The Fall 2009 Written Art Awards

I thought many of my writer friends would be interested in the following:

RebeccasReads.com is proud to introduce The Written Art Awards, a biannual literary awards program that will take place in the spring and fall of every year. It has been founded to pay tribute to authors who are self-published or have had their books published by a subsidy publisher, small press, university press, or independent book publisher.

Eligibility

The Written Art Awards are open to all authors regardless of residency, however, books must be published in the English language and intended for the North American market. Works published by any major book publishers, their subsidiaries, or their imprints are not permitted. Books must have a 2008 or 2009 copyright date. At this time, boooks may NOT be submitted for more than one category. Authors may submit more than one title. Books of a racist theme will be not be tolerated under any circumstances.

Judging

All initial judging will be done by RebeccasReads.com reviewers. Criteria for judging is content/originality, presentation/design, innovation, social relevance, production quality, enjoyment/impact, plot/story line, and resourcefulness (depending on category). Five semi-finalists in each category will be determined by a point system. Final judging will be determined by a jury of judges.

In the first level of judging, a review will be written and forwarded to you. The review will also be posted on RebeccasReads.com, as well as our weblog and amazon.com. Though we cannot guarantee the turnaround time for the review, we do attempt to review/judge books as soon as they are submitted. The sooner a book is submitted, the sooner a review will be returned. The review will be available for marketing purposes. If a review has already been received from RebeccasReads.com, another review will not be done, and the book will automatically go to the second level of the judging process. Please, do not wait until the deadline to submit a book.

Categories

Fiction Nonfiction

1 General Fiction Including novels and short story collections

2 Mystery/Thriller

3 Humor/Satire

4 Science Fiction/Fantasy

5 General Nonfiction Including history, science, nature and animals, and travel

6 Creative Nonfiction Including biographies, autobiographies, memoirs

7 Self-help

8 Spirituality and Religion Poetry

9 Poetry

Awards

Three semi-finalists will be chosen in each fiction and non-fiction category. First and second place winners will be awarded in each category. Third place will receive an honorable mention.Two finalists, picked from the top scorer in each category, will be selected as the overall winner of Best Fiction and Best Non-Fiction, respectively. Each will receive a certificate. All certificates and awards stickers will be dated for year 2009.

Semi-finalists will be announced in our monthly e-mail newsletter on September 1st, 2009 and the finalists on October 1st, 2009. If we can possibly speed it up, we certainly will.

Entry Fee

The entry fee is $40.00 per title. A title can only be entered in one category. Entry fee must be in USD via U.S. check or international money order payable to: Rebecca's Reads Contestants may also submit payment via PayPal. Need more information on payment arrangements? Contact us. All books entered will become the property of RebeccasReads.com and will be donated to local charities after the awards program is completed. Submissions received without the entry fee will not even be considered. Entry fee is non-refundable.

Registration Deadline

Authors who would like their book sumbitted for the Fall 2009 Awards are encouraged to submit their entries as soon as possible but postmarked no later than June 15th, 2009. Any submission postmarked after this date will not be accepted. (Help us prevent judge burn-out and submit your book early. Our judges read the book in its entirety; please give them plenty of time to read the book.) We will confirm your entry via e-mail so print your email address clearly.

Registration

The Registration form may be downloaded here. Be sure one form is included with each title submitted. One Registration form must accompany each title and sent to:

The Written Art Awardsc/o RebeccasReads.com

7101 W. Highway 71,Suite 250

Austin, TX 78735

Rights

RebeccasReads.com will not retain any rights to submitted books. Nor will they reproduce or publish any submission. All contact information will not be disclosed to a third party other than the sponsor of the above noted awards.RebeccasReads.com reserves the right to disqualify any entry, without prior notice, if guidelines and criteria are not met. Entry fee is non-refundable to disqualified entries.

Important Notice

Please make sure that you enclose two books for each submission. Do not deface your book by stamping it as "review copy" or "promo copy," as we will donate the books to a local library and SafePlace Austin - a center for abused women and children. We also sell some of the books and all the proceeds we receive go to Higher Power Foundation Scholarship Fund. This fund supports people in need of recovery, to attend life-changing workshops.

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