Jillian Clemmons

It's alive!

Yes, they exist. Chick lit is not dead. Really.

Multi-published author Deanna Carlyle said, “In the U.S. publishing industry, the line between chick lit, young adult fiction and women’s fiction is blurring. Some editors are calling the new developments ‘humorous women’s fiction,’ ‘romantic comedy’ or ‘tween lit.’ But don’t be fooled. Chick lit by any other name is just as fun and just as fresh.”

Go into any Target or Walmart, and you’ll see that the women’s section packed with chick lit. Chick lit dead? Pa-sha! Maybe the name is stale, but the genre isn’t.

One of my favorite blogs is Chick Lit is Not Dead, by authors Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke. Check out their funny new novel, I’ll Have Who She’s Having, at Amazon.com. I firmly believe that their blog title helps, instead of hurts them. Still, it can be difficult finding contests that accept chick lit entries, even within the Romance Writers of America (RWA).

If you’re a chick lit writer, and you’re planning to enter chick lit in any RWA contests, make sure that they have a separate score-sheet for their ‘novel with romantic elements’ category. Many RWA contests now include this category, but some of them haven’t changed their score-sheets to reflect the fact that these books aren’t romances. So if you write chick lit, the judges may mark down your entry in those areas of the score-sheet that deal with hero/heroine, sexual tension, etc. This type of confusion within the RWA was the entire reason that the Chick Lit Writers of the World (CLW) began.

CLW is the first official organization of chick lit writers, and I’m an active member. It’s a great place to network with other writers for chick lit agent and editor news, and each year they hold “The Get Your Stiletto in the Door Contest.”

This contest is open to all chick lit writers who have not signed a publishing contract for a novel-length fiction with a Romance Writers of America-approved publisher within five years of the contest deadline. The official Web site with information is, http://www.chicklitwriters.com/contest.htm.

Fee: $10 for CLW members. Otherwise, it’s $20 for RWA members and $30 for non-members.
Deadline: June 15, 2009
Entry: All electronic! First 35 pages, synopsis up to five pages.
Final judges: TBA, agent and editor.
There will also be a “Best of the Best” winner, judged from among the first place winners in each category.
Prize: The winner from each category will win a $50 Amazon gift card.

Good luck to everyone entering!

XO,

Jillian