Amazon recently released the 100 semifinalists for their 2009 Breakthrough Novel Award. I was lucky enough to be one of the first round judges, and while I obviously can’t comment on the specific texts I read, I can say two of those I judged as a Publishers’ Weekly reviewer have made it to this next round. They were both excellent manuscripts, and I’m sure the other 98 that made the cut are of similar caliber. First novels are almost always a writer’s best, despite the flaws they inevitably contain, and reading these manuscripts before editor’s get their red pens to them is a treat indeed. From the site:
The Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award is an opportunity for emerging fiction writers to join a community of authors on Amazon.com, showcase their work, and compete for a chance to get published.
Sponsored in partnership with Penguin Group (USA) and CreateSpace, the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award launched in October 2007 and received more than 5,000 initial entries. Of those, excerpts from over 800 fiction entries were eligible for Amazon.com customers to read, rate, and review. Editors at Penguin Group (USA) reviewed the Top 100 semifinalists based on early customer reads and full manuscript reviews provided by Publishers’ Weekly. In March 2008, the leading Top 10 finalists were selected for the customers’ vote. A panel of experts–including bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert, editor and publisher Amy Einhorn, literary critic John Freeman, and literary agent Eric Simonoff–also weighed in with their reviews for each of the top 10 novels. The top three finalists–Dwight Okita (The Prospect of My Arrival), Harry Dolan (Bad Things Happen), and Bill Loehfelm (Fresh Kills) traveled to New York City for the first weekend in April, where Bill Loehfelm was revealed as the winner.
Sample chapters are available for all the semifinalists (they are available for free here), and Amazon encourages readers comments and reviews based on the samples. As a judge, I had to read a great many pages in a short period of time. However by opening up these chapters to the public, Amazon is providing a great opportunity for readers to sink their teeth into some fresh writing at their own pace. I now know just how could a few of these manuscripts are, and I definitely plan on reading some more of the submissions for fun. This is a great contest for unpublished writers, and we encourage you to check out some of the great writing to be found there. Perhaps you’ll find some inspiration to write something of your own.