Checklist for your Genesis entry:
- Have you formatted your manuscript as shown in the Manuscript Formatting Example?
- Is your font 12 point?
- Is your font Courier New, Times New Roman, Garamond, Cambria or Book Antiqua?
- Do you have a margin of one inch on all sides?
- Is your entry double-spaced?
- Is your chapter title (i.e. Chapter One or Tuesday Morning) four double-spaces from the header?
- Do ALL pages in your manuscript have a header in the same font as the body of the document with the title, category, total manuscript word count, and page number?
- Did you make sure your name, personal information, and/or pseudonym are NOT included in the header or anywhere on the manuscript?
- Is your entry 16 pages or less (one page synopsis, 15 page manuscript)?
- Did you include a one-page, single-spaced synopsis? Synopsis can by indented paragraphs or block paragraphs with a space between paragraphs and start one double space below header.
- Is the synopsis included in the file with your manuscript at the beginning of your entry, NOT in a separate file?
FAQ Questions & Answers:
If you’ve been published in ANY print or online form in novella or book-length fiction, then you are not eligible to enter Genesis. Authors who are ONLY published in non-fiction, picture books, and short story are eligible to enter an unpublished fiction manuscript. Authors who were previously considered published by this contest in past years because they have participated in a novella collection published by one of ACFW’s recognized local chapters MAY enter. This change is effective January 2, 2025.
Track Changes is a feature found in Microsoft Word. A “tracked change” is a colored mark that shows where a deletion, insertion, or other editing change has been made in a document. Using Track Changes, a judge may also insert comments into the manuscript. A link to a sample of Track Changes as it appears in a judged document may be viewed by clicking here.
(You may download Adobe Reader free: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html)
Under no circumstances should comments given by a judge be used for publicity purposes without the express consent of the judge.
The Genesis coordinators go into every file to activate the security feature and erase all personal information from each file. The judges will not be able to find out who wrote the entry.
After judging, the coordinators will again go into every judged file and again erase all personal information so that the entrants will not be able to find out who judged their entry.
The Genesis coordinators will do everything to ensure absolute anonymity.
All entries should receive a confirmation e-mail of receipt of their entry and of payment. Be sure you have checked your spam/junk mail folder in case the emails were sent there. If you add the category coordinator’s email address found on the guidelines page for your entry category into your contacts, this will help notices not to be sent to the junk mail folder. If an entrant does not receive a confirmation e-mail by March 2 at midnight central time, the entrant should e-mail the contest coordinator at genesis@acfw.com. You will not receive any notice from your category coordinator unless there is a problem with your entry.
Certainly! The semi-finalists are announced before the conference, and the category finalists and winners are announced at the conference. If you cannot attend the conference, you may designate someone to accept your award should you win. Or if there is not a designated person to accept your award, ACFW will provide a link after the conference to winners to pay shipping costs for any trophies that are awarded.
No. ACFW and the Genesis Contest do NOT guarantee that anyone will receive a publishing contract.