As we celebrate last year's inaugural success (congratulations, Bill!), Amazon.com, Penguin Group (USA), and CreateSpace are partnering once again to present the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award in 2009.
The Breakthrough Novel Award brings together talented writers, reviewers and publishing experts to find and develop new voices in fiction. If you're an author with an unpublished novel waiting to be discovered, visit CreateSpace to learn more about the next Breakthrough Novel Award and sign up for regular updates on the contest. Open submissions for manuscripts begin in February 2009.
In the meantime, be sure to stay tuned to this page for more updates from the contest team and join in discussions with new and returning writers in our author forum.
Bestselling Authors Lead the Expert Panel in 2009
We're excited to announce that mega-bestselling authors Sue Monk Kidd and Sue Grafton will lead this year's expert panel, kicking off the Breakthrough Novel Award finalist round with their reviews of the top three manuscripts. A-list literary agent Barney Karpfinger and Penguin Press Editor-in-Chief Eamon Dolan will also join them to provide careful critiques of the finalists' novels.
Since the close of last year's contest, several of the top 10 finalists have received publishing contracts. Browse their upcoming new releases below and check out Bill Loehfelm's winning novel, Fresh Kills, published by Penguin Group (USA) in August 2008.
Nicole Dickson: Casting Off
Casting Off (available in July 2009) takes place on a tiny island off the west coast of Ireland, where Rebecca Moray comes with her young daughter to research a book on Irish knitting and discovers the possibility for love and friendship.
Harry Dolan: Bad Things Happen
Nelson Demille on Bad Things Happen (available in July 2009): "A wonderfully moody and atmospheric story reminiscent of the masters of the noir mysteries. Tightly plotted, sophisticated, and engrossing, this is a winner."
Erica Eisdorfer: The Wet Nurse's Tale
Set in rural 19th-century England, The Wet Nurse's Tale (available in August 2009) features a sharp-tongued, adventurous heroine who offers a candid and often funny look at the business of nursing babies in Victorian England.
Bill Loehfelm: Fresh Kills
This powerful mystery debut hooked Amazon readers with its emotionally charged language and its wounded hero, set against the backdrop of a palpably rank and rundown Staten Island.
The Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award is an opportunity for emerging fiction writers to join a community of authors on Amazon.com, showcase their work, and compete for a chance to get published.
Sponsored in partnership with Penguin Group (USA) and CreateSpace, the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award launched in October 2007 and received more than 5,000 initial entries. Of those, excerpts from over 800 fiction entries were eligible for Amazon.com customers to read, rate, and review. Editors at Penguin Group (USA) reviewed the Top 100 semifinalists based on early customer reads and full manuscript reviews provided by Publishers' Weekly. In March 2008, the leading Top 10 finalists were selected for the customers' vote. A panel of experts--including bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert, editor and publisher Amy Einhorn, literary critic John Freeman, and literary agent Eric Simonoff--also weighed in with their reviews for each of the top 10 novels. The top three finalists--Dwight Okita (The Prospect of My Arrival), Harry Dolan (Bad Things Happen), and Bill Loehfelm (Fresh Kills) traveled to New York City for the first weekend in April, where Bill Loehfelm was revealed as the winner.
Key Contest Dates to Remember
Today: Visit CreateSpace and sign up to receive contest updates and submission guidelines
February 2 - February 8: Submit your novel for the 2009 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award
March 16: Quarterfinals begin, qualifying excerpts are available to read and review
April 15: Semifinalists are announced, early reviews provided by Publishers Weekly
May 15 - May 21: Finalist round begins, reviews by our expert panel are posted, and customers vote for the Grand Prize winner
May 22: Winner of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award is announced
Penguin Group (USA): Publishing Sponsor
Penguin is one of the leading U.S. adult and children's trade book publishers, owning a wide range of imprints and trademarks, including Viking, G. P. Putnam's Sons, The Penguin Press, Riverhead Books, Dutton, Penguin Books, Berkley Books, Gotham Books, Portfolio, New American Library, and Plume, among others.
CreateSpace (part of the Amazon.com group of companies) offers free self-publishing and distribution services designed for authors to get published and reach readers.
Publishers Weekly is the leading trade publication dedicated to books and writing and the official reviewing sponsor of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. Professional reviewers from Publishers Weekly will provide full-manuscript reviews for novels that go on to the semifinalist round in April.
