Whose Book Will Be the Next American Title? -- An American Idol-Style Competition Begins for Aspiring Writers

New York, NY (PRWEB) October 20, 2006

Ten aspiring writers will compete for publishing contract in the third annual American Title writing competition sponsored by Romantic Times BOOKreviews magazine and Dorchester Publishing. Areas of competition will include: Best First Line, Best Hero and Heroine, Best Story Summary, Best Dialogue Scene and Best Romantic Scene. Each round of submissions will be printed in RT BOOKreviews, beginning with the December 06 issue, and on http://www.romantictimes.com. The winner will be selected by readers voting online in each round.

Eleven contestants competed in last year's contest and readers selected Gerri Russell and her novel, THE WARRIOR TRAINER, as the big winner. The book is being published by Dorchester and will be in bookstores in January 2007.

All of last year's incisive and insightful judges have returned -- RT's tough-talking Flavia Knightsbridge, former editor Hilary Ross, who tells it like it is, and sweet-as-pie veteran romance editor Leslie Kazanjian. Despite the judges' opinions, the general reading public decides the fate of these contestants by voting for their favorite entry.

RT and Dorchester couldn't be more excited about this new batch of contestants and the fact that they have widened the net to include all areas of contemporary romance including paranormals. "This year's contest had more entries than ever, and I think a lot of that is due to the raging popularity of paranormals, romantic suspense and chick lit in today's market," says Dorcherster's Leah Hultenschmidt. "This group of finalists offers a really diverse selection, so everyone will have a book to root for."

American Title III winner will be announced during the Awards Luncheon at the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention in Houston, Texas (April 25-29, 2007) and in the June 07 issue of RT BOOKreviews.

• Romantic Times BOOKreviews magazine is the leading book review magazine in the industry covering more than 250 new books monthly along with industry news, gossip and trends. It also hosts an annual Booklovers Convention bringing together fans, authors, cover models, booksellers and publishers. -- http://www.romantictimes.com.
• Dorchester Publishing has been involved in the publishing of mass-market books since 1971, making Dorchester the oldest independent mass-market publisher in America. Although mostly known for romance, Dorchester also publishes world-class horror, westerns, and thrillers under its Leisure Books and Love Spell imprints. -- http://www.dorchesterpub.com

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