Harper Voyager Books Open for Digital Submissions

Between October 1st and October 14th Harper Voyager Books will be open to manuscripts.  (See full details here). They say:

‘We’re seeking all kinds of adult and young adult speculative fiction for digital publication, but particularly epic fantasy, science fiction, urban fantasy, horror, dystopia and supernatural. ‘ The manuscripts should be between 80,000 to 120,000 words and they should be completed.

This is for their new digital line of books.

This link:

‘How To Submit A Manuscript
To submit, go to www.harpervoyagersubmissions.com and follow the instructions to fill out the form and upload your manuscript.’

Doesn’t work. I suspect it will be working only in that two week period. And they say if you don’t hear from them in three months, consider your ms rejected.

So you have until October first to polish your manuscript!

Calling Aspiring Writers …

The Varuna Publisher Fellowships is open for 2011.

What is Varuna?

It’s a beautiful house in the Blue Mountains which is run as a writers retreat. (For more see here).

What is a fellowship?

In their own words:

‘The Varuna Publisher Fellowships can provide a pathway to bring your work to the attention of a publisher.  It also allows you to work on your manuscript in the unique residential environment of Varuna. You can work on your manuscript, knowing that there’s a publisher who has chosen to read and consider the finished work for publication.

The Varuna Publisher Fellowships program offers 15 one-week residential fellowships during 2012.’

Five publishers are involved in this particular fellowship program. The applicants send 20 -50 pages of their manuscript with a pitch for the project. The publishers select writers based on this. The lucky writers will get a one week stay at Varuna where they can work in peace on their manuscript. There is a consultation with Varuna writing consultants during the residency and when their ms is finished a Varuna writing consultant will read the ms before it is sent to the publisher.

The closing date for applicants is Nov 30th.  For full details see here. The publishers are looking for a broad range of genres.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to get away for a week and do nothing but write?

Is your manuscript you ready for the next step?

Still time to get that manuscript in to the Harper Collins Varuna Awards for Manscript Development. (Closes September 30th) According to the web site:

‘The HarperCollins Varuna Awards for Manuscript Development is all about finding the essential kernel of a manuscript and allowing it time to develop. It’s about enabling possibilities – for both writer and editor – rather than about rushing product into print. A delightful aspect of the program is that this is done residentially, in an environment famously supportive of the writing process.

This program provides five new or emerging writers each year with the experience of working closely with a senior in-house editor from HarperCollins Publishers to develop a book-length manuscript.
15 shortlisted applicants will be offered a discounted 30-minute phone consultation with a Varuna writing consultant. ‘

They say: ‘Projects in all commercially viable genres of fiction or narrative non-fiction will be considered, including young adult, fantasy, romance, popular, crime, literary, travel, life writing and biography. We are looking for projects with a well-established sense of direction and with clear potential for publication. This program is ideally suited to writers on their second or third draft, rather than newly commenced work.’

For more details see here.

Calling Aspiring Writers

NOTE:  As Chris just pointed out to me, today is the 15th of September.  Very sorry about this, I lost track of the weeks.  The Scribe Fiction Prize is annual, so look out for it next year.

The Scribe $15,000 Fiction Prize is open again. For details see here. This year they will be taking entries electronically. They say:

‘In August 2009, Scribe launched the CAL Scribe Fiction Prize for an unpublished manuscript by an Australian writer aged 35 and over, regardless of publication history. The winner receives $15,000 and a book contract from Scribe.

Many writers only find the time and have acquired the life experience to write fiction later in life. This prize recognises that there are many examples of late bloomers when it comes to writers, certainly in terms of getting published. Youth is already celebrated in so many ways, and Scribe wants to support writers who are emerging or still going strong in their prime.’

Entries close Septmber 15th. There’s a minimum word count of 40,000 words.