You must be a registered attendee to enter the contests and/or to be eligible for prizes. Thank you for your understanding.
CONTEST ENTRIES ARE DUE NO LATER THAN 11.59 P.M., THURSDAY APRIL 30TH. Entries received after that will be disqualified.
Some contests are live now, others are coming soon! Thank you for your patience. If the description of the contest is fully available, that contest is open. The others are to be determined.
Entry fee required for the cover contest.
Please follow the links below to fill out the entry form and pay the $10.00 entry fee.
There are two categories in this contest, Adult novels (all genres), and children’s books, including YA, early reader and picture books. Both categories will be judged separately.
Contest #1: Best Book Cover (Adult, all genre.)
Adult novel any genre.
PRIZE MONEY.
1st place – $100
2nd place – $60
3rd place – $40
Publish a book in 2025 or 2026 with a great cover? You may not enter any cover you have entered in this contest before. Enter our cover contest!
Contest #1: Children’s Book Cover Contest
Children’s books, including YA, early reader and picture books.
PRIZE MONEY
1st place – $100
2nd place – $60
3rd place – $40
Publish a book in 2025 or 2026 with a great cover? You may not enter any cover you have entered in this contest before. Enter our cover contest!
SPONSORED: No Entry Fee Required for Contest 2-12.
Please email all entries to contestsbtp@gmail.com:
RULES:
- All entries must be sent as attachments, either by themselves or together to: contestsbtp@gmail.com
- Members of a group sponsoring a contest are NOT eligible to enter that contest
but may enter all others. - Read the contest rules carefully and follow the guidelines for each contest you
enter. Failure to follow the instructions will lead to disqualification. - Absolutely NO AI, please.
- When sending your entries, please do the following:
a. Subject Line: BTP Contest
b. Body of the email: Name, number of the contest you are entering, title of
the work and the word count.
c. DO NOT PUT YOUR NAME ON THE ENTRY - You may send your entries separately or together as long as all the necessary
information is included in the body of the email. For example, your Name:
Contest 4: Entry Title, 235 words Contest 6: Entry Title, 500 words. - You may enter each contest once, except for the book cover contest.
- All entries, except the cover contest, must be unpublished work.
- Book covers entered in the contest must have a publication date of
2025 or 2026. - Deadline for entries: 11:59 p.m. April 30th, 2026
- PLEASE, send your attachment as a doc., docx or PDF. No odt, pages or Google docs.
- MAKE SURE your document isn’t write protected. If it is, it will be returned to you for the correct format.
i.e. Your Name: Contest 4: Entry Title, 235 words
Contest 6: Entry Title, 500 words
Contest #2: Lori Copeland – Love & Laughter Award
The best first page of a romance novel – Up to 250 words
1st place – $50
2nd place – $30
3rd place – $20
1 honorable mention
Please email your entry to contestsbtp@gmail.com:
Contest #3: First Paragraph
The best first paragraph hook for a mystery, thriller or suspense – Up to 500 words
1st place – $50
2nd place – $30
3rd place – $20
1 honorable mention
Sponsored by: Sleuths’ Ink Mystery Writers
Please email your entry to contestsbtp@gmail.com:
Contest #4: Phrase Prompt
Complete the sentence “If you look back far enough, you can see …” and write a scene or short story that contains the line. Up to 750 words, any genre.
1st place – $50
2nd place – $30
3rd place – $20
1 honorable mention
Sponsored by: Critique Me Friday, Critique Partners
Please email your entry to contestsbtp@gmail.com:
Contest #5: COMING SOON
Coming Soon
1st place – $50
2nd place – $30
3rd place – $20
1 honorable mention
Sponsored by: Ozarks Romance Authors
Please email your entry to contestsbtp@gmail.com:
Contest #6: COMING SOON
Coming soon.
1st place – $50
2nd place – $35
3rd place – $15
Sponsored by: Springfield Writers’ Guild
Please email your entry to contestsbtp@gmail.com:
Contest #7: The J. C. Fields Hook Your Reader Award
First Paragraph: Hook your reader in the first paragraph in the suspense/mystery/thriller genre with 75 words or less.
1st place – $50
2nd place – $30
3rd place – $20
1honorable mention
Sponsored by: J. C. Fields
Please email your entry to contestsbtp@gmail.com:
Contest #8: They Said What?
Take a famous movie line and use it in a totally different way. Up to 500 words, any genre.
1st place – $50
2nd place – $30
3rd place – $20
Sponsored by: Saturday Book Club
Please email your entry to contestsbtp@gmail.com:
Contest #9: WRITE A CHILDREN’S BOOK
Write a children’s book between 800 and 1000 words. Topic of your choice.
1st place – $50
2nd place – $30
3rd place – $20
1honorable mention
Sponsored by: Solander Press
Please email your entry to contestsbtp@gmail.com:
Contest #10: A NOVEL DEAL WITH THE DEVIL
You have been working on a manuscript for years and it still isn’t what you want. The devil offers you a “deal” to make it a bestseller. He or She (the devil) is very persuasive. What would you be willing to do/give to make that deal? Write 1500 words or less, starting with the angst of an unfinished novel and ending with a decision on whether or not you take the deal from the devil.
1st place – $40
2nd place – $25
3rd place – $10
Sponsored by: Kelly Reddin
Please email your entry to contestsbtp@gmail.com:
Contest #11: COMING SOON
COMING SOON
1st place – $
2nd place – $
3rd place – $
Sponsored by:
Please email your entry to contestsbtp@gmail.com:
Contest 12: The Cosmic Horror Writing Prize
In 1913, Ambrose Bierce vanished while traveling with Pancho Villa’s forces in Chihuahua, Mexico. Write a 3,000-word cosmic horror story exploring what caused his disappearance. Possible approaches:
• What ancient artifact, Eldritch horror, or tear in reality consumed him in 1913?
• A modern investigator unravels the mystery—and wishes they hadn’t
• Bierce appears in Chihuahua in 2026, unchanged and carrying something impossible back with him
1st place – $30
2nd place – $20
3rd place – $10
Sponsored by: Xavier Poe Kane
Please email your entry to contestsbtp@gmail.com: