2015 in Russia has been declared the year of Russian literature. In this regard there will be great attention devoted to libraries, school curriculum and, of course, to authors, especially beginners. Literary competitions of various sizes will be held for authors of all ages and genres.
It is noteworthy that many talented people who convey their thoughts and experiences on paper know very little about such competitions. Their works remain in boxes, the circle of readers is limited to acquaintances and relatives, since the authors do not see the opportunity to publish their work. Literary competitions are designed to help such people.
Who needs it and why?
For those who intend to “give life” to their creation, it would be useful to know about competitions held among writers. It’s better to start getting acquainted with this phenomenon by asking questions: who are the organizers, sponsors, participants and members of the jury of such events.
Literary competitions today can be organized by schools, universities, local or federal authorities, professional authors or communities of writers, Internet sites and publishing houses.
The conditions of each competition determine the set of participants, works, topics and other components of the event.
The jury of the competition may include both professional, honored writers, and ordinary people, readers. Works in the latter case are published on the Internet and evaluated by readers. Also, the winners can be determined by a mixed system, professionals and amateurs together. Before submitting an application for participation, each competitor gets acquainted with the conditions of the competition, which spell out how the work will be evaluated.
Sponsors provide funding for the competition, preparation of certificates, diplomas, collections of the best works and, if provided, cash prizes. In return, the sponsor receives advertising on all resources where the competition is discussed, and the opportunity to select promising authors for further work.
Identifying promising authors is one of the primary goals for competition organizers. Publishers and professional writers get acquainted with the works, select the most talented authors and offer them cooperation within the framework of one work or longer-term. By the way, if literary competitions are held government structure(school, youth affairs department, etc.), they are aimed at identifying and promoting talented authors, but do not have any financial profit from his further successes.
Russian competitions
Russian literary competitions are a great opportunity for aspiring authors to post their work and receive recognition, reviews, and even prizes. This year there are a lot of competitions for different directions. Those wishing to participate are required to submit a correct application, good own work, desire to participate and
The most famous All-Russian literary competitions of this year:
- “Russian Booker 2015” - a competition for publishing houses, libraries and universities for the “ Best Novel of the year”, with a serious cash prize.
- Competition of fantastic stories “Extra Days”.
- Contest short story"Weapons and spirit of Victory."
- "Black Jack" is a competition of short fiction stories organized by the Samizdat magazine.
- The publishing house "AST" is holding the competition "Best Youth Bestseller - 2015".
- The organizers of the Quasar “Horror” competition invite authors to consider the topic of fear, horror and nightmare.
- Literary and pedagogical competition “Good Lyre”.
- “Everything is ahead” is a prose competition with the participation of the Union of Writers of Russia.
- "Crystal Spring".
- “Written with a pen-2015.”
International competitions
International literary competitions differ from all-Russian ones in that not only citizens can take part in them Russian Federation. Several similar competitions are held today:
- "Samara destinies".
- "Smart Heart"
- “Written with a pen-2015.”
Participation in international competitions is no different from “native” competitions, except that there is more competition, although this is a precarious indicator.
Children's competitions
Reading opens up enormous opportunities for a person. Children's reading - indispensable assistant in acquiring knowledge, developing imagination and expanding horizons. It is very important to instill in your child a love of books.
It is wonderful when a child not only loves to read, but is also able to analyze information and formulate his thoughts and experiences to such an extent that he can create works himself. Children's competitions are held for such talented children, which stimulate them to further development.
List of the most popular children's literary competitions:
- International creative competition"May 9 - 70 years of Victory."
- "Young Journalists of Russia."
- International competition"Children are talented."
- “The feat of our people” for Victory Day.
- "Spring inspiration"
- "My little homeland."
- “I have the right to live, develop and make friends.”
- "100 Talents".
- "Imaginarium".
- "Russian beauty - birch."
Children's literary competitions are often held by order of the president or heads of regional organizations. Participation in such events gives the child the opportunity to be heard, feel the significance of his work, find friends who share his passion, and develop his talent to a more professional level.
Instead of a conclusion, or Why competitions are useful for authors
Not every contest participant wins a prize, so why waste your time? If you have such a question, do not participate in the competition under any circumstances. Not every competition has a cash prize, so what does the author get from participating in it?
- If a competition is organized by a publishing house, it is interested in choosing a high-quality work, awarding it a prize and distributing it, thereby glorifying the author.
- Even if the work didn't take prize place, it may interest someone from the jury and find a further path to the reader.
- If the competition is “online” and the works go to the attention of readers, the author will certainly receive a positive charge from the reviews and the designation weak points, which he can work on in the future.
- It would be useful for the author to become familiar with the works of other competitors. The role of editor, judge and reader provides a lot of experience.
- Receiving a somewhat significant diploma and “likes” on the Internet is already a good addition to the author’s portfolio.
Do you want to loudly announce yourself to the world? Tired of peeing on your desk? It's time to throw off the shackles of uncertainty and demonstrate all that you are capable of! The online library of author's books website invites all young and beginners, as well as experienced and knowledgeable writers about real books, to take part in unique competitions of masters of the word and pen.
Literary competitions are fertile ground for aspiring writers, providing not only the opportunity to show their work to a wide circle readers, get feedback, hear criticism or earn approval and trust, but also compete for a cash prize! We regularly hold up to five competitions simultaneously, in which absolutely any author who considers himself a worthy competitor to other writers can submit an application to participate.
The most high-profile competitions for authors
If you love to write, your friends and loved ones read your works, but you believe that no publishing house will undertake to publish your work - cast aside your doubts! Our daily audience reaches several tens of thousands of readers, each of whom can see your novel, story or short story and vote for first place. In addition to the monetary reward, we offer the best author to sign an agreement with publishing houses that publish books by young writers in printed form. Agree that this is a good opportunity to wake up famous. This also applies to stories best works are published as part of collections. Where else can you demonstrate to the public your brilliant talent and ability to deftly juggle words? Our large-scale literary talent competitions are rocking bright stars every year!
The editors of the site hold competitions not only for book authors, but also for illustrators who are ready to invest a little of their own work into the production of unique works modern literature. If you have a talent for creating deep images that reveal key moments in the plots of your author's books, you love to draw and want to prove that you are worthy of a major award - register in the illustrator competition and become a new winner annual award ART breakthrough!
Let’s try to roughly divide the competitions into three groups:
- prestigious literary awards: “Big Book”, “Booker”, “National Bestseller”, genre awards such as “Wanderer”, etc.
- competitions held by publishing houses, such as “Manuscript of the Year”;
- network competitions.
Prestigious literary awards
Prestigious literary awards are for published authors, have substantial prize pools, nice prizes to put on the shelf, and attract widespread media attention. Even being included in the longlist is already happiness and a reason to proudly announce this on the cover of the book. However, no award guarantees success with the reader.
It is very difficult to nominate yourself for such a competition, even if you published a book at your own expense - publishers, thick magazines or a panel of judges most often have the right to nominate.
Therefore, you can forget about these bonuses and calm down. It’s one of two things: either it will happen or it won’t, nothing depends on our efforts.
The exception is "Debut". But it has drawbacks - this is a prize for authors under 25-35 years of age.
Competitions held by publishing houses
These competitions are mainly intended for aspiring authors and give them a great chance to start a writing career and get some initial impetus.
There are no prizes in them or they are purely symbolic, but they have one big, simply huge plus.
These are, by definition, fair competitions. The organizer, who is also the publisher, is vitally interested in finding new talented authors, so attention is paid to each text. As far as I understand, such awards have two main tasks. Firstly, promotion of the author - attracting the attention of the media and attracting the attention of readers with the inscription on the cover “Award winner so-and-so.” Therefore, only the text determines everything. There is no point in giving a push to a mediocre text - it will be a waste of time and money. No matter how much you kick a hedgehog, it will not fly like a bird. Secondly, the fee of a beginning author in our time cannot serve as any significant incentive to write new works. But this recognition and moral support - they play their role.
Finally, this is one of the few chances to publish a non-format work.
My personal experience very positive. Winning the Blogbuster competition allowed me to meet some amazing editors. Thanks to these acquaintances, my story was published, and the novel did not lie idle for months, but was read immediately, out of sequence. But you need to understand that the victory of one text in the competition does not guarantee the publication of another; the only thing you can count on is attention to your application.
Then the novel won another publishing competition - “Manuscript of the Year”, thanks to which I already have something to fill the “Media about the novel” page on the book’s website.
Network competitions
Network competitions are exactly the case when participation more important than victory. This will allow the novice author to save some time, since it will not allow him to step on the well-known rake.
Of course, not a single editor will take seriously your comment that the text took first place in the “Afftor, write escho” competition held by the “Young Star of Literature” portal.
The prize most often becomes beautiful picture, on which is written “Winner of such and such a competition.” You can hang it on your blog or website.
The main thing a novice author needs from an online competition is reviews, feedback and reviews. The chance of getting a review or at least a detailed review from the editor of the publishing house who rejected you is close to zero. The majority of blog readers will either write “Thank you,” or “Drink yada,” or remain silent.
If you're lucky enough to make it to the finals of an online competition, you can sometimes get a review from a pro. If not, you will get feedback from people who are interested literary theory, read a lot and share their impressions in detail. This can be very useful to pay attention to your mistakes, shortcomings and advantages. At a minimum, someone will read even your worst story to the end and rub their nose in at least one of the reasons for your failure. It's a kind of school.
You need to understand that online competitions are often won by strong “middle-of-the-road” stories—stories that are understandable and interesting to most judges, and that equally satisfy male and female tastes. In addition, long-existing competitions have their own established concepts about good story. Those. You need to understand that the judges of any competition are a certain target audience, a cross-section.
There is some risk of running into a not entirely friendly public and getting bogged down in an angry skirmish or some other holivar. But it is only your choice whether to react to such things or not.
Finally, it is very interesting to be a judge of the competition. Therefore, do not be afraid of lynching competitions. Of course, it takes time, but what practice it gives! Firstly, you will partly feel in the shoes of an editor reviewing gravity and understand how to interest him. Secondly, you will easily notice a dozen logs that you could not see in your own eye. Thirdly, you will get to know a huge amount cliches, and you will know how to avoid them.
Where to find out about competitions
By decision of the leadership of the MGO SPR, the following COMPETITIONS will be held in 2017:
Competition of songs, anthems, romances, ballads dedicated to Russia, small homeland, favorite city, significant event, loved one, anniversary, etc. The competition is held under the auspices of musical and concert organizations, MGO SPR, Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Only texts are accepted for publication. The collection is to be distributed among composers, concert organizations, and at musical events, in order to attract the interest of composers and musicians to the work of the authors of the collection.
2. Competition “THE BEST POETS AND WRITERS OF RUSSIA” 2017 in English.
Bilingual collection-encyclopedia with portrait photographs of the authors. The texts will be published in Russian with translation into English.
Hardcover. A5 format, circulation 3000 copies.
(follow the newsletter from detailed information about the competition)
3. Competition “FAMILY ALBUM”
The competition accepts works about the family tree, clan, interesting stories associated with relatives of different generations. All are considered literary genres
Paperback. A5 format, circulation 3000 copies.
(follow the newsletter with detailed information about the competition)
4. “LITERARY DAILY” 2018
Hardcover. A5 format, circulation 3000 copies.
(follow the newsletter with detailed information about the competition)
5. Competition ACADEMY. "CHILDREN'S LITERATURE". Domestic and foreign
The competition accepts works by children and youth, as well as adult authors writing for children. Are considered as original works, as well as translations from the languages of the world into Russian and from Russian into other languages. All literary genres are welcome. The topic is not limited.
Paperback. A5 format. Circulation 2000 copies.
(follow the newsletter with detailed information about the competition)
6. Almanac competition “LITERARY REPUBLIC” No. 2/2017
(follow the newsletter with detailed information about the competition)
7. Preferential competition “NEW YEAR’S CARNIVAL”.
New Year's riddles, aphorisms, poems, prose sketches, plays, songs, jokes in verse and prose are accepted... New Year's themes.
Paperback. A5 format. Circulation 3000 copies.
(follow the newsletter with detailed information about the competition)
8. Competition “SEASONS”
The competition is dedicated to the anniversary of K.G. Paustovsky. We accept works about nature, lyrics of the seasons in different genres and directions of literature.
Paperback. A5 format. Circulation 3000 copies.
(follow the newsletter with detailed information about the competition)
9. Preferential competition named after. VLADIMIR VYSOTSKY “I live in the Best of Worlds”
Competition dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the birth of Vladimir Vysotsky. Poems and prose dedicated to the poet, related to his life and work are accepted. Poems and prose written in the spirit of V. Vysotsky. Reflections in poetry and prose about the fate of poets.
Paperback. A5 format. Circulation 3000 copies.
(follow the newsletter with detailed information about the competition)
10. Competition “FATE 100th Anniversary”
A competition dedicated to significant events in world history over the past 100 years. For example: Space exploration, discovery of television, anniversary October Revolution, invention of the Internet, sports, literary, scientific, artistic achievements. Works about events and discoveries, as well as about people who left a mark on history, are accepted. Works of all genres and trends in literature are considered.
Applications are accepted until January 25, 2018
(follow the newsletter with detailed information about the competition)
PUBLISHING HOUSE at MGO SPR
Dear friends! In addition to competitions, MGO SPR publishes author’s books of any complexity: landscape, color (with high color clarity), mini (gift), “super”, gold and silver embossing, fabric covers, holographic pictures, etc. We provide services: editor, proofreader, designer, artist, layout designer. Each author receives a free presentation, and we place his book in electronic form in online bookstores. DISCOUNTS ARE AVAILABLE FOR MEMBERS OF IGO SPR!!! We also have all this in our organization on the 2nd floor, in the 4th conference room.
IN CONSTANT MODE:
On a regular basis, we conduct PRESENTATIONS of collective and individual collections, works of our authors and free competitions in the free microphone in the art cafe "GALLERY".
Follow our announcements!
If you have any questions or suggestions, we will definitely consider them.
Inquiries by phone: +7 495 691 94 51, +7 916-748-16-27, or by mail: [email protected]
Sincerely,
The team of the Moscow city organization of the Union of Writers of Russia,
NP "Literary Republic"
Have you discovered a grain of writing talent in yourself and want it to be appreciated? In this case, there are at least two options for the development of events. The first is that you gain patience and start bombarding publishing houses with a synopsis of your work and the text itself from morning until late at night for days on end in the hope that someone will want to publish it young talent at your own expense. At the same time, get ready for long months of waiting - in most cases, publishers take from a month to three months to review one manuscript.
Or the second option - you submit your work to a prestigious competition. If everything goes well, you win and gain popularity, and now you are no longer chasing publishers, but vice versa. However, even if someone else wins, any large-scale competition is a good opportunity to shine. So go for it! And we have compiled a list especially for you best competitions for young and promising!
1. International literary competition “Russian Prize” (RUB 150,000)
When: follow the information on the website.Organizers: Development Fund “Institute of Eurasian Studies”.
"Russian Prize" is the only Russian prize, which is awarded to a Russian-speaking writer living outside of Russia. The goal of the competition is to preserve and develop the Russian language and support Russian-speaking writers around the world. The prize is awarded in three categories: “Large Prose”, “Small Prose” and “Poetry”. The winners are awarded prizes in the amount of 150 thousand rubles. There are no age restrictions for award applicants. It is important that both published and previously unpublished works can participate in this competition.
2. International literary competition “Coronation of the Word”
When: information about the start of the competition appears annually in the summer, so writers need to follow the updates on the website: http://koronatsiya.com and in the media.Organizers: Tatiana and Yuri Logushi.
The competition is held in the categories “Novels”, “Film Scripts”, “Plays” and “Song Lyrics”, as well as “Coronation of the Word for Children”. Manuscripts of previously unpublished works are accepted for participation. The jury decides on the results of the competition. The winners receive cash prizes. Last year, the 1st prize in the nomination “Novels” amounted to 20 thousand hryvnia, in the nomination “Film Scripts” - 15 thousand, “Plays” - 10 thousand, “Song Poetry” - 8 thousand. A number of special awards. Today, the “Coronation of the Word” competition is one of the most prestigious in Ukraine.
3. Competition “Writer of the Year 2016”
When: until November 1, 2016.Organizers: “Your Publishing House” company (Moscow)
The competition is held with the aim of “discovering new talented names and promoting their promotion to the literary Olympus,” as stated on the publishing house’s website. Authors over 18 years of age are allowed to participate. Place of residence does not matter. To participate, the author must submit an application on the page. At the end of the year, eminent representatives literary world will select one or more of the most interesting authors, who will be offered special conditions for cooperation with the publishing house and given a personal award.
4. Competition “Poet of the Year 2016”
A similar competition “Poet of the Year - 2016” is held by “Your Publishing House” for poets.To take part in it, the author must submit an application on the page.
5. International literary competition for one story at LITER-RM.RU
When: until May 15, 2016.Organizers: managers and editorial board Literary project LITER-RM.RU - writers, publishers, members of the Union of Writers of Russia, graduates of the Literary Institute named after. M. Gorky.
The purpose of the competition is to popularize literary creativity, find talented youth, and also determine the geography of authors who create in Russian. Participants can be Russian-speaking prose writers over 14 years old from anywhere in the world. The competition budget is 15 thousand rubles.
The competition is held in three categories: “Realistic story”, “Fantastic story” and “Fantasy story, fairy tale”. The winners in each category receive monetary reward in the amount of 3 thousand rubles, as well as a diploma. You can find out the details of the competition.
6. International competition of one poem on LITER-RM.RU
Also, a similar competition - the International Competition of One Poem on LITER-RM.RU - is also held for poets.Deadline - until December 1, 2016
The competition is held in two age groups: from 12 to 27 years inclusive and from 28 years. The winner will receive a cash prize of at least 2 thousand rubles (from 12 to 27 years old) or 3 thousand rubles (from 28 years old). The subject, form and content of competition works can be anything. Details of the competition can be found.
7. International literary and pedagogical competition “Good Lyre” (Pedagogical Recognition Award)
When: until February 29, 2016.Organizers: Union of Writers of Russia, Union of Writers of St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg Academy of Postgraduate Pedagogical Education, Education Support Fund, St. Petersburg state university, Humanitarian Pedagogical Center “Citizen of the 21st Century”, Information Support Center scientific research, Lyceum of Information and Communication Technologies No. 590 of St. Petersburg.
The purpose of the competition is to increase the significance of modern Russian literature in the field of education younger generation, as well as attract interest in the book as a source of morality. There are no restrictions for authors regarding age, citizenship, or place of residence. The prize is awarded in the following categories: “ Fiction- junior school age" and "Fiction - no age limit." Competition works must be written in prose in Russian, are not limited in topic and cannot be published previously. The winners will receive diplomas, and the best works will be included in the final collection. Competition details: on the website.
8. International competition for the best work for children “Korneychukov Prize-2016”
When: until May 1, 2016.Organizers: Public organization"Regional Development Agency".
The Korneychukov Prize is a competition for the best works for children that have not been published before, and a real chance for beginning children's authors. The works of the competition laureates attract the attention of major publishers in the country, which means that your story, tale, fairy tale or poem may soon find its reader. At the end of the competition, the organizers create a collection best works. The most striking works are also included in literary almanacs.
The competition is one of the main events of the IV Odessa International Korneychukov Festival of Children's Literature, which is held as part of the XX International Book Fair "Green Wave". The winners in each category will receive diplomas, commemorative statuettes and cash prizes in the amount of 10 thousand UAH.
Competition page.
9. Literary competition L’Officiel Online
When: all the time.Organizers: L’Officiel Ukraine.
Recently, the Ukrainian editorial office of the world-famous magazine L’Officiel launched a literary competition in the short story genre. The volume of competition works is up to 2 thousand characters. The best novella will be published weekly on the L’officiel Online website. There are no prizes, winners or losers. However, if the quality of the text is high, the editors promise to note best author.
All details on the website.
10. Science fiction novel competition “100% fiction”
When: until February 14, 2016.Competition coordinator: Kolesnikov Oleg Ernstovich.
Chairman of the jury: Vladimir Evgenievich Churov, Chairman of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation.
11. Literary competition of the publishing house "Smoloskip"
When: until December 31, 2016.Organizers: Smoloskip publishing house.
We wish you good luck, writers!