Discovering the Undiscovered 2012

Book Length Poetry, Fiction & Creative Nonfiction Competition

Submit before 2/28 to receive early feedback & the opportunity to revise & resubmit your entry!

Discovering the Undiscovered 2013: Guidelines and Information

$1000 Cash Prize In Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, or Poetry

Publishing Offers to Winners & Finalists

Open to novels, memoirs, or collections of short fiction, essays, poetry

Submission Guidelines:

• Manuscripts between 30,000-200,000 words are ideal. However, we will, unlike other book-length contests, make exceptions on length. For special length permissions, please email  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
• Manuscripts may be novels, novellas, memoirs, and other works of creative nonfiction, collections of short fiction, creative essays, poetry, or a combination.
• All manuscripts must be in a standard 12 point font, reasonably edited for grammar and typo errors, and sent electronically. We do not accept postal entries. Enough paper is wasted on this planet as it is.
• Judging is blind at all levels. What that means is that the author’s name must not appear anywhere on the manuscript.
• Submissions should be uploaded through our electronic submission manager and include the author’s name, mailing address, email address, phone number, and title of entry in the comments section of the submission form. Judging is blind so it’s very important entrants include all required information in the proper place. No personal information should be included in the manuscript itself.
• Initial judging will be conducted by a network of published writers and editors selected by Grace Notes Books. Finalists will be determined by a staff of editors from Grace Notes Books, Notes Magazine, and affiliates. Final determinations will be conducted by Grace Notes primary editors.
• Entrants wishing to receive a copy of their judge’s feedback may do so by paying a small additional fee at the time of submission. Entrants may not do so after making a standardl entry without resubmitting. 
• Judge’s feedback on entries made by the standard deadline will be sent out at the close of competition. Entrants who choose the feedback option before the early bird deadline (Feb 28) will receive reader's notes by July 1^st 2013 and will have the opportunity to revise and re-submit the manuscript for ½ the regular entry fee.
• A non-refundable entry fee of $23 must accompany each standard entry manuscript. While we wish this were not required, we are a fledgling publishing company chasing a dream (in the middle of a national economic crisis) and an entry fee is a necessary evil. Entry fees will be contributed to prizes, with a percentage being donated to The Grace Notes Foundation and their projects geared toward promoting literary arts and supporting writers. The majority of revenue from these contests, however, are contributed to publishing costs for the winning titles and marketing for the winning book. In researching the subject of entry fees in similar competitions, we are confident you will find this fee more reasonable than most and that we offer more beneficial options-- such as feedback and the ability to revise a submission based on that feedback-- than any other contest. There are competitions that charge as much for the entry of a single short story or poem.

Prizes & Publishing Information:

• Winning authors are not obligated to accept the publication offered by Grace Notes Books in order to receive their winnings. This is an optional offer.
• The winning entry will receive a publication offer for their manuscript and the option of either a $1000 cash prize or an advance $350 against royalties and a standard publishing contract of approx. 15% on the cover price (retail is generally $12.99 for our trade paperbacks).
• The winning author will receive 5 contributor's copies of their book upon publication. They will also be able to use a discount for additional copies and pay only printing costs.
• All finalists will be considered by Grace Notes Books for future publication and those offers may be made at the end of the competition.
• In the case of a tie, winnings will be divided among entrants but the publishing options will remain the same and both manuscripts will be published.
• All prizes will be paid upon publication of the winning titles. If the winning author turns down the publishing offer, prizes will be paid on the date publication would have taken place.

In the event that the winning author declines the publishing offer:

• Grace Notes Books will select another of the finalist entries for the publication offer.
• The winning author will receive the cash and product prizes they are entitled to. The publication offer that is made to a runner-up in this event may or may not come with an offer of advance payment, depending on funding at the time such an offer is made.

Just So We Understand Each Other…

• By entering this competition you are acknowledging that you have read and agree to abide by these rules and that you may be disqualified for breaching these rules without a refund of your entry fee. You are acknowledging that you understand the publishing offers to be presented and that you are under no obligation to accept the publishing offer should your manuscript be selected as the winner.

Mission Statement for this contest & all Grace Notes publishing endeavors…

Grace Notes Books seeks works of quality and we do not believe that genre restricts quality. A great writer is a great writer whether they’re writing staunch literary epics or fun science fiction stories. We really enjoy stories that push the boundaries, blending styles, stories that have a strong entertainment value and are executed in the finest literary styling.  In other words: Send us anything and everything-- as long as it’s wonderful.

Competition Timeline:

• Contest Begins January 2013

• Early Bird Deadline February 28, 2013

• Early Entry Feedback Sent July 2013

• Final Deadline November 1, 2013

• Finalists Announced October 2013
• Winners Announced Before the End of The Year
• All requested feedback (for entries submitted after 2/28) sent on or before Dec.31st 2013.
• Winning Book Published in Spring 2014

Click HERE to Enter This Competition And RECEIVE FEEDBACK On Your Entry.

Click HERE to Enter This Competition WITHOUT RECEIVING FEEDBACK.