The 2011 Molly Contest for Unpublished Writers
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Heart of Denver Romance Writers is pleased to announce the Winners in the 2011 Molly Contest for unpublished writers.
Contemporary: final round judge; Susan Litman, Harlequin, Special Edition
Cindy Brannam, Mount Juliet, TN, Raising the Bar
Robin Covington, Hollywood, MD, Southern Comfort Winner ** full requested
Caro LaFever, Englewood, CO, Baby by Accident
Historical: final round judge; Katherine Pelz, Penguin Group
Eileen Emerson, Ambler, PA A Whisper to the Wild
Jennifer McQuiston, Decater, GA A Private Affair Winner ** full requested
Bronwyn Stuart, Niame South Australia, Behind the Courtesan
Romantic Suspense: final round judge; Whitney Ross, Tor Books
Anne-Marie Carroll, Tampa, FL Deadly Dilemma
Jan Gurney, Conifer, CO Bears Witness + HODRW member
Robin Weaver, Concord, NC Styrofoam Corpse
Ann Fischer & Linda Baxter, San Jose & Monte Sereno, CA Deadly Secret Winner ** full requested
Single Title: final round judge; Rebecca Strauss, McIntosh & Otis, Inc
Faye Hughes, Camden, NY, A Little Bit Crazy Winner ** full requested
Abigail Sharpe, Gainesville, FL Who Wants to Marry A Cowboy? ** full requested
Sonali Mayadev Thatte, Naperville, IL The Bollywood Bride
Ryann Uden, Rolling Meadows, IL Picture Me
Paranormal/TimeTravel/Futuristic: final round judge, Meredith Giordan, Berkley Publishing Group
Marni Donnelly-Folsom, Port Orchard, WA Flannigan’s Grace
Janet Nickoles, Aurora, CO, Mark of the Moon + HODRW member Winner
Peta Crake, Inglewood, Western Australia, Harbinger
Young Adult: final round judge; Elizabeth Bistrow, NAL
Romily Bernard, Fayetteville, GA, Ashes
Cecily Cornelius-White, Springfield, MO, Angel Academy
Natasha Hacaga, Rochelle, IL Awaken Winner ** full requested
Paula Sharon w/a PJ Sharon, Tolland, MD, Heaven is for Heroes
Unsinkable Heroine: (all received two perfect scores in Round One — 2011 rules: top three scoring are finalists – but with the score ties, we sent five (5) to the final round judge; Suzie Townsend, FinePrint Literary Management. Fall, 2011, moved to Nancy Coffey Literary – still requesting our fulls.
Based on their Round One scores, the below are finalists:
Robin Covington, Southern Comfort, Contemporary
Caro LaFever, Baby by Accident, Contemporary
Kathryn Matzen, The Death Whisperer, Paranormal + HODRW member ** full requested
Janet Nickoles, Mark of the Moon, Paranormal + HODRW member Winner ** full requested
Robin Weaver, Styrofoam Corpse, Romantic Suspense
The following also received two perfect scores on their Heroine:
Cecily Cornelius-White, Snatchers, Young Adult
Sherry Isaac, Homecoming, Paranormal
Sara Leyton, The Reunion, Historical
Heather Molloy, Murphy’s Law, Paranormal
Gloria Richard, Color My World, Single Title
Christine Weston, Kiss Me Cade, Contemporary
Heart of Molly – Member Award final round judge; Jessica Alvarez, BookEnds
Jan Gurney, Conifer, CO, Bears Witness Winner
Alice Fairbanks-Burton, Highlands Ranch, CO Atlantis Riptide
Kathryn Matzen, Lakewood, CO The Death Whisperer
Janet Nickoles, Aurora, CO Mark of the Moon
Vicki Pierce, Denver, CO Wolf Mate
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2011 Molly Information and Rules
Purpose: The purpose of THE MOLLY is to inspire, motivate, and reward unpublished authors of romance fiction.
Eligibility: Participation is open to all unpublished authors of novel length romance fiction and those who have not published within three years prior to contest deadline. Previous Molly FIRST PLACE winning entries are not eligible to enter that winning manuscript. Reformatting and/or title changes of previous winning entries will result in disqualification and forfeiture of entry fees. All work must be the author’s original work that has not been contracted for publication prior to the contest deadline.Molly Entry Form (which may be copied) and entry fee must accompany each submission.
CATEGORIES:
Contemporary – Romantic novels, which may also include sensuality that may or may not be intense. Projected word count: More than 40,000 words.
Single Title – Romantic novels released as individual titles. Projected word count: over 70,000 words.
Romantic Suspense – Romance novels in which suspense may constitute a strong element in the romance plot. Projected word count: over 70,000 words.
Historical - Novels that have a strong romantic element throughout. This includes Regency and gothic romances. Settings must be at least one hundred years in the past. Word count: over 40,000.
Paranormal/Time-Travel/Futuristic - Romantic novels with any time setting that contain elements such as time-travel, angels, or other mystical/paranormal themes or set in the future. Word count: over 40,000 words.
Young Adult – Novels with a romantic element aimed at teen and young adult readers. Word Count: More than 40,000 words.
We accept Electronic entries only in 2011
Entry Deadline: All entries must be received by May 15, 2011. Entries must be received by 11:59pm MDT May 15, 2011. Please factor in your ISP may not deliver in mere seconds.
Entry Fees: Paypal. (click here)
$30 for all HODRW members, $35 for all other RWA members, and $40 for all non-RWA members.
International entries must use the PayPal method and be in US Dollars
Payments by check or money order should be made out to HODRW and be marked for Molly Entry 2011.
Mail to: Lesli Lent P. O. Box 3811, Englewood, CO 80155-3811
EARLY BIRD Deadline –
Checklist
_____ PayPal receipt of payment or confirmation number. Be sure to let us know the email address that goes with it, as it is not always obvious (industriouswriter@ whatever.com), and we don’t always get your name with our confirmations.
_____or One (1) check or money order made out to “HODRW” for the applicable entry fee for each entry
_____ One (1) completed Molly Entry Form and agreement for each entry. Entry forms should be in the body of email.
_____ First up to thirty (30) pages of your manuscript. This can be a combination of Prologue plus Chapter One+, but 30 pages maximum. Formatting should be standard Times New Roman 12 or 14 or Courier 12, double spaced, 1 inch margins, saved in .rtf and five (5) page max of your synopsis (same formatting as ms entry). It is best to use the standard Hard Page Break with the synopsis included in the one file.
_____ Entry sent to the correct category coordinator
ELECTRONIC ENTRIES: Format/Checklist: Each entry will be formatted and presented as follows:
Entries MUST be in an .RTF (rich text format) file. Header on manuscript and synopsis pages should contain title and category in the upper left corner and the page number in the upper right. A category subgenre (i.e. “Regency,” “Time Travel,” “Young Adult,” etc. ) may but need not also be included in the header. We understand formatting sometimes changes in transmission, but every attempt should be taken to maintain proper formatting and ready for printing. Some of the final round judges still ask us to print the finalists entries mailed to them. Author’s name may not appear anywhere on the manuscript or synopsis, or the entry will be disqualified. Author’s name should only be on the separate entry form.
Copy Entry Form and Contestant Agreement into an email with a subject line of Molly Entry and Category name. Attach entry and then email completed form to proper category coordinator. (ENTRIES MUST BE .rtf FORMAT). The title of your entry should be the file name.
Payment is encouraged through PayPal, but payment by check for electronic entries must be received by the HOD treasurer – with a printed entry form for proper tracking – by May 20, 2011.
Verification of receipt of entry will be made by email address included on the entry form. If you do NOT receive a verification email within 72 hours, please notify the appropriate coordinator immediately.
FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH ANY OF THE ABOVE RULES MAY DISQUALIFY THE ENTRY AND THE ENTRY FEE MAY NOT BE REFUNDED.
Judging:
First Round: Two qualified judges will judge the first round. The top 30 percent of entries in each category will move into the second round. Re-judging will occur in the first round only, and only where there is a difference of at least twenty (20) points between the two judges, AND the higher judge gave a score of 85 or more. When re-judging or discrepancy judging occurs, the lowest score will be discarded (whether or not it is an original or rejudged score).
Second Round: The second round will be judged by two published authors. After the four scores from first and second round are received, the lowest of the four scores will be dropped. The three entries with the highest total of the three remaining scores will advance to the finals. Additional finalists will be added in the event of a tie.
Judges for both rounds are encouraged to comment within the manuscript on ELECTRONIC entries.
Click here to see a copy of the Molly’11 – Score Sheets.
Final Round: An editor/agent will select a winner from the finalists.
Final Round Judges:
Contemporary: Susan Litman, Harlequin
Historical: Katherine N Pelz, Penguin Group
Paranormal/TimeTravel/Futuristic: Meredith Giordan, Berkley Publishing Group
Young Adult: Elizabeth Bistrow, NAL
Single Title: Rebecca Strauss, MacIntosh & Otis Literary Agents
Romantic Suspense: Whitney Ross, Tor Books
Heart of Molly (Member-Only Award): Jessica Alvarez, BookEnds Literary Agents
Unsinkable Heroine: Suzie Townsend, FinePrint Literary Mgmt
Notification: First Round semi-finalists will be notified by APPROXIMATELY July 5, 2011. Second Round finalists will be notified by APPROXIMATELY August 28, 2011. Winners will be notified by APPROXIMATELY October 23, 2011, following the contest award ceremony.
Awards: The first place winner in each category will receive the “Molly Award Plaque.” All other finalists will receive certificates. Results will be publicized on loops and in the RWR.
“The Unsinkable Heroine” Award: Each entry will be judged for “The Unsinkable Heroine” award. This award is separate from the regular contest scoring and in no way reflects adversely or advantageously to the general scoring system. The heroine in each entry will be judged for Spunk, Imagination & Creativity, and Unsinkability.
For 2011, all entries with two perfect scores on the Unsinkable Heroine score sheet will be compared to their overall scores in round one. Then the highest three scoring will be advanced to the Unsinkable Heroine finalists. All those others receiving the two perfect scores will receive Honorable Mention certificates.
The Heart of Molly Award: Only Heart of Denver Romance Writers (HODRW) members (as of January 31, 2011) are eligible for this special award at no additional charge and in addition to the Molly and/or Unsinkable Heroine Awards. An agent or editor will select the winner from the first and second round top HODRW scores for the 2011 Heart of Molly Award.
Submission: Entries must be directed to the appropriate category coordinator:
ENTRIES FOR CATEGORIES:
Romantic Suspense
Single Title
Email entry to: Lesli Lent,
RSMolly@hodrw.com or STMolly@hodrw.com
ENTRIES FOR CATEGORIES:
Historical
Contemporary
Email entry to: Grace Larralde,
Mollycoordinator@hodrw.com
ENTRIES FOR CATEGORIES:
Paranormal/TimeTravel/Futuristic
Young Adult
Email entry to: Sarah Wright
General Questions? Email Grace Larralde
