b) Each entrant should keep a copy of the Manuscript for his or her own protection.

c) Because of the great volume of submissions we receive and the fact that our judges are volunteers with full-time responsibilities elsewhere, it is important that you submit your Manuscript as early as possible. Submissions will get a more careful reading if the judge does not have to contend with a flood of last-minute entries.

The entry form is available HERE. 

3.  Entrants must have a valid e-mail address.  In case of dispute as to identity of an entrant, entry will be declared made by the authorized account holder of the e-mail address provided to Minotaur Books.  “Authorized Account Holder” is defined as a natural person who is assigned an e-mail address by an Internet access provider, online service provider, or other organization (e.g., business, educational institution, etc.) responsible for assigning e-mail addresses or the domain associated with the submitted e-mail address.  Minotaur Books and Mystery Writers of America are not responsible for technical, hardware, software, telephone or other communications malfunctions, errors or failures of any kind, lost or unavailable network connections, website, Internet, or ISP unavailability, unauthorized human intervention, traffic congestion, incomplete or inaccurate capture of entry information (regardless of cause) or failed, incomplete, or delayed computer transmissions which may limit one's ability to enter this Competition, including any injury or damage to any computer relating to or resulting from downloading any materials in this Competition.

4. All Manuscripts submitted: a) must be original works of book length (no less than 220 typewritten pages or approximately 60,000 words) written in the English language; b) must be written solely by the entrant, who may not be the author of any previously Published Novel; c) must not violate any right of any third party or be libelous, and d) must generally follow the Guidelines below.

GUIDELINES 

a. Murder or another serious crime or crimes is at the heart of the story.

b. WHAT CONSTITUTES  A PUBLISHED NOVEL: For the purpose of this Competition, a “Published Novel” means a work of fiction of at least 40,000 words in length that has been published or distributed, in part or whole, in paper or electronic format or in any other medium, excluding, however, self-published works. This does not include a chapter excerpt on an author's website, subject to the conditions that: (i) the excerpt is the only text that exists for public viewing; (ii) the excerpt is not for sale to the public, and (iii) the number of words in the excerpt does not exceed 10% of the total number of words in the work as a whole. (The decision of the Competition's judges as to whether or not an entrant or a Manuscript qualifies will be final.)

5. Nominees will be selected by judges chosen by MWA, with the assistance of the editorial staff of Minotaur Books, and the winner will be chosen by Minotaur Books editors on the basis of the originality, creativity and writing skill of the submission. The decision of the editors as to the winner of the Competition will be final. Minotaur Books reserves the right to cancel or modify the competition if, in the sole opinion of the editors, an insufficient number of qualified Manuscripts are received.

6. An attempt will be made to notify the Competition winner, if any, by telephone or U.S. mail no later than March 31, 2013.  If the winner cannot be contacted, an alternate winner may be selected.

7. If a winner is selected, Minotaur Books will offer to enter into its standard form author's agreement with the entrant for publication of the winning Manuscript. After execution of the standard form author's agreement by both parties, the winner will receive an advance against future royalties of $10,000. On the condition that the selected winner accepts and executes the publishing contract proposed by Minotaur Books, the winner will then be recognized at the Edgar Awards Banquet in New York City in April 2013. THE WINNER WILL NOT RECEIVE ANY OTHER PRIZE AND WILL NOT RECEIVE ANY PART OF THE ADVANCE UNTIL THE STANDARD FORM AUTHOR'S AGREEMENT HAS BEEN EXECUTED BY BOTH PARTIES. Those terms of the offer not specified in the printed text of the Minotaur Books standard form author's agreement will be determined by Minotaur Books at its sole discretion. The entrant may request reasonable changes in the offered terms, but Minotaur Books shall not be obligated to agree to any such changes. Minotaur Books may, but will not be required to, consider for publication Manuscripts submitted by other entrants.  

8. No critical evaluation or commentary will be offered by the judges or the editorial staff of Minotaur Books unless, in the sole opinion of the editorial staff, evaluation or commentary is appropriate in the case of a Manuscript being considered for publication.

9. General:  No cash substitution, transfers or assignments of prize allowed.  All expenses, including taxes, relating to the winner's publishing contract, are the sole responsibility of the winner.  By accepting a prize, the winner releases Minotaur Books and Mystery Writers of America, and the parent, subsidiaries, affiliates, suppliers and agents of each of them from any and all liability for any loss, harm, damages, cost or expense, including without limitation property damages, personal injury and/or death, arising out of participation in this Competition or the acceptance of the publishing contract.  If, for any reason, (including unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other cause beyond the control of Minotaur Books which corrupts or affects the administration, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of this Competition), the Competition is not capable of being conducted as described in these rules, Minotaur Books and Mystery Writers of America shall have the right, in their sole discretion, to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Competition.

Good luck!
  

 Minotaur Books/Malice Domestic Competition  

 

Rules for the Minotaur Books/Malice Domestic Competition for the Best First Traditional Mystery Novel  

1. The competition is open to any writer, regardless of nationality, who has never been the author of a published traditional mystery (that includes self-published works and ebooks), as defined by the guidelines below, and is not under contract with a publisher for publication of a traditional mystery. Only one manuscript entry is permitted per writer.

2. All manuscripts submitted: a) must be original works of book length (no less than 220 typewritten pages or approximately 60,000 words) written in the English language by the contestants; b) must not violate the rights of any third party, and c) must generally follow the guidelines below. 

GUIDELINES   

1. Murder or another serious crime is at the heart of the story, and emphasis is on the solution rather than the details of the crime.
2. Whatever violence is necessarily involved should be neither excessive nor gratuitously detailed, nor is there to be explicit sex.
3. The crime is an extraordinary event in the lives of the characters.
4. The principal characters are people whom the reader might not like, but would be interested in knowing.
5. The suspects and the victims should know each other.
6. There are a limited number of suspects, each of whom has a credible motive and reasonable opportunity to have committed the crime.
7. The person who solves the crime is the central character.
8. The “detective” is an amateur, or, if a professional (private investigator, police officer) is not hardboiled and is as fully developed as the other characters.
9. The detective may find him or herself in serious peril, but he or she does not get beaten up to any serious extent.
10. All of the cast represent themselves as individuals, rather than large impersonal institutions like a national government, the mafia, the CIA, etc.

(The decision of the contest’s judges as to whether or not a manuscript qualifies will be final.)

3.  Nominees will be selected by judges chosen by the editorial staff of St. Martin’s Press and the winner will be chosen by St. Martin’s Press editors.  The decision of the editors as to the winner of the contest will be final. St. Martin’s Press reserves the right not to select any winner, if in the sole opinion of the editors, none of the manuscripts submitted are of publishable quality.

4.  An attempt will be made to notify the competition winner, if any, no later than April 1st. The winner will be officially announced at the Malice Domestic Convention in May.

5.  If a winner is selected, Minotaur Books will publish the winning manuscript by offering to enter into its standard form author’s agreement with the contestant. The winner will receive an advance against future royalties of $10,000. Those terms of the offer not specified in the printed text of the St. Martin’s Press standard form author’s agreement will be determined by St. Martin’s Press at its sole discretion. The contestant may request reasonable changes in the offered terms, but St. Martin’s shall not be obligated to agree to any such changes. St. Martin’s may, but will not be required to, consider for publication manuscripts submitted by other contestants.

6.  All entries must be postmarked no later than October 15th and must include:

1. A double-spaced and neatly typed copy of the manuscript (photocopies are acceptable), with pages numbered consecutively from beginning to end.
2. A letter or cover sheet containing the name, address, and telephone number of the contestant and the contestant’s previous writing credits, if any.
3. The application form, duly completed, and an SASE.

All entries must be mailed to the judge whose address is on the application form. Do not send the entry to St. Martin’s Press. For additional copies of the rules and entry blank only, please send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to:

Malice Domestic Competition

*Each contestant must keep a copy of the manuscript for his or her own protection. St. Martin’s Press will not be responsible for lost, stolen, or mislaid manuscripts. Because of the great volume of submissions our judges receive, the fact that they are volunteers with full-time responsibilities elsewhere, and the fact that most writers now have their work saved on their computers, manuscripts will not be returned. Please do not send return postage or envelopes.  

7.  No critical evaluation or commentary will be offered by the judges or the editorial staff of St. Martin’s Press unless, in the sole opinion of the editorial staff evaluation or commentary is appropriate in the case of a manuscript being considered for publication.

8.  This contest is void where prohibited or restricted by law.

*It is important that you submit your manuscript as early as possible.  Our judges are volunteers who are extremely busy with their primary concerns, and it is inevitable that your submission will get a more careful reading if the judge does not have to contend with a flood of last-minute entries. However, it is not necessary to send it the most expensive way. We judge its on-time performance by the post-mark or equivalent, not by the date the judge receives the manuscript.