Submissions for The Citizen Book Prize 2010

The global phenomenon of young adult fiction has taken the worlds of publishing and film by storm in recent years, cultivating droves of fans,
sparking off sub-cultures, converting many adults into ‘grown children’ fans, and raking in billions in revenue for authors, film makers,
merchandisers and a host of associated industries. From the spell-binding halls of Hogwarts of the Harry Potter series, to the troubled teen-
romance of Edward and Bella in Stephanie Meyer’s enigmatic Twilight saga, teen fiction has rocked many a fan’s world.
This year, the Citizen Book Prize gives you the chance to share your carefully crafted and riveting teen fiction and non-fiction for a teen market.

The Rules

- Only teen fiction and non-fiction will be accepted for The Citizen Book Prize 2010.
- Submissions by adults are welcome, but all submissions will be stringently judged on their appeal to, accessibility for and targeting of,
a teen audience.
- All submissions should be typed and available electronically if requested; no handwritten submissions will be accepted.
- Please make sure to keep a copy of your submission – we cannot be held responsible for a manuscript that goes missing in the post.
- Please ensure that the pages are numbered consecutively.

What to Submit

- A synopsis of no more than 500 words. The public will vote based on a shortlist of ten synopses published in CitiVibe and on
book.co.za, so this synopsis is crucial in winning voters for your submission. A well-crafted synopsis outlines the major plot points of
the story, but importantly, it is interesting to read. It should tell the story in a captivating way.
- Three chapters of your masterpiece. Submissions will not be valid unless they are accompanied by three selected chapters (these can
be chronological, or selected, jumbled chapters). Submissions accompanied by entire manuscripts will also not be accepted. These
chapters will showcase the brilliance of your work to the judges. We are on the hunt for beautifully crafted stories that will appeal to a
teen audience.
- A simple covering letter. A brief covering letter or email should accompany your submission. Please keep this to the point, with a few
brief lines, a paragraph at most, motivating your submission, rounded off with all of your contact details to allow us to be in touch
with you.
- Poorly presented entries are difficult to process. Please adhere closely to the above guidelines – if your entry doesn’t make sense it
will be disregarded.

Submissions will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

- Riveting plot lines – stories with carefully considered, captivating and well-paced narratives that will be of exceptional entertainment
value to a teen audience;
- Interesting, credible characterisation – believable, lively, thoroughly entertaining characters;
- Presentation and grammar – clear, consistent layout of submissions that adhere to conventional styles such as paragraph indenting,
reported speech and many others, and that have been edited for correct grammar;
- Writing style, narrative voice and dialogue – Is the writing lively and entertaining? Is the narrative voice credible and entertaining? Is
there a good balance of dialogue that is interesting and that adds to the text, and telling?; and
- Accessibility – language that is accessible to a younger audience (aged eleven to nineteen).

Voting

- A shortlist of ten submissions will be drawn up by a panel of judges from The Citizen and Macmillan South Africa. The 500-word
synopses of each of these submissions will then be published in The Citizen and on book.co.za on a weekly basis, with a poll on
book.co.za to determine the winner of the prize.

How to Submit
- By email to: bookprize@citizen.co.za
- Hard copies should be posted to: The Citizen Book Prize, Publishing Department, Pan Macmillan, Private Bag X19, Northlands, 2116.
No hard copies delivered to Pan Macmillan’s offices will be accepted.

Deadline

- Submissions will be accepted from April 1 to May 31.

- Authors may submit as many manuscripts as they like.

Prize

- The winner of the 2010 Citizen Book Prize will receive R10 000 in cash from The Citizen, as well as ongoing publicity in CitiVibe:
interviews, reviews, updates, etc.
 - In addition, the winner will have the manuscript published and marketed by Macmillan, provided it is up to the standard demanded by
the publisher. Please note: winning does not guarantee publication.
- If Macmillan make the decision to not publish the winning manuscript, they will undertake to sponsor a writing course worth R5 000
for the author concerned.

Hone your writing skills; do your research – read as much famous teen fiction and non-fiction as you can; have friends or colleagues edit your
submissions … You don’t want to miss out on your chance of being published and winning a prize, with The Citizen Book Prize 2010 for teen
fiction and non-fiction – the only book prize decided by the voting public!