The Claymore Award

  • "Jeffery James Higgins wrote SHAKING in 2019-20, and the book won the Claymore Award at Killer Nashville in 2022. He has signed the publishing contract, and currently the manuscript is being edited with an expected launch date of late 2024 or early 2025."

    • The Alexandria Gazette

  • “The Killer Nashville Claymore Award grabs the attention that a first-time writer needs to be taken seriously within the publishing industry.”

    D. Alan Lewis

  • “This is probably the most useful feedback I’ve gotten!”

    Jacqui Pretty

  • “I have been working on this book for four years with lots of feedback from tutors, even from published writers, but this was the most positive, yet—at the same time—useful feedback, even pointing out issues for the first time.”

    Don Macdonald

  • “I would be interested in engaging this Killer Nashville critique-giver for a second review after rewrites.”

    Jeannie Jackson

  • “Being a Killer Nashville Claymore Award finalist was a game-changing event in my literary career. I had already published three books, but thanks to Killer Nashville, I landed the agent of my dreams, and my newest manuscript has received attention I never thought possible.”

    Jacob M. Appel

  • “Toward the middle of the summer, an email from Killer Nashville popped into my inbox. Those familiar feelings of hope and dread welled up inside me, and I didn’t open it for two days. When I did, I was through the roof. I had been named one of the Killer Nashville Claymore Award Top 20 Finalists. And I won.”

    Nicholas Holloway

  • There are two classes of writers: those who write until their fingers are calloused, and those who write until their fingers are calloused and get paid for their efforts. Thanks to the Killer Nashville Claymore Award, I have advanced to the second class, and all I can say is WOW, what a feeling!

    Jayne Ormerod

  • I had sent out a number of queries to publishers. After becoming a Top Ten finalist in the Killer Nashville Claymore Award, I updated the queries. Suddenly, several of these same publishers asked for manuscripts and two publishers offered me contracts within two months of Killer Nashville.

    D. Alan Lewis

The 17th Annual Claymore Award
Hosted by Killer Nashville

For best first 50 pages of an unpublished manuscript, play, or screenplay

Entries for the 17th Annual 2026 Claymore Award Competition are now OPEN. Winners will be announced on Saturday, August 22, 2026.

Winners for the 16th Annual 2025 Claymore Award Competition will be announced on Saturday, August 23, 2025.

GET DISCOVERED / GET AGENTS TO PAY ATTENTION

Finalists are announced in July

Created in 2009, the Killer Nashville Claymore Award assists new and rebranding English-language fiction authors to get published, including possible agent representation, book advances, editor deals, and movie and television sales. We give playwrights and screenwriters acknowledgement to help them open doors. In all cases, we try to facilitate recognition of being a winner or a finalist with agents who can help these respective writers’ careers.

Ready to Enter the 2026 Killer Nashville Claymore Awards for the Best Unpublished First 50 Pages of a Manuscript, Play or Screenplay?

“I got a two-book contract, both finalists for the Killer Nashville Claymore Award. The first was a finalist two years ago. Shortly after that announcement I got an agent I really wanted. Right after the announcement of my being a finalist again, my agent called to say that I had an offer for the first book. It didn’t hurt having it be a finalist for the Killer Nashville Claymore Award.”
— Terry Shames

Categories

  • Action adventure is a thriller, mystery, and suspense genre wherein fast-paced action is the primary component, outshining even characters and setting. This genre also usually includes a secondary element such as a murder investigation or a quest, but the main focus is always on fast-forward action. Subgenres of action adventure include crime action & adventure, fantasy, men’s adventure, mystery, organized crime thrillers, romantic suspense, science fiction, sea adventures, suspense, terrorism, thriller, war & military, and women’s adventures.

  • Best Children’s Book, for those younger than Juvenile / Young Adult age range.

  • This category requires little explanation (like any good joke). Comedies are designed to make your audience laugh and evoke feelings of merriment.

  • The cozy mystery genre is a suspense story in which a protagonist solves a crime or puzzle, though very little graphic or gory detail of the crime is included. Subgenres of the cozy mystery include amateur sleuths, standard British detectives, and women sleuths in a cozy non-professional context.

  • A historical novel is one that has as its setting a period of history and that attempts to convey the spirit, manners, and social conditions of a past age with realistic detail and historical fact. Historical revisionist works are also welcome.

  • The procedural mystery genre is a thriller and suspense story in which a professional protagonist (detective, journalist, attorney, physician) solves a crime, usually gruesome and with graphic detail. Subgenres of the procedural mystery include hard-boiled, historical, international, police procedural, private investigator.

  • The young adult genre we are interested in involves mystery, thriller and suspense elements. The target for this award is a young adult; however, if you have an entry that would appeal to adults, as well (the Harry Potter franchise, for example), you can also choose to enter it in that genre category rather than generically here.

  • The mystery genre can be broken down into a seemingly endless list of subgenres. In general, a mystery is any novel in which a protagonist is trying to unravel unexplained or unexplainable events and get to the truth.

  • Includes forensics, law enforcement, biography, publicity/marketing, academic, reference, and criticism

  • Sci-fi and fantasy are genres set in a fictional or real universe. Mystical and magical creatures or scientific monstrosities are common in both.

  • Includes any collection of short stories by one author or several in the categories of Action Adventure, Comedy, Cozy, Historical, Investigator, Juvenile/YA, Literary, Mainstream/Commercial, Mystery, Nonfiction, Sci-fi/Fantasy, Short Story Collections, Southern Gothic, Supernatural, Suspense, Thriller, and Western. In the case of several authors, the honor and physical award will be given to the editor. Individual short stories are not eligible at this time.

  • Southern Gothic is a subgenre of Gothic Literature that takes place in the American South. Southern Gothic novels tend to be a bit dark and feature grotesque characters, dark humor, isolation, violence, the supernatural, etc. Best Southern Gothic includes both historical and present day.

  • Supernatural works focus on, well, the supernatural. This can include ghosts, witchcraft, divine entities, werewolves, goblins, ghouls, monsters, etc.

  • Suspense is closely aligned to mystery and thriller but, in general, it should create a sense of anticipation in your reader. While the genre also contains many elements of mystery/thriller (conflict, red herrings, fast pacing, etc.) there is a sense of foreboding throughout. Often, the reader will be aware of things the protagonist is not aware of.

  • The thriller genre is a mystery or suspense category that covers a broad spectrum, probably overlapping numerous genres, but defined mainly by the moods it produces using techniques of anticipation and surprise. The thriller should keep the reader unbalanced in terms of what might happen next. Normally a thriller centers on the pursuit of (or prevention of) a single goal.

  • Best Western includes both historical and present day.

“Above and beyond the boost of confidence the Killer Nashville Claymore Finalist Award gave me, it opened the doors for many more agents. Although it’s only been six months, I’ve received requests from six New York and California-based agents for the entire manuscript and requests to send it to three others if these people don’t sign me on. I am confident becoming a finalist gave my work the legitimacy these agents sought.”
— Joan Lipinsky Cochran
“In these days of publishing uncertainty and metamorphosis, there are few venues for yet-unpublished manuscripts to find recognition and praise. Thankfully, the Killer Nashville Claymore Award lives among us to fill the void.”
— Craig Faustus Buck

WHAT CAN BE ENTERED?

The contest is limited to only the first 50 double-spaced pages of unpublished English-language manuscript, or appropriately formatted play or screenplay, containing elements of thriller, mystery, crime, suspense, action, and/or romance NOT currently under contract.

These can include Action Adventure, Comedy, Cozy, Historical, Investigator, Juvenile/YA, Literary, Mainstream/Commercial, Mystery, Nonfiction, Sci-fi/Fantasy, Short Story Collections, Southern Gothic, Supernatural, Suspense, Thriller, and Western manuscripts, and any of their derivatives. (Self-published manuscripts are considered already published and are not eligible.) If you think you’ve got a good full-length, unpublished story, collection, play, or screenplay on your hands, we want to see it!

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?

Entry fee is $56 per entry.

If you’d also like feedback on your work from industry professionals, we offer critiques of the entire 50-page manuscript, play, or screenplay for an additional $145. (Please note Claymore Critiques will be assigned to be read and evaluated during the slow time following the annual conference – no Claymore critiques will be available before or at the annual conference. [Do not confuse 50-page Claymore Critiques with 10-page onsite Agent/Editor Critiques.]) Critiques are only available to paid entrants at the time of submission to the awards program (you cannot sign up for critiques later). Authors are welcome to resubmit new drafts of altered entries up until the deadline of April 1, 2026. A separate charge will be assessed for each entry. Authors may submit more than one manuscript, play, or screenplay. All manuscripts, plays, or screenplays are to be submitted as .pdf files. and should be double-spaced with 12pt Times New Roman font and standard margins or in standard play or screenplay formats. All submitted files should be named in the following format:

2026Claymore_Title of Manuscript.pdf (Example: 2026Claymore_Book Title.pdf)

Please do not include any contact information on the manuscript itself, as entries are judged blindly. You may include contact information on a cover page, should you choose to include one (cover pages are not required).

AWARD ENTRY REFUND POLICY (for 2026 Award Submissions):
Up to November 30, 2025- Full refund less processing fee of $6
December 1, 2025-January 31, 2026 - 50% refund less processing fee of $6
February 1, 2026 and Following - NO REFUNDS
PLEASE NOTE: Refunds for award entries are NOT available after a manuscript has been submitted.

WHO JUDGES?

A jury of publishing, writing, and entertainment professionals within each genre and media chooses the top manuscripts in each category that are deemed ready for professional publishing or production. Multiple manuscripts may be chosen in each category from the hundreds of manuscripts received. If no manuscripts shine, none may be chosen. Once categories are established, a winner is chosen by the judges in each category. Those winners then compete for the Top 3 Finalist spots.

All finalists are chosen through a blind judging process. Our team of contest judges is comprised of professors/educators, published authors, editors, book publishers, book publicists, book reviewers, playwrights, stage producers, screenwriters, and filmmakers.

The winners in all categories, as well as the Top 3 Killer Nashville Claymore Award Winners in each media (second-runner-up, first-runner-up, grand winner), will be announced at the annual Killer Nashville Awards Dinner during the Killer Nashville Conference. Attendance at the event is not required to win. Press is usually present at the Awards presentation.

Announcements

2026 Top Picks (the top twenty manuscripts our judges think our participating agents should consider for representation) and the 2026 Finalists (the Top 6 from the Top Picks) will be announced before the conference. Killer Nashville will contact all Top Picks and Finalists using submitted information, alerting them to the honor via our subscription newsletter. If contact info changes, please contact Killer Nashville so we can get in touch. Top Picks and Finalists will be honored, and winners in each category and the overall winners will be announced at the Killer Nashville Awards Dinner on August 22, 2026.

Top Picks and Finalists will be honored, and winners in each category and the overall winners for the 2025 Claymore Awards will be announced at the Killer Nashville Awards Dinner on August 23, 2025.

What Do I Win?

We’ve seen some great things happen for writers who’ve been named finalists or winners of the Killer Nashville Claymore Awards. While we can’t promise publication or production (that’s up to publishers, agents, and producers), we can tell you that many past winners and runners-up have gone on to successful careers, and several credit the Claymore as a significant turning point.

Here’s what happens:

The top manuscript, play, or screenplay in each category gets recognized live at the Killer Nashville Awards Dinner. From there, those top entries are considered for our overall Top 3 Finalists, announced at the conference with lots of fanfare.

But it doesn’t stop there.

After the conference, if your work stands out and you’re open to it, we may recommend it to agents or industry professionals we know who are looking for new talent. No strings attached, no guarantees. It’s part of our mission: to help discover and champion new voices in publishing, playwriting, and screenwriting.

To be clear: this is an optional opportunity, and we don’t take any cut or commission—only the entry fee helps cover the cost of running the contest. We do this because we believe in connecting great stories with the right people.

A few final notes:

  •  Your entry is eligible as long as it wasn’t under contract when submitted (even if it gets picked up after you submit—congrats!—it’s still valid).

  •  All entries are final. We’re not able to offer refunds for any reason.

We're here to support writers, not to make promises we can’t keep. What we can offer is encouragement, recognition, and a path to new opportunities. We hope you’ll join us.

“Entering a writing competition takes a certain amount of confidence. I didn’t have it. It took a long time to work up the courage to enter the Killer Nashville Claymore Award competition. This manuscript had been my secret project for a few years, and I had only shared it with my critique group. I didn’t know if it was ready. I didn’t feel ready. Still, something told me I’d regret it if I didn’t try. When I received the email from Clay Stafford informing me that my manuscript had been chosen as a Killer Nashville Claymore Award finalist, I had to read it several times before it sank in. There was screaming involved.”
— Laura Oles
“I knew I wanted to be a writer. Finding a publisher was excruciating. My agent had the novel out on submission, and folks loved it, but they were also reluctant to take a risk on a debut author, which is how the Killer Nashville International Conference’s Claymore Award changed everything. I was really wrestling with self-doubt, and I almost didn’t submit. As anyone at the Killer Nashville Awards could probably tell, I was absolutely unprepared to win. When I got home late that night, I emailed my agent to tell her that I’d won. She immediately sent the news to editors who had the manuscript but hadn’t responded yet. Thanks to the Killer Nashville Claymore Award, I got the publisher I wanted. We’ve already sold the German and the Serbian language rights.”
— Dana Carpenter
“I had received numerous rejections and had, in effect, moved on and started writing the next book. A writing partner told me about the Killer Nashville Claymore Award. I ended up being a finalist, which got the book in front of an editor who eventually purchased the rights.”
— Korey Kaul

So, what’s it like to win a Claymore Award?

Just ask our 2020 and 2019 winners, who recount their experiences in the articles below:

2020 Winner, Nicholas Holloway
2019 Winner, Joseph Simurdiak – Killer Nashville, Part 1: Finalist
2019 Winner, Joseph Simurdiak – Killer Nashville, Part 2: The Claymore Award

What previous winners are saying:

  • “Winning the Claymore Award is not only a great honor, it also provides a terrific confidence boost for any author. Every writer seeks approval from his or her peers, and capturing the Claymore Award rings the bell of their approval. Definitely the highlight of my professional writing career.”

    Tom Wallace, author of Gnosis

  • “Because of Killer Nashville, I now have a contract with Five Star Publishing for my cozy, Animal, Vegetable, Murder. I couldn’t be happier.”

    Judy Dailey, author of Animal, Vegetable, Murder

  • “Juried awards like the Claymore are incredible in that they are judged by publishers, agents, and authors. It’s a wonderful stamp of approval as I seek out the best home for my book. Winning the Claymore builds confidence and it looks ridiculously cool on my bookshelf! I’m stunned and grateful.”

    Michael F. Stewart, The Boy Who Swallows Flies

  • “Being chosen as a Claymore finalist gave me the confidence to push forward with my novel. It has also given me the distinction of being known as a finalist, something I am proud to include in my author credentials. For anyone who is on the fence about entering, I encourage you to go forward. See what happens.”

    Laura Oles, Daughters of Bad Men

  • “ Just being named a finalist had given me a boost of confidence, and the conference itself had been incredibly insightful and encouraging […] I wanted people who would love [my character] like I did, people who would champion Bohemian Gospel, people who would walk me through the process and treat me like a partner in that process rather than just as a product to be sold. I especially had my eye on Pegasus Books. And then, thanks to the Claymore, they had their eye on me.”

    Dana Chamblee Carpenter, Bohemian Gospel, The Devil’s Bible, Book of the Just

Previous Killer Nashville Claymore Award winners who are now published: