The 12th annual Fire and Ice Contest is now closed to entries.

ELIGIBILITY:

• All work must be the author’s original work.
• The author cannot have signed a publishing contract for novel-length romantic fiction (regardless of publisher) within five years of the contest deadline (between February 1, 2005 and February 1, 2010).
• Previous winners and finalists may not re-enter the same manuscript, even in edited format.  They may, however, enter another manuscript.
• Entrants may enter as many manuscripts as they wish, however, each manuscript may only be entered in one category.
• Chicago-North RWA® members are ineligible.
• Failure to comply with any of the rules may disqualify the entry, resulting in a forfeit of the entry fee.

WHAT TO SUBMIT:

1. Electronic submissions should consist of:
   • one (1) copy of up to the first 25 double-spaced pages of a manuscript.
   • Entries will be received in RTF (Rich Text Format) files ONLY. (To convert your file to RTF, open the document, go into File, click on Save As and choose RTF format. This will create a new document with the same title in RTF format.)
   • Document title must be the title of the manuscript only.
   • A separate electronic entry form with signed waiver must be submitted for each submission. If the entry has more than one author, each author must submit an online entry form and sign the waiver. (Note:  printed name on the online entry form constitutes an electronic signature.)
2. All entries must adhere to the following format:
   • Standard recommended manuscript format:
     • 8-1/2" x 11" page size
     • 1" margins
     • Courier New 12 pt
     • 25 lines per page
   • Header to be on each page including page one:
     • Title (upper left)
     • Contest category (upper left)
     • Page number (upper right)
   • Your name must not appear on the manuscript or your entry will be disqualified and entry fee forfeited.
3. Non-refundable entry fee of $25 for RWA members, $30 for non-RWA members. Payment must be made via PayPal.
4. No entries will be accepted before December 15, 2009, or after midnight of February 1, 2010.

MISCELLANEOUS:

• The contest coordinators reserve the right to limit the contest to the first 120 entries.
• In a single category, if less than ten entries are received, the category will be canceled and authors will be contacted and given the opportunity to be entered in another category or have their entry fee refunded.
• Finalists will be announced by mid-March.
• Winners will be announced at the Spring Fling Writers' Conference in Deerfield, IL, April 23 - 24, 2010.

QUESTIONS?

Please contact our Contest Chairperson, Barbara Binns, at contest@chicagonorthrwa.org.

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