The Touched By Love Award (TBLA) writing contest opens on June 1, 2024. The contest allows authors who’ve never published traditionally or authors who haven’t self-published a work of original fiction (novel or novella) in the past three years to submit the first 20 pages of their unpublished original manuscript plus a 2-page synopsis to be reviewed and scored by published authors.
If you have questions regarding any of these rules, please contact the contest coordinator, Jennifer Looft.
Deadline
Entry form, entry fee, manuscript, and synopsis must all be received before MIDNIGHT (11:59:59 p.m.) Pacific Time on August 3, 2024.
Incomplete entries received after the above deadline will not be accepted.
Eligibility
- Open to members and non-members of FHLCW who have not accepted a publishing offer from a traditional house or self-published a work of original fiction (novel or novella) in the past three years.
- All work must be the author’s original work.
- Previously entered manuscripts may be entered again, with the exception of winning manuscripts, even if revised.
- Entered works must not be published, or granted rights to publish, during the duration of the contest. Doing so will result in disqualification.
- Authors may enter as many manuscripts as they would like. A separate entry fee and form is required for each submission.
Categories
These definitions of categories are for the purposes of the TBLA Contest, as defined by Faith, Hope, & Love Christian Writers (FHLCW).
Historical Christian Romance
Christian fiction set in a historical time period in which the love story is the main focus of the novel. Entries should be written by authors whose worldview, influenced by their faith in the God of the Bible, is woven into the fabric of their stories. Entries should not include inappropriate or gratuitous demonstration of sin, whether in language (profanity), violence, or sexual situations.
Contemporary Christian Romance
Christian fiction where the love story is the main focus of the novel. Entries should be written by authors whose worldview, influenced by their faith in the God of the Bible, is woven into the fabric of their stories. Entries should not include inappropriate or gratuitous demonstration of sin, whether in language (profanity), violence, or sexual situations.
Sweet Romance
Fiction set in a contemporary or historical time period in which a sweet love story is the main focus of the novel. Stories should be written from a Christian worldview but need not contain overt faith elements. They should not contain inappropriate or gratuitous demonstration of sin whether in language (profanity), violence, or sexual situations.
Entry Fee
Payments are made via PayPal
- $20 for members of FHLCW
- $25 for non-members
Non-members may elect to join FHLCW first and then pay the member fee.
Prizes
- All submissions will be returned to entrants at the close of the contest, complete with score sheets and inline comments from judges.
- All finalists will receive a certificate acknowledging their placement in the contest.
- Each category winner will receive a 3-chapter critique from an award-winning, multi-published author.
- An overall winner will receive a two-month mentorship from a published author. This can be used for revision, questions and answers, regular meetings, etc., as the winner and mentor decide what works best for the two of them.
- The mentor for 2024 will be Deborah Raney.
Judging
A minimum of 5 entries must be received in a category for it to be judged, or the category will be canceled and fees will be refunded to the entrants. Alternatively, the entrant may choose to enter a different category, if one is available that fits their work.
Preliminary judging begins August 5, 2024. All manuscripts will be judged by three judges, all of whom are published authors. All three scores will be averaged for the preliminary score. The top three entries in each category will be finalists. All final entries must also earn a score that equals or exceeds 75% of the possible total (116 out of 155).
Finalists will be notified on September 19, and the contest coordinator will return submissions to finalists at this time, along with score sheets and judges’ notes. Once they receive their first-round manuscripts and scoresheets back, finalists will have seven days to edit and polish their entries. Failure to meet the seven-day deadline will result in the original entry being sent to the final round judge. Revised entries are due before MIDNIGHT (11:59:59 p.m.) Pacific Time on September 26, 2024.
Final entries will be judged by three multi-published authors, beginning September 28. All three scores will be averaged in order to determine the winner. There will be a winner in each category and an overall contest winner.
Winners will be announced October 21, 2024 via FHLCW’s email loop, FHLCW’s website, and FHLCW’s social media as well as congratulatory email to the winners themselves.
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