OUR WEBSITE CONTAINS WRITER'S TIPS, INFORMATION ABOUT OUR EDITING SERVICES, LINKS TO OTHER SALUTORY SITES, SHAMELESS ADVERTISING FOR OUR OWN CREATIVE PROJECTS AND A WRITING CONTEST THAT INVITES YOU TO SURPRISE US, PLEASE US, AND TICKLE OUR LITERARY FANCY--WITH CASH PRIZES FOR THE WINNERS!

AWW News

NEW Editing Site Launched: TheBookMD.com

A Woman's Write Editor Barbara Bamberger Scott now hosts a new site for ALL writers (male and female, 18 and over) -- an opportunity to receive a fair, thought-provoking, professional analysis of your book, fiction or non-fiction, memoir -- any prose book including works-in-progress. Many of our AWW participants have asked for this service, and here it is: www.thebookmd.com
 
Throughout the year 2010, all former AWW entrants will be given a 10% discount for a Book MD critique. This is a perfect way to prepare your creative project for competition or publication, with proven professional assistance.

2009 Winners

The Good Read competition, 2009, was our best ever, with many exceptional entries, making the judging especially difficult. Our congratulations to ERNA MUELLER whose fantasy of cyber hackers and a hardboiled policeman turned angelic K9 Kop, Spencer’s Tail, won paws down. Ms. Meuller describes herself as “a mild-mannered accountant by day, a passionate writer by night.” We were so amused by her synopsis that we could hardly wait to read the book segment, and when we did we were thrilled with her twisting plot, engaging heroes, scurrilous villains, canine crime fighters, and unflagging sense of humor. Truly a good read.

Erna says, "The GOOD READ COMPETITION was very professional and encouraging which made for a wonderful experience. Thank you, Woman’s Write, for giving us aspiring writers an opportunity to showcase our work." Read more about Erna and her book on our Winners page.

The economic downturn has many of us scowling, so to brighten the general landscape we have chosen two books for Honorable Distinction and a refund of their original $40 entry fee. These are:

Dear Miss Ivy by JULIA HURLEY, a gentle but plausible reminder that true love may come late in life. Throw in a cross-country odyssey, a packet of long-forgotten letters, and a guardian angel in the form of an old woman in a nursing home and you have reasoned passion with a hint of mystery. Julia writes: "Thank you all very much for the chance to have someone read my story, Dear Miss Ivy. Where I live, I have little opportunity for feedback. Your notification was a great holiday gift."

Miranda Warning by MARILYN RUCKER NORROD, a quirky tale of murder, love gone wrong, and the hope of love going right, in which law school grad Miranda Beeling and her oddball friends in the Richland Community Band uncover one another's secrets, the promise of romance, and the identity of their trombonist's killer. "Your contest is a great resource for women writers," Marilyn declares. "The suggestions and edits your editor made on my manuscript really helped me. Thanks for a terrific opportunity!"

Another AWW Winner Gets Published

Houses, our 2008 Good Read winner by Cynthia Parks, has been published by Leigh Walker Books. We are pleased that yet another book that we liked has caught a publisher's eye, and we wish Cynthia further achievements in her writing career.

When she learned she’d won our Good Read prize, Cynthia wrote, “I am especially grateful to A Woman's Write for the opportunity it offers women to "test the waters," so to speak, with our work. The website offers clear directions about contests, encourages us with the success stories of others, and generally provides a useful and supportive environment for women who are serious about their craft.”

See Houses and other published AWW winners on our Success Stories page.

The Good Read Novel Competition Enters A New Year

At A Woman's Write, we want to give new or as yet unrecognized writers a chance to have their work read and analyzed, along an a opportunity to win a significant cash prize to assist in furthering their creative ambitions.

Here's how it works:

Submit the first 75 pages of your unpublished novel to our Good Read competition, along with a $40 fee. Within a few weeks you will receive a thorough, thoughtful critique with editing comments and corrections. You will be given an opinion about character and plot development.

You then have the option to resubmit the entire novel, having applied changes based on our comments and suggestions. This resubmission will be accompanied by a $20 reading fee and represents your final entry into the competition.

Entries submitted initially for critique will be judged if not resubmitted. Resubmissions will be judged as the final entry in place of the original entry, with no exceptions.

This lower fee scale including critique will, we hope, serve as a motivation to all writers in these economically pressing times to send their work for a professional analysis, with the further incentive to make an effort to improve the work -- and the possibility of winning $500.

The Good Read competition runs yearly from January 1 until November 30. December will be a closed month in which judging will take place after all entries have been read and critiqued. A winner will be announced on January 1.

We have been rewarded many times over by our entrants who write and thank us for our incisive and helpful comments and edits. Some of our authors have gone on to win other awards and to get published. This makes us believe that at A Woman's Write, we are doing something right for women.
Please read the rules thoroughly, and send us your entry to the Good Read novel competition.