Passionate Ink – Some Like it Hot

2023 Passionate Plume Contest

ENTRIES ARE NOW CLOSED! WE’LL SEE YOU IN 2024!
Winners for the 2023 Passionate Plume will be announced in June.

CATEGORIES

• BDSM Romance Long/Short –stories with BDSM elements. Do your characters like more than light spanking? Bring those stories to this category where romance thrives on kinks, fetishes, and/or power exchanges.
• Contemporary Erotic Romance Long/Short – stories that focus on the developing romantic relationship in a contemporary setting. Includes series and single-title length romances. Can also include elements of romantic suspense/intrigue or romantic comedy.
• Erotic Fiction Long/Short – stories that focus on the individual’s journey (hero’s or heroine’s) and do not have to end in a happily ever after moment.
• Historical Erotic Romance Long/Short – stories set at least fifty years in the past.
• Speculative Erotic Romance Long/Short – Do your characters have extraordinary abilities or shift?  Do your stories focus on science, aliens, or futuristic/dystopian setting? Or maybe your story includes time travel. Your stories belong here.
• Steamy Romance Long/Short – stories that contain explicit scenes or high heat, but the sex is not an inherent part of the plot, character growth, or relationship development, and could easily be removed or cooled off without damaging the storyline.
• Virgins —This special category is for UNPUBLISHED authors.
  • Entries will be the first 5,000 words of your completed erotic romance or erotic fiction manuscript that fits one of the above categories.
  • Include a sales description of no more than 300 words in your document. The sales description is used to entice the reader to purchase.
  • See the Virgin Category FAQ for more information and submission guidelines specific to this category.
  • Questions? Contact the Plume committee at plume@passionateink.org.

JUDGING AND PRIZES

Works will each be judged by three readers, writers, reviewers, booksellers or librarians. The top two scores are added to form the final score. The lowest score is dropped. Ties are broken using the dropped low score or with a fourth reading. The decisions of the judges are final.

First place winners will receive an award with the category, author name, and title of the winning work, and an award graphic for their website/social media. The winner in the Virgin category will be eligible to have their winning 5K word entry included in the next Passionate Ink Anthology as a teaser for their future publication. All others will receive a finalist graphic for their website/social media.

Contest schedule will be announced in early 2024. Results of the finalists and the winners will be promoted in Passionate Ink’s newsletter, social media accounts, and on the Passionate Ink public Facebook page.

Questions? Contact the Plume committee at plume@passionateink.org.

RULES FOR ENTRY: Entries for 2024 will open next February.

Eligibility

1. Contest is open to all erotic fiction works published in 2023. Erotic romance stories have a happily ever after or happily for now, and the romantic relationship grows through sexual interaction. The genre is discussed here by one of our founders, Sylvia Day. Erotic fiction stories do not require an HEA/HFN.
2. All entries must be previously unpublished in any format prior to 2023 and must possess an original copyright date of 2023. (If the paperback format was released in 2022 and the ebook was released in 2023, 2022 would be the date of first publication and the book would be ineligible for Passionate Plume entry.)
   1. Virgin Category entries are exempt from the copyright date requirement, but must not have been published online, or in any other format at any time.
3. No members of the executive board of Passionate Ink or any of the Passionate Plume committee members are eligible to enter.

General Rules

1. Entries which portray illegal acts including (but not limited to) incest, violence with the intent to titillate, and acts involving minors or other individuals unable to give legal consent will be disqualified without refund. Decisions of the Contest Coordinator are final. Please contact the Plume committee at plume@passionateink.org if you have questions.
2. It is the author’s responsibility to enter the book in the correct category. All clarifications as to category should be made prior to submission. Entries submitted in the wrong category, as determined by two or more judges, will be disqualified without refund. The judges’ decision is final.
3. Any entry which is found to be a plagiarism of another author’s work will be summarily disqualified and entry fees will not be refunded. No exceptions. Decision of the Contest Coordinator are final.
4. One novel cannot be entered in multiple categories, but multiple works (up to three entries per category of long and short) are welcome if accompanied by the proper completed entry form and full entry fee.
5. All categories, except the Virgin, will have two divisions, long and short. The long divisions are for works 40,000 words or greater. Short divisions are for any work less than 40,000 words. All works, no matter the length, must meet the definitions of the parent category. If less than 6 entries are received in either the long or short division of the category, the entries will be combined and three finalists announced for the overall category. If any category, has less than six entries received total, including both long and short divisions, that category will be canceled and authors will be notified as well as refunded their entry fee for the impacted submission.
6. Virgin entries are limited to a maximum of the first 5,000 words of the manuscript and a sales description of up to 300 words. Please review the Virgin Category FAQ for submission guidelines.
7. Works that have been published in anthologies in 2023 are eligible if the writer holds the copyright to the work. Enter only the work to be considered, not the entire anthology.
8. Works created ‘for hire’ for which the copyright has been sold to another party are ineligible. This includes ghostwritten material written for someone else.
9. Failure to comply with the rules will result in disqualification without refund.
10. Decisions of the Contest Coordinator are final.

Entry Fees

– Passionate Ink members: First entry $15, additional entries $25
– Non-members: $40 per entry