Novel Competition: Tony Hillerman Prize

Co-sponsored by St. Martin's Press, the Tony Hillerman Prize is awarded annually for the best first mystery set in the Southwest. The contest, named after New Mexico's best known mystery author, honors a first novel set in the Southwest. Hunt received a contract for publication with St. Martin's Press and a $10,000 advance.

The Tony Hillerman Prize competition is open to any professional or non-professional writer who has never been the author of a published mystery. Murder or another serious crime or crimes must be at the heart of the story, with the emphasis on the solution rather than the details of the crime. All entries must be received or postmarked no later than June 1. The deadline for entries in the Tony Hillerman Short Story Contest is August 15. The 2,500-word mystery story must be set at least in part in New Mexico. Both contests are co-sponsored by WORDHARVEST, a Santa Fe-based business devoted to good writing. Here are the novel contest rules:

Hillerman Prize Mystery Contest Rules and Guidelines

(Sponsored by the Tony Hillerman Writers Conference (THWC) and St. Martin's Press, LLC)
The contest is open to any professional or non-professional writer, regardless of nationality, who has never been the author of a published mystery, as defined by the guidelines below, and is not under contract with a publisher for publication of a mystery. Only one manuscript entry is permitted per writer.
All manuscripts submitted: a) must be original works of book length (no less than 220 typewritten pages or approximately 60,000 words) written in the English language by the contestants; b) must not violate the rights of any third party, and c) must generally follow the guidelines below.

GUIDELINES
1. Murder or another serious crime or crimes is at the heart of the story, and emphasis is on the solution rather than the details of the crime.
2. The story's primary setting is the Southwestern United States, including at least one of the following states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah.
(The decision of the Competition's judges as to whether or not a manuscript qualifies will be final.)
Nominees will be selected by judges chosen by the organizers of the THWC, with the assistance of editorial staff of St. Martin's Press, and the winner will be chosen by St. Martin's editors. The decision of the editors as to the winner of the contest will be final. St. Martin's reserves the right not to select any winner if, in the sole opinion of the editors, none of the manuscripts submitted are of publishable quality.
An attempt will be made to notify the contest winner, if any, no later than October 1.

If a winner is selected, St. Martin's Press will publish the winning manuscript by offering to enter into its standard form author's agreement with the contestant. The winner will receive an advance against future royalties of $10,000. Those terms of the offer not specified in the printed text of the St. Martin's Press standard form author's agreement will be determined by St. Martin's Press at its sole discretion. The contestant may request reasonable changes in the offered terms, but St. Martin's shall not be obligated to agree to any such changes. St. Martin's may, but will not be required to, consider for publication manuscripts submitted by other contestants.

All entries must be received or postmarked no later than June 1 and must include: a) A double-spaced and neatly typed copy of the manuscript (photocopies are acceptable), with pages numbered consecutively from beginning to end. The author's name should appear only on the title page, and otherwise not appear anywhere on the manuscript pages. b) A letter or cover sheet containing the name, address, email address and telephone number of the contestant and the contestant's previous writing credits, if any. c) The application form, duly completed and an SASE.
All entries must be mailed to St. Martin's Press.

For additional copies of the rules and to request an entry form, please send a stamped, self addressed envelope to:
St. Martin's Minotaur/THWC Competition St. Martin's Minotaur 175 Fifth Avenue New York, New York 10010
*Each contestant must keep a copy of the manuscript for his or her own protection. St. Martin's Press will not be responsible for lost, stolen, or mislaid manuscripts. Because of the great volume of submissions we receive, the fact that judges are volunteers with full-time responsibilities elsewhere, and the fact that most writers now have the work in their computers, manuscripts will not be returned. Please do not send return postage or envelopes.
No critical evaluation or commentary will be offered by the judges or the editorial staff of St. Martin's Press unless, in the sole opinion of the editorial staff evaluation or commentary is appropriate in the case of a manuscript being considered for publication.
This Competition is void where prohibited or restricted by law.
*It is important that you submit your manuscript as early as possible. Our judges are volunteers who are extremely busy with their primary concerns, and it is inevitable that your submission will get a more careful reading if the judge does not have to contend with a flood of last-minute entries. However, it is not necessary to send it the most expensive way. We judge on-time delivery by the post-mark or equivalent, not by the date the judge receives the manuscript.
Good luck!