Central Florida Romance Writers
2008 Touch of Magic Contest

Who Can Enter

The contest is open to RWA® members not published in book–length fiction during the past five years. For the purposes of this contest, “book–length fiction” is defined as 40,000 words or more, and “published” means having fully executed a contract with an RWA®–recognized publisher. No entrant may submit a manuscript for which a publication offer is pending, or under contract by any publisher (recognized or not). Previous Touch of Magic finalists may not re-enter the same manuscript. No entrant may submit a manuscript to a contest category s/he is judging or coordinating. If the entry is authored by more than one person in partnership, both authors must meet all entry requirements.

Submission Guidelines
A complete submission will include four (4) copies of the beginning of a manuscript (including prologue, if applicable), not to exceed 25 pages total, and four copies of a synopsis, not to exceed 3 pages (double-spaced) of your original manuscript. The synopsis will be used for reference only and will not be scored.

Your entry must fit into one of our five official categories:

• Series Contemporary (Long and Short): manuscripts intended for submission to one of the Harlequin or Silhouette category romance lines
• Single Title Contemporary: manuscripts intended for submission to a single title publishing house
• Historical: manuscripts in which the action takes place previous to 1900
• Paranormal: manuscripts which include paranormal elements, time travels, or futuristics
• Novel with Strong Romantic Elements: manuscripts in which romance is a strong, but not primary, theme; e.g. chick lit, women’s fiction

Contestants may enter more than one manuscript, but each entry must be mailed separately, and each submission may be entered in only one contest category. Each entry must contain a separate entry form which must bear an original signature.

Entry Fee
$30 for CFRW members, $35 for non-members. This includes return postage. Fees may be paid by check or money order. Make checks payable to Central Florida Romance Writers. You may use a single check to pay for multiple entries; however, each entry requires a separate fee.

(Note: as a convenience for international entrants, you may use PayPal. Be aware there is a surcharge to cover the additional cost of postage for returning manuscripts.)

Entry Deadline
Complete entries and fees must be received by the appropriate category coordinator no later than March 13, 2008. Contest entries will be capped at a total of 125. Should a category not receive a minimum of 7 entries, that category will not be judged. Contestants will have the option of entering another category or having their manuscript and fees returned.

Manuscript Format
Both manuscript and synopsis must be double–spaced in an appropriate 12–point font (script fonts will be disqualified), collated, with one–inch margins and approximately 24–27 lines per page. Page headers should contain the title and contest category on the left, and page number on the right. Example:  

Entrant’s name(s) must not appear on the manuscript or synopsis. Entries with names will be disqualified. For any disqualified entries, checks will be returned, and the entry destroyed.

Each manuscript should be separated from the synopsis with a piece of colored paper and bound with a binder or butterfly clip. Do not use staples.

Judging
Each entry will be judged in the initial round by three judges. CFRW will make every effort (but cannot guarantee) to provide experienced and/or certified contest judges, including at least one published judge, per entry. The top three entries in each category will become finalists.

Finalists will proceed to a second round of judging. CFRW will make every effort (but cannot guarantee) to provide an actively acquiring editor or agent for the final round of judging.

Final round judges:

Paranormal - Kate Seaver, The Berkley Publishing Group

Series - Wanda Ottewell, Harlequin

NSRE - Melissa Singer, TOR

Historical/Regency - Hilary Sares, Kensington

Single Title - Paula Eykelhof, Harlequin

Finalists will be notified of their status by either telephone or email on approximately May 15, 2008. CFRW will make every effort to notify finalists promptly. Finalists will have one week to make any revisions and return their entries before they are sent to the final round judges. If revisions are not received, the original entry will be sent.

CFRW reserves the right to cancel any or all contest categories due to non–participation. In the event that a category is canceled, the entries will be returned using the address label provided.

Prizes
Finalists will be notified and their status posted on the CFRW website (www.cfrwa.org) on or about May 15, 2008. Final round results will be posted by early July. A list of all winners and finalists will be submitted for inclusion in RWR.

All finalists will receive a certificate suitable for framing. Winners will receive a Touch of Magic charm.

Entry Preparation
A completed entry contains the following:

• One completed, signed entry form(pdf)
• One check or money order for the appropriate entry fee
• Four copies of the manuscript and synopsis bound with a binder clip
• One self-addressed Priority Mail address label for return of score sheets (free at the Post Office) Label only; no postage or envelope. Your fee includes return postage.
• Optional – SAS postcard to confirm receipt of entry.

Please mail your completed entry to the appropriate coordinator:

FRW is not responsible for materials lost in the mail.

Entries must be RECEIVED no later than Thursday, March 13, 2008!

Entrant Agreement
All entrants, by signing the entry form, acknowledge that they have read and understand the official rules of CFRW’s 2008 Touch of Magic Contest; that they realize and accept that manuscript judging is subjective; that they agree to abide by the decisions of any judge and/or contest official; and that they shall hold harmless CFRW, its contest personnel, and its judges for any and all disputes arising from contest rulings and/or decisions and or/circumstances beyond the control of contest officials.

Thank you for entering the Touch of Magic Contest.

Good luck!

Past Touch of Magic Winners

Congratulations to all our winners!