*BOTH COMPETITIONS ARE NOW CLOSED
We are hoping to publish the results of both competitions in January 2012.
Novel Competition
Have you got a corking novel stuffed away in a drawer somewhere? Perhaps you're on the verge of completing a masterpiece but don't know what to do with it? If so, why not send it in to our competition? As long as you've never had any novel published before, we promise to take a look.
We're looking for fiction that has a twist to it which is also original, humorous, surprising, action-packed, quirky, romantic, moving or thought-provoking. Unfortunately, we won't consider work that can be categorised as horror, crime, children's fiction, non-fiction or science-fiction.
If you think your novel fits our specifications, send in the first three chapters. If we like it, we may ask to see the rest. If you win, there's a cash prize and we might even publish your book.
Rules and Submission Guidelines
1. The novel must be approximately 60,000 and 100,000 words in total (although work outside this range will be considered on merit) and should be the original work of the author. The novel should be written in English.
2. The novel should not have been published anywhere before, in the UK or other parts of the world, either in part or as a whole, on the internet or on paper, nor should it have won a place in any other competition.
3. The author must be a first-time novelist. That is to say, they must not have had any novel, including this entry, published anywhere - on the internet or on paper or in another country - under any name. However, it is acceptable to have had other kinds of writing published such as, poetry, short stories or prose.
4. The closing date for the competition is midnight on 30th September 2011. Entries received after this will automatically be disqualified.
5. The fee is £8 per entry. Contestants may submit a maximum of three entries in this competition.
6. Entry is online. Only the first three chapters of your novel should be submitted online, attached as a Word document. The author's name must not appear on the document. (See the submissions page for full details.)
7. After the closing date, a shortlist of finalists will be drawn up and these contestants contacted and asked to submit their complete novel online to Beak Books.
8. From this shortlist, three winners will be selected with the following prizes awarded - 1st prize, £80, 2nd prize, £60, 3rd prize, £40. We realise that this is not a huge amount of money but because this is our first competition and we do not know how many entries we will receive, we need to be cautious about how much to offer.
9. The winner of the first prize may also be offered publication in 2012. However, in the very unlikely event that the standard is not deemed suitable, Beak Books reserves the right to refuse publication. This would not affect the awarding of prize money. But as we say, it's extremely unlikely that this will be the case. We know there are plenty of brilliant writers out there who are looking for their lucky break!
10. The judges' decision is final. No correspondence concerning the outcome of the competition will be entered into.
*Tips*
* Before you submit, are you sure your novel fits what we're looking for? (Have another look at the guidelines at the top of the page if you're not sure.)
* It might seem obvious, but have you double-checked your work for spelling mistakes and grammatical errors?
* Should you win first prize and a publishing contract, would you use your own name or a pseudonym? It might be worth thinking of an alias now, just in case.
Ready to enter? Go to submissions page.
Songwriting Competition
Beak Books is looking for a soundtrack to accompany our first publication, 'Lashing Out at Phantoms,' by Lola Cloake.
The novel tells the story of a middle-aged Jimmy Savile impersonator who discovers that his father was the lead singer in a 'seventies rock band. We thought it might be fun to bring a couple of the band's songs to life.
What we want, therefore, are musicians who can recreate that, 'seventies, shaggy-haired, flared jeans, faerie folklore sound with (and this is the crucial bit) screeching lead vocals in the style of Richie Blackmore and Ian Gillan with maybe a little bit of Rod Stewart thrown in.
There's no entry fee and the winning musicians will have their compositions featured on the Beak Books web site with a free link to their own site. From there, it's your choice whether to allow people to download your song and whether you wish to charge them. (Visitors to the Beak Books site will be able to listen to the music but not download it.)
To get a 'feel' for the book, click on the link and read the first chapter here for free.
Rules and Submission Guidelines
1. Competitors may enter a maximum of two songs from the following four titles; 'Riding the Wild, White Horses', 'Fools' Cauldron,' 'Unicorn Stealth' and, 'Chalice of Honey'.
All entries should be in the style of 1970's rock music with the appropriate vocal style as outlined above. In addition, there are certain specifications for each song to ensure that they match the way they've been described in the book;
'Riding the Wild, White Horses' - slower tempo, describing love and loss and containing a shrieking vocal crescendo.
'Fools' Cauldron' - must contain the following lyrics;
'Whoooaaaaah! Moonlight has shown up a thing or two for me, baby. I seen right through your poisoned lies, now you gotta set me free.'
'Unicorn Stealth' - a song about a man who is angry about a woman who, 'done him wrong'. Must include a long guitar-solo and the following lyrics;
'I'm gonna take a ride with you on the unicorn of lo-o-ove.'
'Chalice of Honey' - a 'folksy' feel with the twang of a banjo. Must contain the following lyrics;
'We are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars.'
2. Apart from the titles and selected lyrics specified in these submission guidelines, the songs must be the original work of the entrants and should not have been published previously anywhere in the world, online or on CD, DVD or tape.
3. Each song should be no more than three minutes long. All songs remain the property of the composers.
4. Submission is online (see submissions page for full details).
5. The closing date for the competition is midnight on the 30th September 2011. Entries received after this point will automatically be disqualified.
6. The winning songs will be published on the Beak Books web site. Depending on the quantity and quality of the entries received, there may be one winner or perhaps two or three joint winners.
7. Visitors to Beak Books will be able to listen to the songs on the site. A free link will be provided to the composer's web site, should anyone wish to download the music or find out more. However, this will be the musician/composer's responsibility.
8. The judges' decision is final. No correspondence concerning the outcome of the competition will be entered into.
Go to Submissions page. |