Legit novel writing contests?

The Ursula Nordstrom Fiction Contest (HarperCollins).

http://www.harperchildrens.com/writingcontest/

Contests

Depends on the genre. St. Martin's Press has a double mystery novel contest each year. http://www.minotaurbooks.com/contests.html#malice

The Golden Heart:

http://www.rwanational.org/contest/contestrules.htm

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Aside from "not a scam" you have to ask whether the contest is useful. A useful contest is one that a) offers publication with a major press (that, perhaps, you couldn't otherwise get without being represented by an agent), or, b) that you would expect to see listed on a book's cover as a selling point.

There are lots of contests out there which, while they aren't scams, aren't particularly useful. A writer would be better advised to take that same manuscript and try to get it published by a normal commercial publisher.

Contests in Romance Genre

Romance has boatloads of contests. Many of them are run by RWA chapters. The "advantage" of entering one of those is the chance to get your work in front of an editor who can buy it. Many people who enter carefully check to see what editor is the final judge for the category/contest they're entering. There is a charge to enter these contests - these contests may be the only fundraiser a chapter does during a year. Fees also cover the costs of mailing out the entries to the judges and getting them back to the contest coordinator.

There are also publisher-sponsored contests. Dorchester often has one, and they publish the winner. I think last year they published two as a result of the contest.

Harlequin often has contests when they're launching a new line - again, they're looking for new voices that fit their new lines. I think there's a Blaze contest coming up. Harlequin also has smaller writing contests on their website, where entrants submit a chapter for an on-line read. The advantage of doing that is you make a connection with the company.

Susan G.