Mystery Times Ten 2012
Last year, we received over 200 submissions from new and established authors alike. Never before published, they were gathered together in our First Annual Mystery Times Ten YA collection. Each story was read and rated by three panels of judges, which included book bloggers, teen readers aged 12 to 19, and YA buyers from the largest book wholesalers in the United States and marketing mavens. Each judge was given the same set of parameters to use; each brought his or her own unique talents and tastes to the task at hand.
The quality of the stories was outstanding and the 2011 book hit the Top 20 on amazon's BestSeller's lists for both paperback and kindle during the week each was released.
So, yep, we're doing it again!
Our Spring 2012 Young Adult Showcase Mystery Times Ten 2012 seeks new mystery short stories that are targeted for the YA audience.
Submission Guidelines:
- Theme: Mystery – be it murder, cozy, paranormal, soft-boiled, hard-boiled, police procedural, suspense, thriller, or amateur detective.
- What is a mystery? In a mystery, the main character must track down the truth about an event, often a murder. If the protagonist is in any danger, it usually becomes a problem only as the detective/protagonist approaches the truth. That's your base, how it plays out is up to you!
- No gratuitous sex or violence. Please remember your audience is 13 and up.
- The competition is open to all writers in English except current employees of Buddhapuss Ink LLC.
- Submissions will be accepted from October 1, 2011 to January 31, 2012.
- You must be 18 or older to enter unless you have written permission from your parent or guardian. Download the Permission Form: http://www.buddhapussink.com/Mystery_Times_Ten.html
- No previously published work(s) or simultaneous submissions please.
- Entries should be between 3000-7000 words in length.
- Send your submissions via email with the subject line “Submission for MYSTERY TIMES TEN” from <your name> with your story as an attached file in .doc (Word) format PLEASE INCLUDE in the body of the email:
- Your name and contact information
- A brief author bio (2-5 sentences)
- Entry should be single-spaced in at least a 12 pt. readable font. We suggest Times New Roman, Courier, or Arial.
- Send emails to: Submissions@Buddhapussink.com
- NOTE: You will receive an email acknowledging our receipt of your entry within 24 hours. If you do not receive this email: (check your junk/bulk/spam folder first!) please re-submit your entry and change the subject line to: "RESUBMISSION for MYSTERY TIMES TEN".
- Submissions that do not follow these guidelines will not be considered.
- Notifications will be sent to finalists via email in March 2012
- There is no limit on the number of entries you may submit. There is no fee to enter.
- Buddhapuss Ink LLC reserves the right to close or extend the competition if not enough suitable entries are received.
Winning Selections:
- The Ten (10) Winning entries will be published in the Spring 2012 Young Adult Showcase titled Mystery Times Ten 2012 to be published by Buddhapuss Ink LLC.
- First Place winner will receive a Brand New Kindle, Featured placement in the book, and Buddhapuss Ink swag.
- Second Place winner will receive a $100 Gift Card, Featured placement in the book, and Buddhapuss Ink swag.
- THIRD PLACE winner will receive a $75 Gift Card, Featured placement in the book, and Buddhapuss Ink swag.
- ALL TEN (10) WINNERS will receive: two (2) copies of the finished book and the opportunity to “fast track” their next Young Adult or Middle Grade manuscript with our Editorial staff. “Fast track” does not mean you will receive a publishing contract, but we will guarantee that your manuscript is given a priority reading and response.
- Some winning entries will also be featured on our website, blog, and/or Facebook page.
JUDGES
Buddhapuss Ink was founded with a mission to put our readers first and that’s just what we aim to do in Buddhapuss Ink’s first competition. All entries that meet submission guidelines will be read by and rated by judges from our YA Book Blogger Panel and our YA Teen Panel. The top twenty (20) entries—based on total points accrued—will then go on to our Editorial Review Panel.
Our YA Book Blogger and Teen Panel is made up of some of the best Book Bloggers on the web. These are people who are passionate about the YA market, who spend untold hours reading, reviewing and promoting books for this audience. The teen panel is exactly that—a group of teens aged 13-18 from across the US who have been nominated by teachers, librarians, and book industry professionals. All of them are avid readers.
Our Editorial Review Panel is made up of publishing professionals who have a combined total of over 50 years in the industry. The decisions of the Competition's judges will be final
- No manuscripts will be returned.
- Winners will be notified & announced in March 2012.
- Publication is scheduled for May 2012.
Send your best words our way! We publish newcomers and established writers alike.