Click here to download the full details and checklist for entering the contest.
Click here to download the score sheet.

View 2010 Contest Winners here!

2011 Golden Palm Contest 

FRW congratulates the 2011 Golden Palm Winners and Finalists!

Categories and Final Round Judges:

Short/Long Contemporary: Megan Long, Harlequin Superromance
Single Title: Whitney Ross, TOR Books
Mainstream with Romantic Elements: Elaine Spencer, The Knight Agency
Historical: Elizabeth Bistrow, New American Library
Paranormal/Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Time Travel:  Deb Werksman, Sourcebooks

 Florida Romance Writers proudly announces the Winners and Finalists in our Golden Palm Contest: 

(*FRW Member)

 Historical Category
1ST Place The Courtesan Duchess - Joanna Shupe (Full Request)
2nd Place  The Winds of Fate- Elizabeth Bysiek (Full Request)
3rd Place Heart of the Phoenix - Barbara Huddleston

Mainstream with Romantic Elements Category
1ST Place Walking BackwArd Off a Cliff - Linda Avellar
2nd Place  Forever - Alicia Leinhart
3rd Place SepArated, Acting Badly - Barbara Flores*

Paranormal/Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Time Travel Category

1ST Place Dream of My Soul - Debra Rodensky
2nd Place  Dancing with the Devil - Jean B. Newlin
3rd Place Medusa, a Love Story - Sasha Summers

Short/Long Contemporary Category
(Megan Long, Assistant, Editor, Harlequin Superromance

1ST Place UnDERcover Father - June Love (Partial Request)
2nd Place  A Night at the Rosemont - Mary Oldham
3rd Place Home at Last - Janet Jones Bann


Single Title Category
1ST Place Missing You - Tracy Brogan (Full Request)
2nd Place  Bid on Me - Michele Summers*  (Full Request)
3rd Place Small Town Storm - Elise K Ackers

About the Contest
At least one published author will judge each entry on the first round.  Participating editors and agents will judge the final round.  All submissions will remain anonymous to the judges.  For a non-published author, this is the perfect opportunity to avoid the slush pile and get your work critiqued by an editor or agent.  Previously, two finalists sold as a result of the Golden Palm Contest.

Awards  
First Place in each category will receive $25, along with a Certificate and a Golden Palm pin. Second and third in each category will receive a certificate.  An announcement will be made in the RWR.

Purpose:
The purpose of the FRW Golden Palm Contest is to challenge and inspire unpublished authors of romance as well as to help prepare for the process of sending proposals to editors.

Eligibility:
The Golden Palm Contest is open to any writer who has never been contracted in book-length fiction (40,000 words or more) from any publisher. The entry is for a story with a projected length of over 40,000 words.  You may enter as many entries as you like, but EACH ENTRY cannot be entered in more than ONE CATEGORY.  Any manuscript that has previously been a finalist or won in the Golden Palm is not eligible for entry.