First Impressions, a new contest for unpublished authors from the American Christian Fiction Writers, is now accepting entries!

With First Impressions, you submit only the first five pages of your manuscript to have them evaluated by experienced judges and industry professionals. Agents and editors agree the first five pages are crucial in getting them to bite on a manuscript. But how can you know whether you’re on the right track? The feedback you receive from this contest should give you the information you need.

The first round of the contest will be judged by 3 published authors or experienced writers. The final round will be judged by 2 agents per category.

For complete rules, guidelines, FAQs, eligible genres, and other information, visit the First Impressions page.

Entry deadline is November 15th, 2012.

A second contest for unpublished authors

If you have a completed manuscript, you may be interested in ACFW’s Genesis Contest–also for unpublished authors. This year, entries in the Genesis must by complete manuscripts. This contest will open for entries January 2, 2013.

Michael Ehret, for Writing on the Fine Line