Leaders & Legacies’ Series
Writing Contest
‘An Early Adventure of Paul Martin’
PRIZE: Win a standard book writing contract with Fireside Publishing House for the ‘Leaders & Legacies’ historical fiction series on Canada’s prime ministers and other leaders. Specifically, the book writing contract will be about former Prime Minister Paul Martin at approximately age 12, set in the south Windsor area where he frequently spent his summers.
In each book the young prime minister has to solve a crime in an adventure or mystery!
“It’s great to be part of the ‘Leaders & Legacies’ series. I always wanted to be a detective and now I’ve got the chance.”
-- former Prime Minister Paul Martin
REQUIREMENTS: Register online at www.firesidepublishinghouse.com, on March 10th or after, and pay the $65 entry fee.
Simply write an original first chapter (between 1000-2500 words) and an original one page book outline -- to show where you intend to take the storyline. The concept and storyline are completely up to you!
When you register for the contest you will receive:
- a signed copy of Book One in the Leaders & Legacies series on Canada’s prime ministers (so you will understand the nature of the series)
- a copy of Fireside’s standard book writing contract to review (for the winner)
- personal feedback on your submission
How to Submit Entries
- Typed, double-spaced, with pages numbered, on plain 8.5'' x 11'' paper, not stapled. Submissions are accepted by hardcopy only.
- A separate cover letter with full name, address, phone number, e-mail address, and number of pages of entry.
CONTEST LAUNCH DATE: March 10, 2010
DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION: August 1, 2010
*The winner will be contacted and then announced publicly in the fall of 2010.
ELIGIBILITY: Contest open to anyone presently enrolled in university, college, or high school in Canada or a recent graduate of no more than one year. (Home schoolers in the appropriate and equivalent grade levels will also be eligible.)
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS: The submission must be written in English. Only Canadian citizens or landed immigrants eligible. Winners must never have been published before by a commercial or university press in book format, in any genre, and must not be under contract with any other book publisher.
RECOMMENDED READING: Come Hell or High Water, by Paul Martin. This is Mr. Martin’s official biography which shares some of his memories of childhood in the first part of the book. It also notes family names and some early memories. Although by age 12 he was living in the Ottawa area, he spent much of his summers in Windsor. The book should be set in south Windsor sometime during the summer.
OTHER NOTES: The winning submission will be based upon creativity, as well as historical and biographical details being rendered accurately to support the fictional storyline (i.e., getting names correct, establishing a correct setting, etc). Books in this series must find a way to foreshadow qualities we know to be there in the adult person. In Paul Martin’s case, for instance, qualities like being good with money, analytical and having a social conscience should be somehow worked into his personality throughout the novel.
The winning submission will be based on subjective reasoning by Fireside editors and dependent on their professional editorial discretion. The winner of the contest will not be ‘on their own’ as they complete the book. The winner will be mentored by editors at Fireside to produce the book in a reasonable timeline. The book will be published somewhere between 12 and 24 months after the winner has been notified.
OTHER PRIZES and RECOGNITION: Fireside Publishing House will choose one winning entry to award a book writing contract and up to ten other runner-up entries, depending on the quality of submissions. The runner-ups, including their names and home province and town or city, may have excerpts published on firesidepublishinghouse.com. They will also receive a certificate for placing in the shortlist of successful candidates.
Fireside cannot be held responsible for entries that are lost, damaged, or delayed during transportation. Submissions will not be returned.
The ‘Early Adventure of Paul Martin’ book writing contest is open to all Canadian residents, and who are not employees and immediate families of Fireside Publishing House. Subject to all applicable laws. Void where prohibited.
For further questions or comments about this contest contact Fireside at joli11@rogers.com or 905-493-2863.
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