entry will be disqualified.
The entrant may enter a maximum of 15 manuscript pages (not including the one-page synopsis) even if this is more than the first chapter. Prologues are acceptable. An entry may be shorter than 15 pages, stopping at a logical concluding point. If the manuscript portion of an entry (not including the one-page synopsis) is longer than 15 pages, the excess pages will be discarded before judging.
Manuscript must be in Courier New, or Times New Roman 12 point font, double-spaced, with margins 1-inch or larger. For more information, see the Manuscript Formatting article.
The Genesis coordinators highly recommend that entrants submit their entries by FEBRUARY 20, 2012, so that if the entry is lost in cyberspace or if any aspect of the entry is unacceptable, the entrant can e-mail a replacement entry before the deadline.
CATEGORIES -
- Contemporary Fiction
- Contemporary Romance (includes romantic comedy)
- Historical Fiction (not romance)
- Historical Romance
- Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
- Romantic Suspense
- Speculative Fiction
- Women's Fiction
- Young Adult
For definitions of the categories, see the FAQ page.
If a category receives fewer than 10 entries, it will not be judged as its own category. On the entry form, entrants may designate a second category for their entry in the event the entrant's first-choice category does not receive 10 or more entries. If the second-choice category also has fewer than 10 entries, the entrant will be contacted.
Entrants may enter multiple manuscripts in multiple categories. They may also enter multiple manuscripts in the same category. Entrants may enter as many categories as they wish. However, entrants may not enter the same manuscript in more than one category. Also, entrants entering multiple manuscripts in the same category may final with more than one manuscript, but they may only place (category winner) with one manuscript. See the FAQ page for a more detailed example.
JUDGING - FIRST ROUND: During the first round, three judges (published authors or experienced writers trained in judging the Genesis Contest) will score each entry, up to a maximum of 100 points per entry. All three scores will be averaged. Discrepancy judges will NOT be used due to the logistics of the contest. See the FAQ page for more information.
A copy of the scoresheet is available as a .pdf download here: GenesisScoresheet.pdf
(You can download Adobe Reader free: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html.)
SEMI-FINAL ROUND: The top 20% of entries from each category will then move on to the semi-final Round. The semi-final judges will be published authors who will read and rank the entries.
FINAL ROUND: The top three semi-final round entries in each category--category finalists--will continue to the final round. In the event of a tie for third place, the first round scores of the tied last place entries will be used to break the tie. Barring unforeseen circumstances, finalists will be notified by May 28, 2012. Finalists will be allowed TWO DAYS ONLY to polish and resubmit their entries before the entries are sent tot he final round judges.
For non-finaling entrants, score sheets and manuscripts will be e-mailed back to each entrant between May 29, 2012 and June 15, 2012. Entrants are asked to please be patient as coordinators return entries, due to the sheer volume of entries and emails. Questions can be emailed to genesis@acfw.com.
For the final found, the final round judges (editors and agents) will not use the score sheet used in the first round of judging. Instead, final round judges will simply give a numerical score of up to 100 points for each final round entry. Final round judges have the option of giving comments on the final round entries but are not required to do so. All three scores will be averaged.
If any finalist is disqualified or withdraws for any reason after March 2, 2012, the next highest scoring non-finaling entry will NOT be moved up to fill the vacant spot as a finalist.
Final Round judges:
- Contemporary Fiction:
Dave Long - Sr. Acquisitions Editor, Bethany House Publishing Les Stobbe - Literary Agent, Stobbe Literary Agency Janyre Tromp - Acquisitions Editor, Kregel Publishing
- Contemporary Romance:
Raela Schoenherr - Acquisitions Editor, Bethany House Publishing Deb Keiser - Acquisitions Editor, Moody Publishers Emily Rodmell - Associate Editor, Love Inspired
- Historical Fiction:
Sarah Long - Acquisitions Editor, Bethany House Publishing Susan Downs - Sr. Acquisitions Editor, Summerside Press Ami McConnell - Sr. Acquisitions Editor, Thomas Nelson Publishing
- Historical Romance:
Charlene Patterson - Managing Editor of Fiction, Bethany House Publishing Mary Sue Seymour - Literary Agent, The Seymour Agency Rebecca Germany - Sr. Fiction Editor, Barbour Publishers
- Mystery/Suspense/Thriller:
Jan Stob - Sr. Acquisitions Editor, Tyndale House Publishers Natasha Kern - Literary Agent, Natasha Kern Literary Agency Linda Glaz - Literary Agent, Hartline Literary Agency
- Romantic Suspense:
Karen Schurrer - Acquisitions Editor, Bethany House Publishers Kim Moore - Sr. Editor, Harvest House Publishers Joyce Hart - Literary Agent, Hartline Literary Agency
- Speculative Fiction:
Jeff Gerke - Founder, Marcher Lord Press Amanda Luedeke - Literary Agent, MacGregor Literary Agency Julie Gwinn - Fiction Manager, B&H Publishing
- Women's Fiction:
Stephanie Broene - Acquisitions Editor, Tyndale House Publishers Sue Brower - Executive Editor for Fiction, Zondervan Publishing Barbara Scott - Literary Agent, WordServe Literary Group
- Young Adult:
Terry Burns - Literary Agent, Hartline Literary Agency Ramona Tucker - Co-founder & Acquisitions Editor, OakTara Publishers Nancy Lohr - Acquisitions Editor, Journeyforth Publishing (BJU Press)
During the final round, three final round judges (see above) will score each entry, and the three scores will be averaged. Discrepancy judges will NOT be used. In each category, the entry receiving the top final round score becomes the category winner. The final round scores alone determine the category winners. If any category winner is disqualified or withdraws for any reason, the next highest-scoring finalist will be moved up to become category winner.
Under no circumstances should comments given by a judge be used for publicity purposes without the express consent of the judge.
The Category Winners will be announced at the 2012 ACFW National Conference. See "Prizes" for the awards designated.
All finalists (top 3 entries in each category) will be asked to e-mail a digital headshot photo for the awards ceremony at the 2012 ACFW Conference and publicity purposes. Contestants are encouraged to complete contest manuscripts in the event they are requested by a final round judge.
For more information, see the FAQ page on the ACFW website.
SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS
See the Sample Manuscript page (.pdf) and the Manuscript Formatting article (.pdf) both available as downloads from the ACFW website.
(You can download Adobe Reader free: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html.)
- Use 12 point font, double-spaced, with one-inch margins. The contest requires the use of Courier New or Times New Roman.
- Include a header on each manuscript with the title, category/genre, entire manuscript word count, and page numbers. NO entrant's name or pseudonym should be in the header.
- Send the first 15 pages of your manuscript, even if this is more than your first chapter. Prologues are acceptable. Start the first page of each chapter one-third to halfway down the page. DO NOT send more than 15 pages of your manuscript and a one page synopsis (16 pages maximum).
- Send a one-page single-spaced synopsis, included in the file with your manuscript. Do NOT send a separate file for your synopsis. See FAQ page for more information.
- Category coordinators are listed below.
- Fill out entry form, upload entry file, and pay contest fee using the Genesis Online Entry form. Do not use your pseudonym on the entry form. If joining ACFW, include application and membership fee as well. The ACFW member entry fee is $35 per entry. Non-member fee is $95 per entry. You may choose to join ACFW at the time of entrance in order to receive the member entry fee rate. Once your membership has been processed you will be eligible to receive the member rate.
- Do NOT place your name or pseudonym anywhere on the manuscript.
Entries not fulfilling the above specifications will be disqualified. Entry fees will not be refunded.
For more information, see the FAQ page on the ACFW website.
If you have any questions, please e-mail the head contest coordinator, Pam Meyers at genesis@acfw.com.
Category coordinators:
When e-mailing coordinators, please put "Genesis" in the subject line.
For Contemporary Fiction:
Syndi Powell
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
For Contemporary Romance:
Angie Arndt
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
For Historical Fiction (not romance):
Margie Vawter
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
For Historical Romance:
Tiffany Stockton
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
For Mystery/Suspense/Thriller:
Ginny Smith
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
For Romantic Suspense:
Sharon Lavy
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
For Speculative Fiction:
Sarah Sawyer
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
For Women’s Fiction:
Ane Mulligan
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
For Young Adult:
D'Ann Mateer
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
- Is your font 12 point?
- Is your font Courier New or Times New Roman?
- Do you have a margin of one inch or larger on all sides?
- Is your entry double-spaced?
- Is your chapter heading one-third to halfway down the page?
- Do ALL pages in your manuscript have a header with the title, category, total manuscript word count, and page number?
- Did you make sure your name, personal information, and/or pseudonym is NOT in the header or anywhere on the manuscript?
- Is your entry 15 pages or less, not including the synopsis?
- Did you include a one-page, single-spaced synopsis?
- Is the synopsis included in the file with your manuscript, NOT in a separate file?
- Entries not fulfilling the above specifications will be disqualified.