Lansdowne, Ontario, Canada -- (ReleaseWire) -- 01/19/2007 --The Novel of Promise Award is established as a monthly prize awarded on the basis of a single submitted chapter of a novel in progress. Robert Buckland, editor-in-chief at the Ocean Cooperative Literary Agency (www.oceancooperative.com), explained that the program recognizes some simple truths of the writing process.
“We often tell new writers that one of the key strengths of any writer is that they have the persistence to complete a project. When we consider the thousands of novels published every year, it can be hard to remember that writing is a lonely undertaking. Many hopeful authors become discouraged and give up. Who’s to say that some of these may not be exceptionally talented writers in other respects?”
Buckland explained that the Novel of Promise Award, by recognizing promise in work still underway, is intended to encourage a process, not reward a task completed. For this reason, the literary competition is held every month and the prizes associated with the award are relevant to new writers: editorial support and commentary, online promotion, and entry into the agency’s annual New Novel competition, whose winner is represented for publication by the Ocean Cooperative agency.
“There is no fee or other strings attached to the competition,” Buckland said. “It is open to all, writers may enter repeatedly, and entry can in no way encumber the author’s future success. Our aim is to nurture and encourage people embarked on a long and sometimes difficult challenge.”
The Ocean Cooperative, which lists Random House and Cornell University among its recent clients, was founded in 1996 to offer editorial support to English-language writers. More recently, the service has expanded to include a broad spectrum of support for new and established authors who want to see their books published.
Competition rules and details are available on the Ocean Cooperative website at http://www.oceancooperative.com
Literary Agency Announces Novel of Promise Award
The Ocean Cooperative Literary Agency, one of the online world’s oldest editorial services, has announced the creation of a literary awards program to encourage new novelists.