For all you aspiring writers out there (aspiring meaning unpublished) there was an interesting article in yesterday’s New York Times about the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. With a $25,000 advance and publication through Penguin Books up for grabs, it is worth your time to give it a read.
(A second contest is also mentioned in the article, this one through Borders, Gather.com, and Court TV. It is restricted to mystery and suspense writers and has a $5,000 prize. )
How to Write a Novel 