Holt Medallion Award of Merit
Midnight Caller by Diane Burke has recieved and Award of Merit for best first book in the the the Virginia Romance Writers Holt Medallion contest and Leslie Kelly (writing as Leslie Parrish) also received and Award of Merit in the Romantic suspense category. Congratulations, Diane and Leslie!
Contest Winners
I’ve completed co-chairing the Launching a Star Contest 2010, for the Space CoasT Authors of Romance and have learned a lot more about the publishing industry—how some of it works, why some entries final, and who the real winners are. Surprisingly, the winners aren’t who you think.
Most writers enter contests hoping for recognition and a chance to get their work in front of an agent or editor who might otherwise not see it. The prize is becoming a finalist; the grand prize is becoming the first place or overall winner.
After overseeing the scoring for LAS, I am even more impressed by how subjective it all is. Scores of judges vary greatly for the same entry, as do the scores of agents and editors. Just like agents and editors tell us, a manuscript in a contest or on their desk must strike them in a certain way, draw them in, and stick with them after they’ve finished reading it. Each entry means something different for each person reading it! An almost impossible situation!!