Margery Allingham & CWA Debut Dagger Competitions!

MARGERY ALLINGHAM Short Story Competition – 

Deadline 1st March 2016

Online entry is a two-stage process. First you fill out the entry form and submit it below. On the thank you page you will then pay the online entry fee of £15.00 via our payment service, which is provided by PayPal. If you do not make a payment your entry will not be included in the competition even if it has been submitted.

Your privacy: your payment is processed securely by PayPal. They do not pass your card or other details to us, they simply tell us when your payment has been accepted. The information you provide on this page will be used only in connection with the CWA Margery Allingham Short Story competition and will not be passed to any third party.

Submission guidelines
Manuscripts should be 12pt, double spaced, in an easily readable font such as Times, Arial or Helvetica. They must fall within the prescribed word limits. Manuscripts must not include the author’s name or contact details, only the title of the work which will be allocated a unique CWA reference number.

The competition is open to all – both published and unpublished authors- and is for UNPUBLISHED short stories of up to 3,500 words.

Open from 1st October 2015 to 1st March 2016. The fee is subject to VAT.

Terms and Conditions

 CWA Debut Dagger – Deadline February 28th 2016

For 15 years the CWA has been encouraging new writing with its Debut Dagger competition for unpublished writers. The submissions are judged by a panel of top crime editors and agents, and the short listed entries are sent to publishers and agents. The Debut Dagger is open to anyone who has not yet had a novel published commercially. All shortlisted entrants will receive a professional assessment of their entries. Winning the Debut Dagger doesn’t guarantee you’ll get published. But it does mean your work will be seen leading agents and top editors, who have signed up over two dozen winners and shortlisted Debut Dagger competitors.

Submission Guidelines

Manuscripts should be 12pt, double spaced, in an easily readable font such as Times, Arial or Helvetica. They must fall within the prescribed word limit. Manuscripts must not include the author’s name or contact details, only the title of the work which will be allocated a unique CWA reference number.

Entries may be submitted at any time between 9.00 am on 1st August 2015 and 12:59 pm on February 28 2016. Early or late entries will not be considered.

Terms and Conditions

The competition is open to anyone who has not had a novel published commercially and does not have a current publishing contract for a novel in any genre. Published non-fiction or short-story writers may enter. Self-published authors of books on Kindle are eligible to enter. However, other self-published and/or e-published writers of novel length works must check eligibility with the ograniser before completing the entry form. Any number of entries accepted provided that each is accompanied by the entrance fee of £30.

1. Entrants should submit the opening of a proposed crime novel (up to 3,000 words) together with a synopsis (500 to 1,000 words) of its further development.
2. The 2016 competition opens on 1st August 2014, and has a closing date of 28 February 2016. Entries may be submitted at any time between the opening and closing dates. Entries received after the closing date will not be considered.
3. An entry fee of £30 must be paid before you are able to send your submission. After payment an automated email will be sent to you with your unique reference number and a URL.
4. Submissions must be in English and typed using double-line spacing. Pages must be numbered with the title of your story included on each page. Personal information must only appear on the covering email. Do not include a cover sheet.
5. All entries must be submitted as a single file containing both the opening 3000 words and the synopsis. The file should be saved with the text double-spaced and the margins set for A4 paper (210 x 297mm).
6. The file must be in the following formats: Microsoft Word Document (*.doc).
7. The entrant is responsible for ensuring that the file is readable and uncorrupted.
8. The file cannot be amended or changed in any way once it has been submitted.
9. Any entrant who submits a file or e-mail containing a virus will be immediately disqualified and will forfeit their entry fee.
10. We will acknowledge receipt of entries and payment by automated e-mail.
11. At our discretion, and only where practicable, we may notify an entrant of an unreadable file and invite them to resubmit the entry.
12. A shortlist of entries, selected by professional readers, will be forwarded to a final judging panel chaired by the CWA Chairman, and composed of crime fiction editors from major publishing houses and authors’ agents. The judges’ decision is final and we will not enter into any correspondence about the result. Shortlisted authors will be announced at CrimeFest and the winner will be announced at the CWA Dagger Awards Dinner in September 2016.
13. Shortlisted authors will receive a professional assessment of their entry. The winner will receive a prize of £500. There are no cash alternatives to non-cash prizes.
14. There is no commitment to publish the winning entry.
15. Copyright will remain with the entrant

For more information check out The Crime Writers’ Association.

For more details visit HERE