Portsmouth, U.S.A. — Is it possible to write a well-crafted, complex, meaningful literary novel that’s also a page-turner and commercial success—even a blockbuster? Inkubate thinks so and announced its 2012 Literary Blockbuster Challenge on December 1, offering writers $10,000 in prizes, a first-place prize of $5,000 and access to top-level publishing executives for the best attempts at merging literary and commercial fiction.

Inkubate’s pioneering platform, engineered by PixelMEDIA, enables qualified publishers and agents to search, browse and discover writers’ unpublished works. The late, great Ray Bradbury, having viewed an Inkubate demonstration in Los Angeles wrote, “Inkubate is giving voice to new writers as well as resurrecting those that should not be forgotten.” For a man who explored technology and questioned its effects on society throughout his life, Bradbury’s comments validate Inkubate’s core mission, which according to Co-Founder, Stacy Clark, is “to offer writers a level playing field where they can at least get on base.”

The contest is inspired by the publication of James W. Hall’s Hit Lit: Cracking the Code of the Twentieth Century’s Biggest Bestsellers. Inkubate’s Co-Founder, Jay Gale, explains: “In his analysis of twelve books that were major financial successes, Hall identifies the literary devices that the authors used to keep readers hooked.”

Inkubate, and the panel of judges led by Hall and Pulitzer Prize winning novelist, Jane Smiley, are looking for writers who are willing to turn their literary talents to commercial fiction. “Imagine merging the profundity of Moby Dick with the page-turning power of Jaws,” said Clark, whose own manuscript was discovered on Inkubate by Oakland-based literary agent, Andy Ross and will be published by Holiday House.

Joining Hall and Smiley on the panel of judges is Fulbright Scholar Larry Beinhart (Wag the Dog and How to Write a Mystery), writer and Executive Director of the Woodstock Writers Festival, Martha Frankel, and the prize-winning poet Jennifer Clement, who is excited by the chance to read the entries: “The character-driven novel with plotting and suspense is the key ingredient of good story-telling,” Clement said.

Inkubate is accepting contest entries through March 31, 2013. Writers’ works are visible only to vetted publishers and agents. Random House, Harper Collins, Hachette Book Group, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and leading literary agencies have agreed to review the winning submissions.

Image Courtesy : Inkubate

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