Our friends at Amazon are presenting an exciting opportunity: the chance to be their 2011 Amazon Breakthrough Novelist!

The fourth Amazon Breakthrough Award is looking for new literary voices in two categories: General Fiction and Young Adult. This annual contest is open to novelists of all levels who are at least 13 years of age. Participants submit their manuscripts for a chance to secure a publishing deal with Penguin and a $15,000 advance. Several rounds of review will select 50 finalists in each category, and jurors will include professionals from Publisher’s Weekly, best-selling author and book critic Lev Grossman, journalist Gayle Forman and several other literary professionals. Participants can also join a supportive creative community at https://www.createspace.com/abna. Even writers who don’t receive the grand prize may be published by Amazon Encore and have their work read by some of publishing’s biggest stars. And best of all, there’s no entry fee!

Though participants will come from around the world, the contest is only open to English-language manuscripts. A brief pitch must be submitted between January 24 and February 6. Unpublished or self-published manuscripts are also welcome. For full contest details, please visit www.amazon.com/abna.