top of page

ANNUAL
WRITING 
Competition

Plus Professional

Editing and Reviews

​

Guidelines

AWW desktop.webp

A Woman's Write Novel Contest

 

UNPUBLISHED NOVELS ONLY:

We respect the self-publishing and conventional publishing industries and our authors' aspirations. That's why, with our critique and communication with authors we hope to take them closer to that goal  -- but our contest is now and has always been for unpublished manuscripts only. PLEASE NOTE: Writers retain all rights to their submitted works.

 

We are more interested in a good story well told and a point well made than in attempts to sound literary or poetic. Make us love or hate your characters, believe or disbelieve your thesis, by your excellent prose composition. Get us involved in the narrative, or interested in the facts, by moving us skillfully from point A to point B.

 

Read the instructions carefully and submit accordingly. Inattention to detail can result in disqualification. The editors of AWW are themselves contest entrants (and occasional winners) and are well acquainted with the frustrations of getting it wrong and kicking oneself for having gotten it wrong. Please, read. Questions? Krisraww@gmail.com

 

Important: Contestants should be women 18 or older writing in English. Submitting your entry certifies that you are eligible, and that all work submitted is your own. Entry fees are non-refundable and are payable only through VENMO: @Kristan-Ryan or through Cash App: $KristanRyan or through PayPal: @krisrawomanswrite.  Judge's decisions are final.

​

 

Prizes:

​

AWW Unpublished Novel Contest: 

One award of $500.00 will be awarded to the fiction book judged best by our judges. Winner will also receive a certificate and notification on the AWW website. Second and Third place winners will receive $50 each and be announced on the front of the website.

 

Editors may, at their discretion, award an "Honorable Mention Prize" to include a certificate, refund of the $60 fee, and notification on the AWW website. 

​

All initial submissions will receive a fair, thorough, thoughtful critique within one month unless otherwise specified. The critique will include line edits in the first ten pages of the manuscript, plus a developmental analysis including explanations of line edits, commentary on characters, plot, and recommended changes. Resubmissions do not receive a critique. 

​

 

Instructions for Submissions:

 

1. a) Entry fee is $60.00, to be paid via VENMO @Kristan-Ryan or Cash App $KristanRyan, for all submissions and includes a thorough, thoughtful critique with up to ten pages of line editing comments and corrections.

b) You will be given an opinion and suggestions about character and plot development/ logic and rationale. 

c) You may submit what you have originally written to the competition after receiving your first ten page edits without making the changes for no extra cost. 

d) Be sure to include a 1-2 page synopsis of the entire novel with your submission for your editors to read. This helps us edit your work so we can understand where you are headed.

​​

2. However, after receiving your critique, you may RESUBMIT the first 50 pages again having applied changes based on our comments and suggestions. This resubmission having made the changes will be accompanied by a $20.00 reading fee, to be paid via VENMO @Kristan-Ryan or Cash App $KristanRyan (as posted), and represents your final entry into the competition. Resubmissions can only be made for each contest period and must be received two weeks prior to the end of the competition. 

​

SEND YOUR SUBMISSION OR RE-SUBMISSION with  PAYMENT TO Kristan Ryan @krisrawomanswrite

SEND YOUR ENTRY AND BIO TO Krisraww@gmail.com

All inquiries about payment or any aspect of the competition should be addressed to Kristan Ryan at Krisraww@gmail.com

​

Entries submitted initially for critique will be judged as sent if not resubmitted. Resubmissions based on rewriting will be judged as the final entry in place of the original entry with their additional $20 payment with no exceptions.

​

2. SUBMIT ONLY THE FIRST 50 PAGES OF YOUR NOVEL as a Microsoft Word document (the file extension should be .doc or doc.x), font size 12 points, Times New Roman, double spacing, "Normal" margins (1 inch on all sides). Put the author's last name at the top left and page numbers on the top right of every page.

 

3.In a separate document, send a detailed, chapter-by-chapter plot synopsis for the entire book, up to two single-spaced pages.

 

4. All work must be accompanied by a one-page cover letter (email) that includes the statement: "I understand and agree to comply with all contest rules and instructions." The letter must also include a brief biography of the author, with full name, mailing address, email and phone number.

 

5. Do NOT include: cover page, table of contents, illustrations, decorations, or special fonts. Send 50 pages full of your good writing. Avoid long spacing between chapters to show us more of what you want to say. 

 

6. Absolutely no gratuitous pornography or any material that is intentionally degrading to any group will be accepted. Keep four-letter words to a minimum -- our staff is easily embarrassed.

 

A book, for purposes of this competition, should be at least 60,000 words. Entries to the competition must be sent no later than two weeks prior to the ending date of the competition. Critiques will be sent by email within one month of receipt of work. Prize winner will be informed no later than 45 days from the closing date of the competition.  In the case of a tie in the final judging process, you may be asked to submit the complete novel electronically. Judges will advise you if this is the case. (Failure to submit the complete book on request within one week is grounds for disqualification.)

​​​​​​

UNPUBLISHED NOVELS ONLY:

We respect the self-publishing and conventional publishing industries and our authors' aspirations. That's why, with our critique and communication with authors we hope to take them closer to that goal  -- but our contests are now and have always been for unpublished manuscripts only. PLEASE NOTE: Writers retain all rights to their submitted works.

By Women, for Women

A Woman's Write Novel Contest

​

By Women, for Women

A Woman's Write Novel Contest

 

By Women, for Women

A Woman's Write Novel Contest

 

By Women, for Women

Let's Talk about A Woman's Write

Krisraww@gmail.com

​

A CONSORTIUM OF
WOMEN WHO WRITE...    About Us

 
We know what it's like to feel undervalued and alone, and occasionally to revel in the sense of woman's power and wild exultant truth. We've been on pilgrimages both by airplane and inner planes, looking for our own personal piece of the spiritual landscape, and we've enjoyed the excesses of the physical when we could. We've watched our children (and in some cases our grandchildren) growing and becoming. We've fought the good fight with incorrigible husbands, partners, and lovers. And we've had the pleasure of putting it on paper in our different ways as amateur and professional writers.

Editors:

 
Kristan Ryan
Kris says:



"I was ten years old before I realized that all children weren't chased home from school by camels--that was when I landed in my mother's hometown of Lynchburg, Virginia. As a military brat, I spent my early years growing up in Germany and outside of Casablanca, Morocco, where I read every Nancy Drew Mystery my parents could import. I'm a produced and published playwright and writer but now run my own business as a professional artist who’s major art project also contains the story next to it about the anger of each person painted. This art project is called “Angry Females Done Swallowing Our Words”.  I now live in Lexington, Georgia, after working in Northern China for 4.5 years and in Athens, GA for 3 years.  My first novel Strange Angels: The Book of Damaris was published in 2004 followed by The Hair Princess and The Hog Temple Incident in 2006. I am currently working on a book about the experiences of women who were vocational students and their experiences that changed their lives dramatically.

Writing tips:
As well as being a writer who reads her work in public, I have also taught verbal communications to college students and required them to give speeches and to read their essays and poems in front of an audience. I have found that my students often make some of the same mistakes I've seen writers make at book signings when reading excerpts from their novels, so I thought I'd give you some of the tips once we work together. If you are already familiar with these tips and think I'm an idiot for mentioning these things, then let me apologize in advance. If not, take the advice you feel you need once we work together and leave the rest.

Kristan is the Lead Editor for A Woman's Write.
email: Krisraww@gmail.com




Barbara Bamberger Scott. 
Barbara says:




Barbara started A Woman's Write because she herself is an avid fan of writing contests. The first time she paid to enter a contest that offered a critique, she was disappointed - it was brief, non-specific and unhelpful. Now it is a central principle of A Woman's Write to create a THOROUGH, THOUGHTFUL, PRACTICAL critique for all submitters. This service has garnered much appreciation over the 15 years of our online presence. 
Barbara reviews books on the worldwide web, and her articles can be seen at www.homestead.org. See more about her review services on our Review Services page. 
Email: barscoinc@gmail.com

Writing tip:
Write something new every day





Rebekah Spivey
Rebekah says: 




Rebekah says she studied creative writing and sociology at Indiana University. She has lived and worked on the Isle of Mull in Scotland. She is a lifelong writer and lover of words who has co-created and led a group called Poetry Detectives, an informal group that discusses poetry in a non-academic way in order to make the genre more approachable. She has a seventeen-year association with Women Writing for (a) Change, Bloomington, a group that supports giving every person a voice  through writing. Rebekah has been a certifed facilitator with Women Writing since 2013 and currently facilitates a semester-long virtual class.  She has coordinated a Women Writing (a) Change retreat on the Isle of Iona off the west coast of Scotland. And facilitates winter writing retreats for Women of Writing. 

Rebekah retired in 2012 from Indiana Daily Student newspaper IU after seventeen years as part of the professional staff.  She has been a part-time senior editor for Holon Publishing, a self-publishing company since 2019 and is editor for private clients.  Rebekah's first novel Marigolds in Boxes was published in September 2024.



​​
  • b-facebook
  • Twitter Round
bottom of page