Speed Date 2: Deidre Knight & Pamela Harty Search for the Next TKA Superstar

Back in the day (aka 1996), when The Knight Agency first got started, president and founder Deidre Knight manned the submissions inbox, the phone and the door. Fast forward fifteen years later, and TKA has attained national prominence with an incredible list of bestselling clients. From nearly the beginning, Pamela Harty, Vice President of Sales, worked alongside her sister Deidre, helping to nurture and shape the agency. Now, the sisters are hankering for a trip down memory lane to a time when they interacted with querying writers one-on-one to find the next big TKA star. Could it be you?

Beginning Monday, March 7th, Deidre and Pamela are teaming up for Speed Date 2, a whirlwind competition to find the newest TKA client.* Just like old times, they are getting down in the trenches to scout out the cream of the crop. If you heard about or participated in our “She’s Just That Into You” competition last year, you know that Deidre ultimately selected two new clients, mega talents Leigh Evans and Erin Kelly, out of hundreds of participants. That event was so successful we’re doing it again.

This time around we’ve included a few tweaks, like an open hour-long entry period and selection of contestants by lottery. Oh, and we definitely plan to start it later than 5am Pacific Time. Sorry about that again, folks. Now if you live in Australia or some equally faraway place, please accept our apologies for the difficult wakeup call in advance. As a fun add-on, Deidre and Pamela will share tidbits about how the The Knight Agency got started in the blog posts annoucing those progressing to the next rounds.

*Please note, if the agents decide that ultimately none of the manuscripts entered meet our agency’s needs at this time, an alternate first chapter critique by Deidre or Pamela will be offered to the Grand Prize Winner in lieu of representation. A winner will also be selected to receive a first chapter critique from the first 125 entrants.

This blog post is only a preview for the contest. Comments for this blog post will be DISABLED once the contest officially begins. On Monday there will be a blog up labeled, “OFFICIAL SPEED DATE2 POST” where you will be able to throw your name into the hat. Below you’ll find the rules. So, get familiar with the contest, and come back and see us on March 7th @ 12pm Eastern Standard Time. Got a question after you read ALL of the rules? Email Contests@KnightAgency.net.

THE QUICKIE SUMMARY: Visit the “OFFICIAL SPEED DATE 2 POST” on Monday, March 7th and leave your name in the comment section from 12pm ET to 1pm ET. We will assign everyone a number who left a comment during the specified entry period and draw 125 contestants using Random.org. The 125 intial entrants will be announced on the blog by the end of the business day and asked to email the first three pages of their manuscript to Contests@KnightAgency.net. Deidre and Pamela will then join forces to whittle the 125 contestants down to 3 finalists over the following days.

At the end of the contest, we will also award a first chapter critique to one of the initial 125 entrants via random drawing who was not selected as a finalist.

THE FINE PRINT:

1. On Monday, March 7th, we will accept entries into the contest from 12pm ET to 1pm ET. Leave a comment with your name in the "OFFICIAL SPEED DATE 2 POST" during the specified time period to enter.

2. One hundred and twenty-five (125) contestants for Round 1 will be selected via random drawing from those who entered during the specified time period. The Round 1 winners’ names will be posted by the end of the business day (3/7/11) on http://www.knightagency.blogspot.com/ in the updated “OFFICIAL SPEED DATE 2 POST.”

3. The 125 contestants must send in the first three pages of their manuscript, as well as their name (as you would like to be publically identified), physical address, genre and overall word count to Contests@KnightAgency.net by 12pm ET the following day -- Tuesday, March 8th. UPDATE (3/7/2010 @ 11:24am ET): Please include your title as well. If for some reason, you don't because you did not see this update -- don't worry about it. You will not be penalized. All information, including the first three pages, should be included in the body of your email. To protect ourselves from potential viruses, we will not open attachments. Do not include a query letter.

4. On Thursday, March 10th we will email the 25 entrants advancing to Round 2 and post their names on the blog by 10am ET. They must email us their first ten pages by 9:00pm ET that same day.

5. On Monday, March 14th we will email the 15 entrants advancing to Round 3 and post their names on the blog by 10am ET. They must email us their first three chapters by 9:00pm ET that same day.

6. On Thursday, March 17th we will email the 3 finalists advancing to Round 4 and post their names on the blog by 10am ET. They must email us their full manuscript by 9:00pm ET that same day.

7. The Grand Prize Winner* of an offer of representation by The Knight Agency will be announced on Monday, March 28th.

*If it is determined at the end of the contest that the materials submitted are not on par with The Knight Agency's needs, representation will not be offered. In this case, either Deidre or Pamela will provide a final winner with a first chapter critique.

In an effort to cover all of our bases...keep reading for even more details...
- International participants are welcome.
- Multiple entries are not allowed. If you enter more than one manuscript, only your first entry will be counted.
- You cannot re-enter material that Deidre has already read/reviewed in our last contest, “She’s Just That Into You.” Re-entered material will be considered void. We will not pull a new entry to fill the spot.
- Corrections are not allowed. What you send in the first time is what Deidre and Pamela will judge. No exceptions.
- Do not send more pages than we ask for at any time. If we ask for 10 pages and you send 20, your entry will be deleted without notice.
- If another Knight agent is actively considering your query, you are not eligible for the contest (active means an agent has informed you that they are considering your manuscript and would like to review more material)
- If we have previously rejected your manuscript, please do not enter this contest unless your work has undergone a substantial rewrite
- The only genres that will NOT be accepted, are those that are outlined in our submission guidelines. Here is an excerpt from our guidelines page regarding what we do not represent:


Due to the wide range of tastes and preferences that exist among The Knight Agency's six acquiring agents, we are currently looking for material in a wide spectrum of genres. Please reference the list below for the types of submissions we are NOT currently accepting.


- Screen Plays
- Short Story Collections
- Poetry Collections
- Essay Collections
- Photography
- Film Treatments
- Picture Books (although graphic novels will be accepted)
- Children's Books (although young adult and middle grade titles will be accepted)
- Biographies
- Non-fiction Historical Treatments"

- Entries should be double-spaced
- Only full manuscripts can be entered.
- Contest is open to both unpublished and published authors.
- We will use the timestamp issued by Blogger to determine who is entered into the initial lottery. We are not responsible if your comment is delayed, deleted or otherwise impaired by the Blogger interface.
-We will check our spam filters to make sure no one’s email gets caught there throughout the process of contestants sending in entries via email; however, if your email becomes otherwise delayed, deleted or falls through a black hole in cyberspace – your entry will be declared void. We are not responsible for lost entries.
- Your materials must be sent in by the deadlines outlined above. Late submissions will result in forfeiture of your entry. We are not responsible for technical problems related to email delivery.
- Everyone, and we mean EVERYONE, will receive the same generic “yay” or “nay” reply letting them know whether or not they have advanced to the next round. Please don’t ask us for any additional explanation or feedback of any kind. Deidre and Pamela are reading these entries as fast as they can while maintaining a busy schedule – so there’s no time for hand-holding.
- Do not send your entry to any other email address besides Contests@KnightAgency.net. Failure to follow this instruction will result in deletion of your entry.
- The only information that we will ever reveal about you publicly is the name you provide. The only places we will post your name is on our company blog, Twitter, and possibly in the company newsletter.
- The winner(s) must claim their prize via email to Contests@KnightAgency.net 30 days from notification of their win or the prize will be declared void. Another winner will not be chosen.
- All entrants will be opted in to The Knight Agency newsletter. The newsletter contains a link that allows you to easily opt out at any time.
If you have any further questions about this contest, please email Contests@KnightAgency.net.