BOOK NEWS: Fresh Blood Writing Contest

ChiZine Publications (an independent horror publisher), Dorchester Publishing (publisher of Leisure Horror) and Rue Morgue Magazine teamed up to put together a novel writing contest and the results are in. There are nine finalists, one of which will have his/her book published in paperback by Leisure Books and in hardcover by ChiZine Publications in 2011.

Now that the contest has been narrowed down to nine finalists, readers get the chance to vote for their favourite. Each month there will be a different competition to weed out the contestants.

This month the competition is "Best First Chapter." But - for this month only - although you get to vote, the judges still get to choose the five who move onto the next round. The writer who wins the most votes in January is the "Fan Favourite" and is awarded a one-year subscription to the Leisure Horror Book Club and two signed copies of ChiZine books of his/her choice.

The judges of the contest are: Sandra Kasturi (Co-Publisher of ChiZine Publications), Brett Alexander Savory (Co-Publisher of ChiZine Publications) and Halli Villegas, (Publisher of Tightrope Books). There will also be a celebrity guest judge per round: in January, Monica S. Kuebler (Managing Editor of Rue Morgue Magazine), in March, Jeff Strand (author of Pressure), in April, Nate Kenyon (author of The Bone Factory), in May, John Everson (author of The 13th) and in June, Byan Smith (author of Depraved). Each month the judges' critiques will be posted.

Here are the nine finalists:

• Disunity by Aaron Dries
• The Burning Time by J.G. Faherty
• The Sorrows by Jonathan Janz
• Hell to Pay by Brian Johnson
• Heart of the City by Lisa A. Koosis
• Jack's Inferno by Mike Lamb
• Breed by Sean Logan
• A Fine Likeness by Sean McLachlan
• The Balderdash Lowdown by Robert Stevens

And here are the monthly competitions:

• January: Best First Chapter
• February: No voting, just descriptions of each novel
• March: Best Cover Copy
• April: Best Description of the Novel's "Monster"
  
• May: Most Frightening Scene
  
• June: Best First Two Chapters

Voting for this month ends January 31 and you can find out more here.