2024 Novel Excerpt Contest

The Masters Review believes that every writer has a novel in them, which is why we host a call for novel excerpts every autumn. So dig through those desk drawers, dust off your manuscripts, crack your knuckles, and get revising! For this contest, we’re looking for excerpts that exhibit a sense of style, with a clear grasp on craft: character, setting, and most importantly, story. Your excerpt may come from any place in your novel, but choose wisely—a synopsis should not be required for understanding the excerpt. As always, we have no limitations on genre, though we are primarily interested in literary fiction. Submissions for the Novel Excerpt Contest will open on August 28 and close on October 27.

Tania James will serve as this year’s guest judge! James will select the finalists from a shortlist of ten excerpts provided by The Masters Review’s editorial team. The winning excerpt will be awarded $3,000; online publication; and an hour-long consultation with Marin Takikawa, a literary agent with The Friedrich Agency. Second- and third-place excerpts will be awarded online publication and $300 and $200 respectively, in addition to written feedback from Takikawa.
 

Guidelines:

• The winner receives $3,000; online publication; and a consultation with Marin Takikawa, a literary agent with The Friedrich Agency.
• The second- and third-place finalists receive cash prizes ($300/$200), online publication, and agent feedback.
• Submitted excerpts must be under 6,000 words.
• Submitted work must be previously unpublished. This includes personal blogs, social media accounts, and other websites. Previously published excerpts will be automatically disqualified.
• The entry fee is $20.
• Simultaneous and multiple submissions are allowed, though each submission requires a $20 entry fee. 
• Writers from historically marginalized or underrepresented groups are invited to submit for free until we reach fifty submissions in this category. NOTE: SUBMISSION CAP HAS BEEN MET.
• If your excerpt is accepted or contracted elsewhere, please withdraw your submission on Submittable, or contact us otherwise to let us know the piece is no longer available.
• We do not require anonymous submissions for this contest, but the judge will review the shortlist anonymously. 
• This contest is for emerging writers only. Writers with single-author book-length work published or under contract with a major press are ineligible. We are interested in providing a platform to new writers; authors with books published by indie presses are welcome to submit unpublished work, as are self-published authors.
• International submissions are allowed, provided the work is written primarily in English. Some code-switching/meshing is warmly welcomed.
• All submissions must be double-spaced with one-inch page margins and use Times New Roman or Garamond 12. 
• Excerpts from novels under contract for 2024 or 2025 are ineligible, but novels under contract from 2026 and beyond are eligible.
• EXTENDED: The contest’s deadline is 11:59pm PST on Friday, November 1, 2024.
• All entries are also considered for publication in New Voices.
• Every submission will receive a response by the end of March 2025. The winners will be announced by the end of April 2025.
• AI-generated submissions will be automatically disqualified. 
• Friends, family, and associates of the guest judge are not eligible for this award, nor are past winners of the Novel Excerpt Contest.

FAQ

Q: Does it have to have a beginning, middle, and end?

We want an excerpt that stands well on its own, that makes us want to read the full book. We want a sense of conclusion from the excerpt, but we also know that we’re only reading part of a novel and don’t expect all threads to be resolved. You can read last year’s winners at the links below for an example of the kind of novel excerpt we’re interested in.

Q: When should I expect to hear back?

We will try to respond to every submission by the end of March 2025, and hope to have the finalists announced at the end of April or beginning of May 2025. If this timeline changes significantly, we will notify all authors. We appreciate your patience!

Q: Can I submit two chapters if they fall under 6,000 words?

You can submit as many chapters as you’d like, as long as the word count is under 6,000 words.

Q: How firm are you on word count?

We allow for some wiggle room; don’t force your revisions into 6,000 words. We’d rather read a couple hundred extra words than a cramped conclusion!

Q: Can I submit a synopsis/prologue with my excerpt?

We recommend that you don’t; your excerpt will be judged on its merit alone, and the synopsis will not be published alongside your excerpt.

Q: Can I submit with a cowriter?

Sure, but you’ll need to split the prize money.

Q: What if a small portion of the book has already been published?

As long as the excerpt you’re submitting has not been published in any form, and the novel itself has not been published, we’re happy to consider your work!

Q: What’s the deal with my rights if I want to publish my book eventually?

We ask for first publication rights of your excerpt only. All rights also revert back to the author after an exclusive ninety-day publishing window. Specific questions or concerns about publishing rights can be addressed to contact [at] mastersreview [dot] com.

Q: If I self-published my novel on my blog but later took it down, can I still submit an excerpt?

Unfortunately, because it’s been published in some form or fashion, the excerpt would no longer be eligible for this contest.

Judging

Tania James is the author of four works of fiction, all published by Knopf: Loot, which was longlisted for 2023 National Book Award and the Carol Shields Prize; The Tusk That Did the Damage, which was a finalist for the International Dylan Thomas Prize; Aerogrammes and Other Stories, named a Best Book of 2012 by Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal, and The San Francisco Chronicle; and the novel Atlas of Unknowns, which was a New York Times Editor’s Choice and a finalist for the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature. Her short stories have appeared in Freeman’s; Granta; The New Yorker; O, The Oprah Magazine; and One Story, among other places, and featured on Symphony Space Selected Shorts. Raised in Louisville, Kentucky, she teaches in the MFA program at George Mason University and lives in Washington, DC.

2024 Chapbook Open

The Chapbook Open, returning for the fifth year, is a call for submissions of literary prose chapbooks. We’re looking for collections of flash fiction, creative nonfiction essays, short stories, and anything in-between. We encourage you to experiment with style and form and push the boundaries of genre. But be aware: manuscripts are capped at 45 pages. The Masters Review is proud to offer the winner a $3,000 cash prize, along with manuscript publication and 50 contributor copies. Selecting this year’s winning chapbook is Rita Bullwinkel, author of the collection Belly Up and the new novel Headshot. Our chapbooks are distributed internationally and are available through Bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon. 

Submissions will be accepted between September 1 and December 15, 2024. The Masters Review staff will select a shortlist of five to ten chapbooks to pass along to Rita Bullwinkel, who will pick the winner and write an introduction for the manuscript. The winning chapbook will be published in Spring 2026. Last year’s winner, A Most Natural Thing by Lisbeth White, will be published next spring. For details on all of our past winners, please visit the links at the bottom of this page. 

All submissions must be single-author prose manuscripts of 25 to 45 pages. We are not interested in traditional lineated poetry. All manuscripts must be complete: no excerpts, no chapters of a novel, no works in progress, or any other incomplete work. Individual pieces may be previously published, but submitted manuscripts should contain some unpublished material. If you have questions or concerns about whether your manuscript would qualify, please email us at contact [at] mastersreview [dot] com.

Submission Guidelines:

• The winner receives $3,000, manuscript publication, and 50 contributor copies.
• The second- and third-place finalists will be acknowledged on our website, alongside any honorable mentions.
• Manuscripts should include a table of contents (if necessary) and an acknowledgements page listing any previously published material within the manuscript.
• Submitted manuscripts must be between 25 to 45 double-spaced pages, at 12-point font (not including front/back matter, i.e., title page, dedication, table of contents, etc.). For collections, each piece should begin on a new page.
• Manuscripts must contain some unpublished material. Previously published material cannot have been published in any other chapbook or full-length collection. (Work that was included in a multiauthor anthology is permissible.)
• Self-published chapbooks are considered previously published and are therefore ineligible.
• We are not interested in poetry chapbooks. (We will consider chapbooks that contain some prose poetry.)
• Only single-author manuscripts will be considered.
• Simultaneous and multiple submissions are allowed, though each submission requires a $25 entry fee.
• Writers from historically marginalized groups may submit for a reduced fee of $15 until we reach our cap of 50 submissions in this category. 
• If your chapbook is accepted elsewhere, please withdraw your submission on Submittable, or contact us otherwise to let us know the collection is no longer available.
• We do not require anonymous submissions for this contest. 
• This contest is for emerging writers only. Writers with single-author book-length work published or under contract with a major press are ineligible. We are interested in providing a platform to new writers; authors with books published by indie presses are welcome to submit unpublished work, as are self-published authors.
• International submissions are allowed, provided the work is written primarily in English. Some code-switching/meshing is warmly welcomed.
• No translations, please.
• Submissions are accepted through Submittable only.
• The contest’s deadline is 11:59pm PST on December 15, 2024.
• AI-generated work is not eligible for this contest.
• Individual stories or essays within the manuscript may also be considered for publication in New Voices.
• Every submission will receive a response by the end of April 2025. The winners will be announced by the end of May 2025. 
• Friends, family, and associates of the guest judge are not eligible for this award, nor are past Chapbook Open winners. 

Judging

Rita Bullwinkel is the author of Headshot and Belly Up, a story collection that won the Believer Book Award. She is a 2022 recipient of a Whiting Award, the editor of McSweeney's Quarterly, a contributing editor at NOON, and the Picador Guest Professor of Literature at Leipzig University in Germany, where she teaches courses on creative writing, zines, and the uses of invented and foreign languages as tools for world building.

Editorial Letter Option

If you’re interested in getting feedback on your writing, utilize our editorial letter add-on option. Editorial letters are available for chapbook submissions on a sliding scale (see below). Our response to your submission will be accompanied by a one- to two-page letter from an experienced guest editor, who will offer observations on the strengths of the piece as well as opportunities for revision. Your editor may also offer further submission and reading suggestions, or other comments on craft. A significant portion of the additional fee is paid directly to your feedback editor. See a sample editorial letter.
 

Editorial Letter Payment Scale:

• One complete story/essay, under 6,000 words: $69
• Two complete stories/essays, or one complete story/essay between 6,000-12,000 words: $133
• Three complete stories/essays, or work longer than 12,000 words: $197
   

2024 Chapbook Open

Note: This submission category is for marginalized or historically underrepresented writers ONLY. 

The Chapbook Open, returning for the fifth year, is a call for submissions of literary prose chapbooks. We’re looking for collections of flash fiction, creative nonfiction essays, short stories, and anything in-between. We encourage you to experiment with style and form and push the boundaries of genre. But be aware: manuscripts are capped at 45 pages. The Masters Review is proud to offer the winner a $3,000 cash prize, along with manuscript publication and 50 contributor copies. Selecting this year’s winning chapbook is Rita Bullwinkel, author of the collection Belly Up and the new novel Headshot. Our chapbooks are distributed internationally and are available through Bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon. 

Submissions will be accepted between September 1 and December 15, 2024. The Masters Review staff will select a shortlist of five to ten chapbooks to pass along to Rita Bullwinkel, who will pick the winner and write an introduction for the manuscript. The winning chapbook will be published in Spring 2026. Last year’s winner, A Most Natural Thing by Lisbeth White, will be published next spring. For details on all of our past winners, please visit the links at the bottom of this page. 

All submissions must be single-author prose manuscripts of 25 to 45 pages. We are not interested in traditional lineated poetry. All manuscripts must be complete: no excerpts, no chapters of a novel, no works in progress, or any other incomplete work. Individual pieces may be previously published, but submitted manuscripts should contain some unpublished material. If you have questions or concerns about whether your manuscript would qualify, please email us at contact [at] mastersreview [dot] com.

Submission Guidelines:

• The winner receives $3,000, manuscript publication, and 50 contributor copies.
• The second- and third-place finalists will be acknowledged on our website, alongside any honorable mentions.
• Manuscripts should include a table of contents (if necessary) and an acknowledgements page listing any previously published material within the manuscript.
• Submitted manuscripts must be between 25 to 45 double-spaced pages, at 12-point font (not including front/back matter, i.e., title page, dedication, table of contents, etc.). For collections, each piece should begin on a new page.
• Manuscripts must contain some unpublished material. Previously published material cannot have been published in any other chapbook or full-length collection. (Work that was included in a multiauthor anthology is permissible.)
• Self-published chapbooks are considered previously published and are therefore ineligible.
• We are not interested in poetry chapbooks. (We will consider chapbooks that contain some prose poetry.)
• Only single-author manuscripts will be considered.
• Simultaneous and multiple submissions are allowed, though each submission requires a $25 entry fee.
• Writers from historically marginalized groups may submit for a reduced fee of $15 until we reach our cap of 50 submissions in this category. 
• If your chapbook is accepted elsewhere, please withdraw your submission on Submittable, or contact us otherwise to let us know the collection is no longer available.
• We do not require anonymous submissions for this contest. 
• This contest is for emerging writers only. Writers with single-author book-length work published or under contract with a major press are ineligible. We are interested in providing a platform to new writers; authors with books published by indie presses are welcome to submit unpublished work, as are self-published authors.
• International submissions are allowed, provided the work is written primarily in English. Some code-switching/meshing is warmly welcomed.
• No translations, please.
• Submissions are accepted through Submittable only.
• The contest’s deadline is 11:59pm PST on December 15, 2024.
• AI-generated work is not eligible for this contest.
• Individual stories or essays within the manuscript may also be considered for publication in New Voices.
• Every submission will receive a response by the end of April 2025. The winners will be announced by the end of May 2025. 
• Friends, family, and associates of the guest judge are not eligible for this award, nor are past Chapbook Open winners. 

Judging

Rita Bullwinkel is the author of Headshot and Belly Up, a story collection that won the Believer Book Award. She is a 2022 recipient of a Whiting Award, the editor of McSweeney's Quarterly, a contributing editor at NOON, and the Picador Guest Professor of Literature at Leipzig University in Germany, where she teaches courses on creative writing, zines, and the uses of invented and foreign languages as tools for world building.

Editorial Letter Option

If you’re interested in getting feedback on your writing, utilize our editorial letter add-on option. Editorial letters are available for chapbook submissions on a sliding scale (see below). Our response to your submission will be accompanied by a one- to two-page letter from an experienced guest editor, who will offer observations on the strengths of the piece as well as opportunities for revision. Your editor may also offer further submission and reading suggestions, or other comments on craft. A significant portion of the additional fee is paid directly to your feedback editor. See a sample editorial letter.
 

Editorial Letter Payment Scale:

• One complete story/essay, under 6,000 words: $69
• Two complete stories/essays, or one complete story/essay between 6,000-12,000 words: $133
• Three complete stories/essays, or work longer than 12,000 words: $197
   

Our New Voices category is open year round to any new or emerging author who has not published a novel-length work of fiction or narrative nonfiction. Authors with published short story collections are free to submit.  We accept simultaneous and multiple submissions but ask that you inform us immediately if your story is accepted elsewhere. 

The Masters Review pays a flat rate of $100 for flash-length stories (1,000 words or fewer) and $200 for longer stories (up to 7,000 words). We are thrilled to be paying for published pieces but will be highly selective in our choices for publication.

Guidelines
 

• This category is for emerging writers only. Writers with single-author book-length work published or under contract  with a major press are ineligible. We are interested in providing a  platform to new writers; authors with books published by indie presses are welcome to submit unpublished work, as are self-published authors.
• We accept fiction and narrative non-fiction. We do accept a variety of genres and styles; our only requirement is that you show excellence in your craft. We want to be wowed. Bend genres, experiment with structure, and write your heart out. But please, send us polished work. Our aim is to showcase writers who we believe will continue to produce great work. Send us only your best.
• We accept simultaneous submissions but please notify us if your work is picked up elsewhere.
• All submissions must be under 7,000 words.
• If you're submitting flash, feel free to include up to three stories in a single document.
• We do accept multiple submissions.
• We cannot consider work that has been previously published in any form. This includes personal blogs.
• Please include a brief cover letter with your publication history and a short bio.
• We aim to respond to all submissions within twelve weeks. Please do not email before twelve weeks have passed. 
• For submissions that request an editorial letter, a significant portion of the editorial letter fees go to our feedback editor.

We don’t have any preferences topically or in terms of style. We’re simply looking for the best. We don’t define, nor are we interested in, stories identified by their genre. We do, however, consider ourselves a publication that focuses on literary fiction. Dazzle us, take chances, and be bold. Thanks for supporting our publication, and thank you for your work. 

The Masters Review is committed to providing a platform to diverse, emerging voices. We are now offering an expedited reading category explicitly for marginalized or underrepresented writers. Submitters to this category may choose to receive either a response in two weeks or fewer; or a few sentences of feedback, if declined. 

Although our aim is speedy responses, we can occasionally be backed up by the demand in this category. We prioritize close reading and valuable feedback over quick responses, but if you've requested feedback and your piece is still pending after six weeks, please gently nudge us at contact [at] mastersreview.com for an update. 

All submissions are considered for publication on our website under New Voices, and our regular New Voices guidelines apply (see below). The Masters Review pays a flat rate of $100 flash-length submissions (1,000 words or fewer) and $200 for longer works (up to 7,000 words).

Please see the guidelines below, or contact us at contact [at] mastersreview.com with any questions. This form is for marginalized or underrepresented writers only. If you'd like to submit work with an expedited response time and do not identify as BIPOC or as a writer from another demographic who has been historically mis- or underrepresented in publishing, you may do so here with a $9.99 fee. 

Black Lives Matter. Black Voices Matter. 

With love,

 Cole, Brandon, Jen and the entire Masters Review team.
 

Guidelines

• This form is for BIPOC and historically marginalized writers only.
• New Voices submissions are for emerging writers. Writers with single-author book-length work published or under contract with a major press are ineligible. We are interested in providing a platform to new writers; authors with books published by indie presses are welcome to submit unpublished work, as are self-published authors.
• We accept fiction and narrative non-fiction. We do accept a variety of genres and styles, our only requirement is that you show excellence in your craft. We want to be wowed. Bend genres, experiment with structure, and write your heart out. But please, send us polished work.  Our aim is to showcase writers who we believe will continue to produce great work. Send us only your best.
• We accept simultaneous submissions but please notify us if your work is picked up elsewhere.
• All submissions must be under 7,000 words.
• If you're submitting flash, feel free to include up to 3 stories in a single document.
• Please, only one active submission at a time. 
• Please include a brief cover letter with your publication history and a short bio.
• Do not submit work to this category if you do not identify as BIPOC or as a writer from another demographic who has been historically mis- or underrepresented in publishing.
   

We don’t have any preferences topically or in terms of style. We’re simply looking for the best. We don’t define, nor are we interested in, stories identified by their genre. We do, however, consider ourselves a publication that focuses on literary fiction. Dazzle us, take chances, and be bold.   Thanks for supporting our publication, and thank you for your work.
 

The Masters Review is now accepting submissions of completed book reviews, interviews, and craft essays for publication on our blog. Please do not send pitches or queries to this category. Submissions must be previously unpublished. We do not consider reprints. At the moment, we are unable to pay for book reviews or interviews, but we can pay $50 for craft essays. If you have a pitch or query, please contact us at contact [at] mastersreview [dot] com.

Genre Guidelines

Book Reviews

• Book Reviews must be of books scheduled for a 2024 or later release. We recommend submitting your review at least one month before the scheduled publication date. Earlier is better.
• Book Reviews should be between 700-1,200 words.
• Include in your review at least one sentence that conveys your overall stance on the book and embolden it. (e.g., "The Survivalists by Kashana Cauley ruthlessly interrogates what it means to be successful as a Black woman, a Millennial, and a liberal living in an urban center.") 
• Our primary interest are debut authors and indie presses. Occasionally, we will consider and publish reviews from major presses or of notable authors.
• Rarely, we will consider a review for a book with a past release date, but it must have been published within four months. If you have questions about this policy, please contact us at contact [at] mastersreview [dot] com.

Interviews

• We are interested in interviews with authors, editors, agents, or other industry professionals, with a particular focus on recent publications or activity. Our mission is to bridge the gap between new and established writers, so any insight into the profession of writing is valuable (e.g., this interview with agent Miriam Atlshuler).
• Interviews should be between 1,200-2,500 words.
• Please include a bio of both the interviewee and the interviewer with your submission, as well as an introduction to the interview.

Craft Essays

• Craft Essays should focus on a particular aspect of the craft of writing fiction or nonfiction.
• Please do not send craft essays about poetry.
• We are especially interested in craft essays which examine the craft of a particular story. Please see our Stories That Teach and From the Archive series on the blog for examples.
• Craft Essays should be between 1,200-2,500 words.