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Submissions closed. Thank you!
The Masters Review believes that every writer has a novel in them, which is why we host a call for novel excerpts every autumn. So dig through those desk drawers, dust off your manuscripts, crack your knuckles, and get revising! For this contest, we’re looking for excerpts that exhibit a sense of style, with a clear grasp on craft: character, setting, and most importantly, story. Your excerpt may come from any place in your novel, but choose wisely—a synopsis should not be required for understanding the excerpt. As always, we have no limitations on genre, though we are primarily interested in literary fiction. Submissions for the Novel Excerpt Contest will open on August 28 and close on October 27.
Tania James will serve as this year’s guest judge! James will select the finalists from a shortlist of ten excerpts provided by The Masters Review’s editorial team.
What Tania James is looking for: “An element of surprise, whether on the level of language or incident or something else entirely. An authority over the story being told. The author’s willingness to take a risk. The sense that this excerpt is but one tantalizing piece in a work that is whole, complex, and inevitable.”
The winning excerpt will be awarded $3,000; online publication; and an hour-long consultation with Marin Takikawa, a literary agent with The Friedrich Agency. Second- and third-place excerpts will be awarded online publication and $300 and $200 respectively, in addition to written feedback from Takikawa.
Guidelines:
- The winner receives $3,000; online publication; and a consultation with Marin Takikawa, a literary agent with The Friedrich Agency.
- The second- and third-place finalists receive cash prizes ($300/$200), online publication, and agent feedback.
- Submitted excerpts must be under 6,000 words.
- Submitted work must be previously unpublished. This includes personal blogs, social media accounts, and other websites. Previously published excerpts will be automatically disqualified.
- The entry fee is $20.
- Simultaneous and multiple submissions are allowed, though each submission requires a $20 entry fee.
- Writers from historically marginalized or underrepresented groups are invited to submit for free until we reach fifty submissions in this category. NOTE: SUBMISSION CAP HAS BEEN MET.
- If your excerpt is accepted or contracted elsewhere, please withdraw your submission on Submittable, or contact us otherwise to let us know the piece is no longer available.
- We do not require anonymous submissions for this contest, but the judge will review the shortlist anonymously.
- This contest is for emerging writers only. Writers with single-author book-length work published or under contract with a major press are ineligible. We are interested in providing a platform to new writers; authors with books published by indie presses are welcome to submit unpublished work, as are self-published authors.
- International submissions are allowed, provided the work is written primarily in English. Some code-switching/meshing is warmly welcomed.
- All submissions must be double-spaced with one-inch page margins and use Times New Roman or Garamond 12.
- Excerpts from novels under contract for 2024 or 2025 are ineligible, but novels under contract from 2026 and beyond are eligible.
- DEADLINE EXTENDED: The contest’s deadline is 11:59pm PST on Friday, November 1, 2024.
- All entries are also considered for publication in New Voices.
- Every submission will receive a response by the end of March 2025. The winners will be announced by the end of April 2025.
- AI-generated submissions will be automatically disqualified.
- Friends, family, and associates of the guest judge are not eligible for this award, nor are past winners of the Novel Excerpt Contest.
FAQ
Q: Does it have to have a beginning, middle, and end?
We want an excerpt that stands well on its own, that makes us want to read the full book. We want a sense of conclusion from the excerpt, but we also know that we’re only reading part of a novel and don’t expect all threads to be resolved. You can read last year’s winners at the links below for an example of the kind of novel excerpt we’re interested in.
Q: When should I expect to hear back?
We will try to respond to every submission by the end of March 2025, and hope to have the finalists announced at the end of April or beginning of May 2025. If this timeline changes significantly, we will notify all authors. We appreciate your patience!
Q: Can I submit two chapters if they fall under 6,000 words?
You can submit as many chapters as you’d like, as long as the word count is under 6,000 words.
Q: How firm are you on word count?
We allow for some wiggle room; don’t force your revisions into 6,000 words. We’d rather read a couple hundred extra words than a cramped conclusion!
Q: Can I submit a synopsis/prologue with my excerpt?
We recommend that you don’t; your excerpt will be judged on its merit alone, and the synopsis will not be published alongside your excerpt.
Q: Can I submit with a cowriter?
Sure, but you’ll need to split the prize money.
Q: What if a small portion of the book has already been published?
As long as the excerpt you’re submitting has not been published in any form, and the novel itself has not been published, we’re happy to consider your work!
Q: What’s the deal with my rights if I want to publish my book eventually?
We ask for first publication rights of your excerpt only. All rights also revert back to the author after an exclusive ninety-day publishing window. Specific questions or concerns about publishing rights can be addressed to contact [at] mastersreview [dot] com.
Q: If I self-published my novel on my blog but later took it down, can I still submit an excerpt?
Unfortunately, because it’s been published in some form or fashion, the excerpt would no longer be eligible for this contest.
Judging
Tania James is the author of four works of fiction, all published by Knopf: Loot, which was longlisted for 2023 National Book Award and the Carol Shields Prize; The Tusk That Did the Damage, which was a finalist for the International Dylan Thomas Prize; Aerogrammes and Other Stories, named a Best Book of 2012 by Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal, and the San Francisco Chronicle; and the novel Atlas of Unknowns, which was a New York Times Editors’ Choice and a finalist for the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature. Her short stories have appeared in Freeman’s; Granta; The New Yorker; O, The Oprah Magazine; and One Story, among other places, and featured on Symphony Space’s Selected Shorts. Raised in Louisville, Kentucky, she teaches in the MFA program at George Mason University and lives in Washington, DC.
Editorial Letter Option
If you’re interested in getting feedback on your writing, utilize our editorial letter add-on option. Our response to your submission will be accompanied by a one- to two-page letter from an experienced guest editor, who will offer observations on the strengths of the piece as well as opportunities for revision. Your editor may also offer further submission and reading suggestions, or other comments on craft. A significant portion of the additional fee is paid directly to your feedback editor. See a sample editorial letter.
All previous contest winners can be found on our Past Awards page.