2015 Free Publishing Contest Now Open!
By Amy Groening

The birds may not be singing, and the world may still be carpeted in a thick blanket of ice crystals, but March is fast becoming my favourite time of the year: it’s contest season!

Our 12th annual Free Publishing Contest launched this morning. The portal is open and manuscripts from writers of all stripes and skill levels are about to start pouring in. We may only be able to pick two manuscripts out of the bunch, but every manuscript is special; each story is packed with possibility, and we truly see the abundance of what God has to offer in the creativity of Canada’s writing community.

For all our contest hopefuls, here is a rundown of what you need to enter the contest:

Eligibility:

• You must be a Canadian Citizen or landed Immigrant.
• You must affirm our statement of faith
• Your manuscript must be an original, unpublished work (yes, eBooks count as publishing).

The manuscript itself:

• Manuscripts must be at least 14,000 words. Please include a 3-5 page synopsis in the back pages of the body of your manuscript; mark it clearly (ie: Synopsis).
• Word documents only; please, no PDFs.
• We accept fiction and non-fiction books for both adults and youth; right now, we do not have a category for children’s or picture books. If you have a children’s book you would like to publish, please contact us directly.

Entering:

Contest runs from March 6 to June 15, 2015. Manuscripts will not be accepted later than midnight on June 15.
Submission is online only; please click here for the online submission portal.

Past Winners:

Check out these winners from the past 5 years:

Non-Fiction
Bobbi Junior, The Reluctant Caregiver
Bonnie J. Brooks, Pierced in the Heart
Michael Mendler, Concerning God
Lisa Elliott, The Ben Ripple
Robert White, Chasing the Wind

Fiction
Erin E.M. Hatton, Across the Deep
Sharon Dow, Huldah: Prophetess
Holly C. Wyse, The Restoration of Emma Carmichael
Chrissy M. Dennis, The Lion Cubs
Sara Davison, The Watcher

About this Contributor:

Amy Groening is a project manager at Word Alive Press. She is a passionate storyteller with experience in blogging, newspaper reportage, and creative writing. She holds an Honours degree in English Literature and is happy to be working in an industry where she can see other writers’ dreams come to life. She enjoys many creative pursuits, including sewing, sculpture and painting, and spends an embarrassingly large amount of time at home taking photos of her cat committing random acts of feline crime.