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Sharp Synopsis Contest

Time to Sharpen that Synopsis

Is your synopsis dull and tepid? Does your synopsis suffer from wordiness or lack of clarity? Do you want feedback on how to make your synopsis exciting and sharp?

SFA-RWA is proud to announce the second annual Sharp Synopsis Contest. We want to help authors write detailed, precise, and yet when needed, concise synopsis and have them ready to submit to an editor or agent at a moment’s notice. Send us your synopsis and we will help you sharpen it and place in front of an acquiring agent.

Here are the details of the contest:

Eligibility: All unpublished and published authors are welcome to enter into the following categories:

• Short Contemporary
• Long Contemporary
• Historical
• Paranormal

Non-RWA authors are encouraged to submit their work.

Submission Requirements

Send us four (4) copies of:

• Your short synopsis (2 pages maximum) and
• Your long synopsis (5-12 pages) to be judged
• AND one (1) copy of the first 10 pages of your manuscript (unjudged).

If you are a finalist, your short and long synopsis and the first 10 pages of your manuscript will be sent to an agent for final judging.

Judges and Categories

Preliminary judges are aspiring authors, PRO and PAN members. All judges receive training. Every entry will be judged by at least one published author.

Final judges: acquiring agents:

• Short Contemporary – Jennifer Jackson (Donald Maas Agency)
• Long Contemporary – Jessica Faust (Book Ends, LLC)
• Historical – Paige Wheeler (Creative Media Agency)
• Paranormal – Ethan Ellenberg (Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency)

Contest Deadline

All entries must be postmarked by January 20, 2006.

Contest Fee

$20.00 (US Dollars)

Questions?

FMI, please go to www.sfarwa.com/ or contact the Sharp Synopsis Contest Coordinators.

For Short Contemporary and Long Contemporary categories, contact Madelyn Bello. For Historical and Paranormal categories, contact Lisa Kelly.

Sharp Synopsis Contest Forms

• Sharp Synopsis Guidelines
• Sharp Synopsis Entry Form
• Sharp Synopsis Contest Checklist
• Sharp Synopsis Scoresheet

Mail to:

For Historical and Futuristic/Fantasy/Paranormal entries, please send entries to:
• Lisa Kelly
• 2660 Camino Segura
• Pleasanton, CA 94566

For Short and Long Contemporary entries, please send entries to:
• Madelyn Bello
• 420 France Avenue
• San Francisco, CA 94112

Updated 1-20-2006 by Webmaster