MysteriousPress.com has announced a chance for new crime writers to get their foot on the publishing ladder – and it comes with $25,000 prize money. The search is on for the best ebook original mystery novel and in addition to the cash, the Mysterious Press Award promises worldwide publication.
The company’s president and publisher, Otto Penzler, announced the award today. Established authors or first-time novelists can have their agents submit a never-before-published mystery to MysteriousPress.com from 1 January through 30 April 2016. The winner will receive a $25,000 prize which is an advance against future royalties and Mysterious Press will publish the book as an ebook and print-on-demand worldwide. The winner will be announced at the 2016 Frankfurt Book Fair.
“Digitally published books have become a major element of the publishing landscape over the past few years,” said Penzler. “Our goal is to acknowledge the outstanding work being produced in this format and reward it appropriately. We expect to have some truly wonderful manuscripts submitted for this substantial prize.”
Entries must be in English and submitted electronically to contest [at] mysteriouspress.com or in printed format to The Mysterious Press, 58 Warren Street, New York, NY 10007. There’s a limit of one book per author. Submissions of complete, full-length novels will be accepted only from accredited literary agents and must not have been published previously in any format. The winner will be chosen based on a variety of criteria, including originality and literary quality.
Find out more about the competition here. You can read our interview with Otto Penzler here.
