Logo for a first chapter contest featuring a fountain pen nib icon.

Every novel begins with a first chapter.

A great opening introduces a world, sparks curiosity, and makes readers want to keep turning the page.

Now in its second decade, the Chicago Writers Association’s First Chapter Contest recognizes exceptional openings from novels in progress by emerging and established writers. Judges look for compelling storytelling, memorable characters, distinctive voice, and the promise of what comes next.

The contest is open exclusively to current dues-paying CWA members.

Why Enter?

The First Chapter Contest gives writers an opportunity to gain recognition and share their work at an important stage of the writing process. Whether you are revising your first novel or completing your latest manuscript, we invite you to submit an opening that leaves readers eager for the next chapter.

Contest Rules

Are you writing a novel? Submit the first chapter of your work, up to 10 pages, to CWA's First Chapter Contest.

Going on its 11th year, the contest opens every summer around August and closes around end of September/first week of October. Winners are announced by the first week of December. The contest submission form will be live when the contest opens.

2026 contest cycle opens Aug. 10, 2026, and closes Sept. 30, 2026.

First prize is a full scholarship to attend either the All-Genre Novel-In-Progress (NIP) Bookcamp & Writing Retreat or the Speculative Fiction NIP Bookcamp & Writing Retreat, typically held during the summer, at the Siena Retreat Center in Racine, Wisconsin (value: $2,088). Second and third place winners will receive cash awards of $150 and $75, respectively.

The 2027 retreats will take place June 13-19, 2027.

The top three entries will also be published in CWA's Write City Magazine.

Members of CWA’s Board of Directors select the prize winners. Judging is blind and based on merits that should be found in a first chapter, including a good opening hook, strong characterizations, compelling voice, conflict, dialogue, and no grammar/mechanical errors.

This opportunity is open only to dues-paying members of the Chicago Writers Association. 

  • There is a non‐refundable fee of $20.00.

  • The contest will open in Aug. 10, 2026. The deadline is Sept. 30, 2026, 11:59 p.m. CST. Submit your chapter.

    Winners will be announced by December 2026. Stay tuned for the exact dates and submission form.

  • Please read and follow before submitting

    • Entries must be attached as a Word document or PDF to the submission form when available.

    • The deadline for entries is Sept. 30, 2026 at 11: 59 p.m. Entries received after that date will be disqualified.

    • All entries must be the original work of the author from a work-in-progress. No previously published work will be considered.

    • Judging will be based on elements that should be found in a first chapter, including a good opening hook, strong characterizations, compelling voice, conflict, dialogue, and no grammar/mechanical errors. Judges will also be looking at your presentation: if you followed the rules, submitted in the correct format, manuscript at the appropriate length. Generally, we are looking for an entry with a fresh idea, presented with clarity, structure, and elements of exceptional writing.

    • There is no restriction on style or theme.

    • Submissions should be double-spaced, using 12 point Times New Roman font with one-inch margins.

    • Page limit: 10. Please only submit 10 pages even if your first chapter exceeds that page count. Incomplete chapters are acceptible and judging will be based only on those pages. You may make a note at the end of the 10th page that it is not the end of the chapter. It will not count against you.

    • Pages must be numbered in consecutive order.

    • Please submit with a cover page. DO NOT put your name on the cover page or any other page of the manuscript. Your cover page should include only the manuscript title and word count.

    • REMEMBER, the author’s name SHOULD NOT appear anywhere in your entry (contact info goes in the body of your email). PLEASE double check this before submitting. This includes your headers and footers.

    • Proofread your work before submitting. Show us your best!

    • One entry per person.

    • Entrants must be current dues-paying members of the Chicago Writers Association.

  • Check out past winning entries to get an idea of what a successful first chapter looks like:

    2025 Second Place:

    Cool Like Maverick by Jennifer Chapman

    2025 Third Place:

    Last Sunset in San Miguel by Rita Dragonette

    2024 First Place:

    Those Who Favor Fire by Lana Orndorff

    2024 Second Place:

    Daughter of the Weeds by Dorothy Garcia

    2024 Third Place:

    Fragile by Jill Robinson

Submit Your Chapter
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Past First Chapter Contests Winners

Explore previous winners to discover outstanding works-in-progress and celebrate the authors whose work has been recognized by the Chicago Writers Association.

  • First Place: The Lonely Redwood by Crystal Frost
    Second Place: Cool Like Maverick by Jennifer Chapman

    Third Place: Last Sunset in San Miguel by Rita Dragonette

  • First Place: Those Who Favor Fire by Lana Orndorff 
    Second Place:  Daughter of the Weeds by Dorothy Nesbit
    Third Place: Fragile by Jill Robinson 

  • First Place: Lene by James Drummond 

    Second Place:  The Ampersand Painter by Jeffrey Johnson 

    Third Place: Where They Left Us by Rebecca Hanks 

  • First Place: Think Fast by Thom Pharmakis 

    Second Place:  Eternity by Amy Strong 

    Third Place: I Swallow the Sun by Lydia Rogers 

  • First Place: Map of My Escape by Cheryl L. Reed 

    Second Place:  Banished Daughters of Eve by Mary Dean Cason Mary 

    Third Place: The Trinity River Trilogy by Karen Brenner 

  • First Place: Where the Bloom and the Laughter Go by Janet Souter

    Second Place: I Contain Multitudes by Christopher Hawkins

    Third Place: The Memory Tree by William Mathis

  • First Place: Revenge is Necessary by William Mathis

    Second Place: Revisionist History by Caroline Mansour

    Third Place: Black Girls Don't Commit Suicide by Brandi Gee

  • First Place: Glory Unbound by Deborah King

    Second Place: Stephanie by Robin Jones

    Third Place: A Dangerous Identity by Russell J. Fee

  • First Place: To Do Justice by Frank S. Joseph

    Second Place (tie): North Rush by Renee James

    Second Place (tie): A Million Miles Away by Maureen Connolly

    Third Place: The D.A. Wore Stilettos by Mary T. Wagner

  • First Place: Estate by Victoria Freund

    Second Place: Our Lovely War by Molly DiRago

    Third Place: The Forgotten American by Lisa Maggiore