The First Page Challenge is now live!

A writing contest for novelists

The First Page Challenge--a writing contest for novelists by Darling Axe Editing

Our judge, Michelle Barker, will be asking herself one question:
how likely am I to turn this page and keep reading?

First place: $700 CAD
Second place: $200 CAD
Third place: $100 CAD

All three finalists win publication on the Chopping Blog
and receive complimentary access to one of our self-paced courses.

The Finer Points

• Entry is $5 CAD
• One page: double-spaced, 12-point font
• Original, unpublished, unrepresented work only
• Once you've paid, send your docx/pdf to contest@darlingaxe.com
• Submission deadline: September 30


Check out the 2019 winner here.
And the 2020 winner here.



A note on sincerity: some so-called editing websites host writing contests as a ruse to then up-sell contestants into paying to have their submissions edited. A shifty trick indeed! We attest that this is a legitimate annual writing contest, and if winning entries ever need some editing, we will gladly assist without charge.

 

About the Darling Axe

Our editors are industry professionals and award-winning writers. We offer narrative development, editing, and coaching for every stage of your manuscript's journey to publication.


Work with a professional fiction editor from the Darling Axe: manuscript development and book editing services

Fake Query Letters by Dead Authors

Work with a professional fiction editor from the Darling Axe: manuscript development and book editing services


Book a sample edit with a professional fiction editor from the Darling Axe: manuscript development and book editing services



Darling Axe Academy – Query Quest: a self-paced querying course

Related Posts

Aristotle Says Your Historical Novel Isn't History
Aristotle Says Your Historical Novel Isn't History
The universal, whether set two years or five centuries in the past, is always triangulating humanity in the here and now
Read More
A Little Less Grit, Please: The Cozy Mystery
A Little Less Grit, Please: The Cozy Mystery
Where noir sought to make crime and mystery as real as possible, cozy takes one giant step away from that level of reali
Read More
Dangerous Liaisons: The Relationship Arc in Mystery Novels
Dangerous Liaisons: The Relationship Arc in Mystery Novels
If mystery novels are fundamentally an attempt by the detective to impose order on a chaotic world, then messy relations
Read More

Leave a comment

Name .
.
Message .

Thanks! Your comment has been submitted for approval. Please be patient while we weed out the spam ♥