Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America

Image of a coffee cup, piping hot!

SFWA

CONTESTS AND AWARDS

writerbewareimage3

Links checked/Page updated: 2/18/10


There are hundreds of literary contests and awards, online and off. Most are real; some are even prestigious. But many are either fake or pointless. And of the legitimate ones, few are important enough to provide a meaningful addition to your writing resume.

Contest and Award Fakes

Fake contests and awards come in many different guises, but they all have a common goal–to take your money.

Some are outright scams. A few examples, drawn from Writer Beware’s files:

  • A fee-charging literary agency advertises a contest where the prize is agency representation. Representation is indeed offered (to everyone who enters), but the catch is that it comes with a hefty editing fee attached.

  • Another agency uses a false name to run its contest. Entrants are told that even though they didn’t win, their work is “exceptional”, and referred to the agency, which charges an up-front fee.

  • An editing service uses a contest as a way to acquire pool of potential customers. The contest is genuine in that there are winners who get prizes, but everyone else is told that their work needs help, and offered the chance to buy editing at a “discount” from the service.

  • A similar contest is run by a company that provides coverage for screenplay authors. In addition, guaranteed agency representation is promised for “exceptional” scripts. What’s not revealed: the agency is run under a different name by the same people who run the coverage service, and its track record is slim to none.

  • A charity runs a contest in conjunction with a book publisher, with the prize being a publication contract. Entry fees purportedly go to support the charity’s endeavors. What’s not disclosed: the charity and the publisher are run by the same person, and the charity has no verifiable charitable activities.

Other contests are run by questionable publishers. Often the prize is a book contract, and winners don’t find out until afterward that the contract terms are abusive, or that they must pay a fee for publication, or agree to pre-purchase large numbers of books, or pay the publisher for a publicity campaign (a good reason never to enter a contest that doesn’t allow you to refuse a contract if it’s offered). Or the publisher may provide the entrants’ contact information to a vanity publishing service or a fee-charging literary agency, which then sends out solicitations and pays the first publisher a kickback if any of the entrants bite.

Then there are the contest mills, which make money on the front end, via entry fees. Some advertise enormous prizes–$15,000 for the winner, $10,000 for second place, and so on–with correspondingly high entry fees–$25 or $30. But if you read the fine print, you’ll discover that the contest owner reserves the right to award prizes on a pro-rated basis–i.e., the prize amounts are determined by the number of entrants, thus guaranteeing a profit no matter what. Other contest mills are run by writers’ magazines, which conduct a dozen or more contests a year, or by Internet-based groups that offer monthly contests, and advertise under several different names and URLs to draw more entrants.

Similiar to the contest mills are the awards mills, which also feature high entry fees (anywhere from $60 to $80), and dozens of entry categories. Awards mills tend to focus on small press or self-published authors, who face major challenges in getting their work noticed, and hope that an award will help. Although there may be a real prize (money, gift certificates, consults with literary agents), winners just as often receive little more than an announcement on the awards organization’s website–thus enabling the awards organization to avoid cutting into the profit it makes from entry fees–as well as the opportunity to enrich the organization further by buying adjunct merchandise, such as “Award Winner” stickers.

Contest and awards mills are not necessarily scams, since there usually are winners, who generally do receive the promised prizes. Even so, they exist for no other reason than to make a profit for the organizations conducting them, and because of the probable lack of rigorous judging standards (judges are rarely identified, and in some cases may not exist at all), are unlikely to carry any professional prestige.

By far the most common of the fake contests are those conducted by the vanity anthology companies. These companies publish collections of poems, short stories, or essays, which are sold not to the public, but to the contributors. Sometimes publication is contingent on purchase of the anthology and sometimes it isn’t, but either way, writers are pressured to buy multiple copies. Because inclusion in these anthologies is offered to everyone or nearly everyone who enters the contests, an anthology-published poem or story isn’t considered a legitimate literary credit. (For a detailed look at how such vanity anthologizers work, see the Vanity Anthologies page.)

Is It Worth It?

In addition to the legitimacy of a literary contest, there’s another question you may want to consider: is it worth your while to enter?

Many writers see contests as a possible springboard to success–a way to add to their writing resumes, or get a toehold in the industry. This can be true if the contest is prestigious–the Malice Domestic contest run by St. Martin’s Press, for instance, where winning includes a commercial publishing contract, or the Golden Heart Awards, a contest for unpublished book-length romance manuscripts conducted by Romance Writers of America, or the Writers of the Future Contest, which is judged by well-known writers and editors. Such contests are conducted by organizations with standing in the industry, and have rigorous standards and professional judges. If you win or place in one of these, it’s definitely a credit worth mentioning in a query letter.

However, for novelists, poets, and short fiction writers, few of the hundreds of contests available have that kind of prestige. Winning a contest run by an obscure magazine or a local writers’ group or an Internet contest mill won’t cut any ice with agents and editors–not just because they probably won’t have heard of the contest, but because they know that small contests are much less likely to have professional judging standards.

In the film world, things are a bit different, with contests more widely viewed by professionals as a way into the industry. But although there are more contest options for screenwriters, reputable contests are still greatly outnumbered by the pointless, useless, or deceptive ones.

Something else to think about: submitting to a contest takes your work off the market, at least temporarily, since most contests demand exclusive submission. It always amazes me that writers who grouse about agents who want three-month exclusives will happily consign their manuscripts to contest oblivion for much longer periods of time.

Contests can be fun and challenging. If you win, the prizes are a great bonus. Just be careful with your research, and realistic about your expectations. And if you’re serious about a writing career, ask yourself whether your energy wouldn’t be better spent on submitting your work for publication. That’s the real contest, after all–and you can’t win it if you don’t try it.

Assessing Contests and Awards

Following are some tips to help you evaluate the legitimacy of contests and awards programs you may be thinking of entering.

  • Who’s conducting the contest or award program? If it’s an organization, magazine, or publisher you don’t recognize, be sure to verify its legitimacy. If you can’t confirm this to your satisfaction, don’t enter. Ditto for a contest or award that doesn’t name its staff or sponsors–and for any contest or award where you see any of the warning signs listed below. Be especially wary of contests and awards that are conducted by individuals, or are nothing but a webpage of entry guidelines, or are announced on Craigslist, or appear in the form of an ad in the back pages of writers’ magazines (these are usually vanity anthology companies).

    If there’s an organization associated with the contest or awards organizer–for instance, if winning entries will be passed on to a literary agency, or considered by a publisher–verify its reputation too. Make sure there are no undisclosed connections or conflicts of interest.

  • Is the contest or awards program free? If so, you probably have nothing to lose by entering (though if you’re a poet, be aware that a “free” contest is one of the major warning signs of a poetry contest scam–see the Vanity Anthologies page).

  • Is there an entry fee? Contrary to popular belief, an entry fee is not an indication of a questionable contest or awards program. Many legitimate contests and awards charge a fee to cover processing expenses (which sometimes include an honorarium to readers) and to fund the prize.

    However, entry fees should be appropriate. For book manuscripts, stories, or poems, between $5 and $20 is average for smaller or amateur contests. Larger contests, or awards programs, may charge more–especially some of the established independent publisher or self-published book awards–but generally speaking, anything over $25 should prompt you to do some checking. Screenwriting contests can quite a bit more expensive; a few prestigious ones have entry fees that exceed $100. Always research the contest, though, especially if you aren’t familiar with the contest organizer.

  • By entering, do you get the “opportunity” to spend more money? If you’re encouraged to buy additional services when you enter–critiques, marketability analyses, tickets for an awards banquet–or if you win–some dubious awards programs encourage winners to buy stickers and other merchandise–it may be a sign that the contest or awards program is a moneymaking venture, rather than a real competition.

  • How frequently does the organization conduct contests? Running a contest every month, or bunches of contests every quarter, can also be a sign of a moneymaking scheme.

  • How many categories are there? Reputable contests and awards usually have a specific focus, and limit the number of categories under which you can submit. For instance, a contest may be for screenplays only or for book manuscripts only. An awards program for fiction may have separate categories for books, poetry, and short fiction, or be broken down by genre. The point is that a reputable contest or awards program shouldn’t feel like the kitchen sink.

    Be careful of contests that call for any and all talent, especially if everything is lumped together under a single prize (how can a novel manuscript compete with a recorded song or a comedy performance?). Watch out for contests and awards programs that have dozens of separate categories. Some may be reputable–the Independent Publisher Book Awards, for instance, which has more than 60 categories–but it’s also possible that the contest sponsor may be trying to make a profit from entry fees.

  • Are the entry guidelines clearly stated? A legitimate contest or awards program will provide clear rules, including information about categories, deadlines, eligibility, format, fees, prizes and the circumstances in which they will or will not be awarded, judging, and any rights you may be surrendering by entering. If you can’t find these–and especially if there’s no timeline for announcements and awards–don’t enter.

  • Who’ll be doing the judging? It’s in a contest’s or award program’s interest to name its judges, since this speaks directly to legitimacy. It’s important information for you as well, since the prestige of a contest or award has a lot to do with the caliber of the judges, and a contest or award with a judging panel of successful writers and/or industry professionals is much more likely to be a good addition to your writing resume.

    Some organizations prefer to protect judges’ privacy, so a contest or award that doesn’t name its judges isn’t necessarily illegitimate–as long as you’re confident of the reputability of the organization sponsoring the contest or award. If you aren’t, be wary. No-name judges may be underqualified, or  staff may be doing the judging–or, in the case of a contest or award that’s a moneymaking scheme, there may not be any judges at all.

  • Are there fringe benefits? Critiques or meetings with industry professionals can be a worthwhile feature. However, you should never be asked to pay extra for this perk. Also, be sure that the professionals really are professionals. A legitimate contest or awards program should clearly state their names and credentials.

  • What’s the prize? There are many possibilities–money, goods, services, even publication. The prizes should be clearly described (watch out for contests and awards that allow the sponsors to substitute prizes–you may not get what you expect), and they should be appropriate to the sponsor. Unless you’re certain of the sponsor’s legitimacy, contests with large prize amounts–$5,000 and up–should be treated with suspicion, since they may be moneymaking schemes (see Contest Fakes, above).

    Contests or awards that offer representation, publication, or production as prizes can be very appealing, and winning can be a genuine springboard for a writer’s career. Be careful, though, because things aren’t always what they seem. For instance, the National Writing Competition from UndiscoveredAuthors.com offers publication as one of the prizes–but the contest sponsor is vanity publisher BookforceUK. Even if winners don’t have to pay for publication, this prize is no bargain.

    Always research the agency, publisher, magazine, or production company to make sure it’s reputable and successful, and don’t enter a contest or awards program whose rules make it impossible for you to refuse the prize if you win. If publication is involved, be sure you know exactly where and how you’ll be published–magazine contest prizewinners are sometimes published in a separate booklet available only by special order. If you’re looking for exposure, that sort of publication isn’t the way to get it.

    There should never be an extra cost associated with a publication prize. If there is, it’s almost certain the contest or award is a fake.

  • Have you read the fine print? Always read the rules and guidelines carefully before you enter. Odd and unpleasant things are sometimes buried deep in the fine print.

    For instance, a contest may require you to give up various rights even if you don’t win, such as first publication or the right to sell your entry elsewhere. Or winning may impose obligations–for instance, you may be required to use the contest sponsor as your publisher or agent. Giving up copyright may be a condition of the contest, which means the organization holding the contest can use your entry for any purpose it wishes (even without your name). The sponsor may reserve the right to substitute prizes, or to reduce or eliminate prizes if certain conditions aren’t met. Watch out for language suggesting that the contest or awards sponsor can use your entry for purposes other than publicity for the contest. And if you enter a contest online, be aware that you may be giving permission for your entry to be published at the company’s website, whether you win or not (a frequent complaint about the now-defunct vanity anthologizer Poetry.com).

Links

Except for graphics, and where specifically indicated, all Writer Beware contents copyright © 1998-2109 Victoria Strauss

MAY NOT BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT PERMISSION

The material on this website is copyrighted and may not be used without the author's consent.

SFWA® and Nebula Awards® are registered trademarks of
Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc.
Opinions expressed on this web site are not necessarily those of SFWA.