-

 Full details 

Emerging Author Dagger

The Emerging Author Dagger (formerly the Debut Dagger), sponsored by Fiction Feedback Editorial Consultancy, is an international competition, open to any unpublished writer in the world writing in English, for a crime novel opening (max. 3,000 words) and synopsis (max. 1,500 words). The crime novel – of any subgenre; including but not limited to thriller, noir, cosy mystery, suspense, police procedural; historical; spy story and crossover of any kind including supernatural, romance and fantasy – should be suitable for adults or young adults. You don’t need to have completed the novel to enter.

Eligibility rules have changed for the 2026 competition, opening in October 2025 and with a deadline of 27 February 2026. The Emerging Author Dagger is for unpublished novelists. Entries are eligible from writers who have never had a publishing contract for a novel of any kind and who don’t have a literary agent when the competition closes. Entrants must not have made this novel or any other piece of prose fiction of any length available for the public to buy at any time; with the exception of up to three short stories, which may have been published in anthologies alongside other authors’ work.

CWA members are only eligible to enter the Emerging Author Dagger if their publications (to the date in 2026 when the winner is announced) have been entirely non-fiction or non-prose, or if they otherwise meet the eligibility rules.

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

DAW

-
Image
Full details  Overview Founded in 1971 by veteran paperback editor Donald A. Wollheim, along with his wife, Elsie B. Wollheim, DAW Books was the first publishing company ever devoted exclusively to science fiction and fantasy. Now almost 50 years and two thousand titles later, DAW has a well-deserved reputation for discovering and publishing the hottest talents in the industry. Many stars of the science fiction and fantasy field made their debuts in the pages of a DAW book, including Patrick Rothfuss , Tad Williams , C. J. Cherryh , Mercedes Lackey , Kristen Britain , Melanie Rawn , C.S. Friedman , and Tanith Lee . Despite its high profile, DAW is still a small private company, owned exclusively by its publishers, Elizabeth R. Wollheim and Sheila E. Gilbert. Betsy and Sheila are strongly committed to discovering and nurturing new talent, and to keeping a personal “family” spirit at DAW—something they feel is all too rare in today’s world of international cong...
Read more

Polis Books

-
Full details  Polis Books is an independent publishing company actively seeking new and established authors for our growing list. We are currently acquiring titles in the genres listed on the web site. Please keep in mind that while Polis Books does accept unsolicited submissions, due to the incredibly high volume of unsolicited material we receive, we will only respond to queries if we have interest in the submission. If you have not received a response to your query in 12 weeks you can assume we have passed on it. We know how much time and effort goes into every manuscript, and we sincerely apologize that we cannot reply to every submission individually.  Please keep in mind that we do not publish stand-alone novellas or short stories, and novel-length submissions should generally be a minimum of 60,000 words. We will very rarely consider titles under that length. Note: we do not respond to emails that are not submissions . If you want to know whether w...
Read more

Boyd's Mill and Kane

-
Imprints Boyds Mills Press publishes a wide range of high-quality fiction and nonfiction titles for picture book, middle grade, and young adult audiences. Established in 1990, Boyds Mills Press features picture books, chapter books, novels, and nonfiction books that focus on excellent storytelling, imaginative illustration, and diverse characters. Our exceptionally crafted titles are designed to entertain, inform, and engage children of all ages. We are actively seeking submissions for the Boyds Mills Press imprint.  Wordsong is the only children’s imprint in the United States specifically dedicated to poetry. Wordsong publishes picture book poetry collections as well as poetry collections for middle grade and young adult readers. We publish novels in verse that are made up of discrete, powerful, individual poems. Some of the well-known poets who publish under the Wordsong imprint include Nikki Grimes, Jane Yolen, Georgia Heard, Rebecca Kai Dotlich, and Marilyn S...
Read more