Official Competition Rules

Void Where Prohibited / Subject to Change

Contest Dates

Submissions will be accepted from May 6 through December 31, 2024 midnight ET or until the maximum of 100 entries for manuscripts and 100 of audio recordings have been reached.

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Eligibility and Submissions

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• Entrants must be 18 years or older at time of submission.

• Submission must be in the science fiction or fantasy genre.

• Since submissions will be evaluated on quality, it is highly recommended that submissions be edited.

• Submissions must be made through the Valorious Award website.

• Submissions must be in English.

• Submissions must have a minimum word count of 25,000 words.

• Audiobook Submissions with multiple narrators will be judged on the performance of the actor who submitted the entry. If another narrator from the same book would like to enter the competition, they must make a submission in their own name.

• Books with multiple authors will be judged as a single work. If a multi-author book wins, the person who submitted the work will be the sole recipient of the award.

• Only the first book of a series may be submitted.

• A maximum of 3 different works may be submitted by a single entrant.

• Submissions must be in one of the formats listed: Word, PDF, Epub, Mobi.

• For Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy Voice Actor (audiobooks), submit your best clip from the book. Up to but not exceeding15 minutes in length.

• Audio submission must be in MP3 format.

Ineligibility

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• Prior winners of a Valorious Award are ineligible to enter the competition.

• Judges and their families are not eligible to enter the competition. 

• Authors making over $50,000 USD per year from their writing are not eligible to enter the competition.

• Voice Actors making over $50,000 USD per year from their recordings are not eligible to enter the competition.

• Books not deemed within the science fiction/fantasy genre at the judge’s discretion are ineligible.

• Submissions that positively promote or normalize hatred, prejudice, or violence toward any group of people based on age, race, nationality, sex, gender, religion, political affiliation, disability, or neurodiversity will not be accepted.

• Submissions that positively promote or normalize rape, sexual assault, child and/or animal abuse, or stalking behaviors will not be accepted.

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Entry Fee

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• All submissions are required to pay a non-refundable $35 USD fee per entry.

• All entry fees will be applied to the prize awards. 

• Entry fees are non-refundable for any reason.

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Judging

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A panel of judges consisting of sci-fi authors, actors, editors, and avid readers will review each submission and select winners based primarily on the judge's enjoyment of the work. The Valorious Award is, at its heart, an attempt to encourage independent authors and actors. As such, our judges are more interested in an enjoyable story or listening experience than they are concerned with technical skills.

However, for many of our judges, poor technical execution will negatively affect their enjoyment of your work. We strongly suggest that you pay close attention to the following areas in your own submission(s).

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Craft

• Is the story enjoyable/satisfying?

• Is the story original?

• Are all the elements of a story present?

• Hook, inciting incident, turning point, resolution, etc.

• Readability.

• Plot, originality, prose, character, story execution.

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Technical Skills

• Grammar, spelling

• Readability

• An understanding and ability to incorporate proper writing techniques. For example but not limited to: proper use of POV, showing vs telling, excess use of inappropriate ‘info dumping’, proper character arcs established, etc. 

Audio

• Audiobooks will be judged on the quality of the voice acting, not on the quality of the story.

Criteria

• Diction / Clarity

• Dynamics / Drama / Tone

• Characterization

• Flow

• Recording quality

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Please Note

• To help promote a culture of equitable opportunity devoid of favoritism, all judges are required to recuse themselves from scoring any works in which they have a personal connection with the creators and/or performers.  

• Christopher Hopper will not judge any submitted works and limits himself to promotion (christopherhopper.com) and endorsement (blurbs) of the winners as determined by the judges.

• All judges' decisions are final.

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Definitions

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Sci-Fi Novel: An original work of fiction where the majority of fantastical elements are derived from science and technology.

Fantasy Novel: An original work of fiction where magic or mythical creatures are the source of their fantastical elements.

Judges are looking for sci-fi/fantasy themes, including colonization, space opera, adventure, time travel, military, and romance. All sci-fi/fantasy subgenres are permitted and judged by merit of their writing or narration. Young adult (YA) novels within these sub-genres are also accepted.

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Terms, Conditions, and Limitation of Liability

• Other than identifying the first, second, and third place award winners in each category, no other information regarding the evaluation of submissions will be provided to entrants.

• All decisions made by the judges regarding each submission and the winners are final

• By submitting, you are agreeing to all competition rules.

• Competition rules are subject to change.

• All submitted work remains the property of the copyright holder(s) and will not be distributed by anyone involved in the Valorious Awards.

• All prize winners are responsible for any taxes or fees resulting from the awards and prizes they receive.

• Entrants will be required to sign a release and affidavit of eligibility. This allows the Valorious Awards to use the entrant's name, image, and likeness for promotional purposes.

• A maximum of 200 entries will be accepted; 100 for best sci-fi novel and 100 for best voice actor.

• The competition is sanctioned solely by Hopper Creative Group, LLC incorporated in the State of New York, United States of America.

• Trophies will be mailed to winners if they are not present for the ceremony on Saturday, July 20th 2024.

• Cash awards will be sent via check, Venmo, PayPal, or CashApp at winner's discretion the week following the ceremony.

• Digital badges will be emailed to winners the week following the ceremony.

• Promotional blurbs by Christopher Hopper will be emailed to winners the week following the ceremony.

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Representation and Warranties of Entrants

Contestants specifically represent and warrant the following regarding each submission:

• The work is original material written by the entrant. The entrant is entirely responsible for all content submitted. i.e. No other copywritted material is used in the submission (song lyrics, other author's works, etc.;

• The work has not been copied, in whole or in part, from any other work (as written in any language or in any medium, whether now known or hereafter devised) has not been previously published, produced, or distributed in any audio or visual form, or otherwise exploited in any medium (whether now known or hereafter devised, in whole or in part);

• The work does not defame, and does not infringe or violate the right of privacy, right of publicity, copyright, trademark, service mark, trade secret, or any intellectual property, proprietary or other right(s) of, any third party;

• The work does not include the name or likeness of any actual person(s), without having obtained the express prior written consent of such person(s) (or of such person’s parent or legal guardian if such person is a minor) in each instance; and

• The work meets each of the competition requirements.​