Manuscript Assessment Scheme (MASS)

Manuscript Assessment Scheme (MASS) is a subsidised scheme for deserving literary manuscripts to receive detailed professional feedback from The Literary Consultancy (TLC), a UK-based editorial consultancy service. MASS will be held across two cycles (held in Q1 and Q3 2019).

MASS will accept manuscripts by writers at any stage of their career, regardless of publication history. MASS will also accept manuscripts in the hands of publishers seeking additional feedback for their Singaporean authors.

Manuscripts in three genres (poetry, fiction, non-fiction) and of various lengths will be considered for submission. External readers will sift through submissions and recommend deserving manuscripts to be subsidised for TLC feedback. Up to 40 manuscripts across all genres may be awarded subsidy over the two application cycles in 2019.

— OUR DATES

The second cycle of MASS will be open for submissions of poetry, fiction, and non-fiction manuscripts from 1 Aug to 14 Sep 2019.

Cycle 2 (Q3 of 2019)
1 Aug: Submissions re-open
14 Sep, 2359 hours: Extended deadline for submissions
Oct: Announcement of manuscripts for subsidy
Dec / Jan: Manuscripts to receive feedback from TLC consultants

Cycle 1 (Q1 of 2019)
1 Feb: Submissions open, concurrent with Manuscript Bootcamp
30 Mar: Deadline for submissions — a total of 48 manuscripts (34 poetry, 11 fiction and 3 creative non-fiction) received
May: Announcement of manuscripts for subsidy
Jul / Aug: Manuscripts to receive feedback from TLC consultants

— OUR EXTERNAL READERS

Sing Lit Station will engage external readers to sift through all MASS submissions and sieve out the best manuscripts based on a consistent rubric. Our readers will have a track record in publishing critical or creative work related to the particular genre in question.

— OUR SUBMISSION CRITERIA

A $10 submission fee will be levied for each submission. Only 1 submission per genre is allowed, with a maximum of 3 submissions (i.e. 1 from each genre) for each single submitter. Submitters may consist of more than one person (co-created or collaborative work is welcome); translated works however will not be read. As MASS is a subsidy scheme, the authors of selected manuscripts will pay a highly subsidised fee to receive manuscript consultation from TLC. Authors will be paying ~10-30% of TLC’s commercial rate after subsidy. The fees are shown in the table below:

The categories are classified as such:

1. Fiction:

   • Long-form (novella, novel);

   • Short-form (short stories, flash fiction);

   • Note: If your work of fiction exceeds 90,000 words, you may either submit the entire manuscript (i.e. assessors will only read up to the 90,000-word mark) or excerpt a 90,000-word portion of the manuscript to be assessed.

2. Non-fiction:

   • Long-form (auto/biography, long-form creative non-fiction);

   • Short-form (essay collection);

   • Note: If your work of non-fiction exceeds 90,000 words, you may either submit the entire manuscript (i.e. assessors will only read up to the 90,000-word mark) or excerpt a 90,000-word portion of the manuscript to be assessed.

3. Poetry:

   • All genres that can be represented as text will be accepted, including but not limited to: epic poem, prose poetry, concrete poetry / text-based art, textual transcription of performance poetry, found and other process-based work.

   • Note 1: Epic poetry will be assessed as long-form work, and will be measured in pages instead of number of poems (with regards to length and fees paid); simply substitute “pages” for “poems” in the table above.

   • Note 2: In order to also qualify for Manuscript Bootcamp 2019 (Poetry), submissions must be at least 20 poems or pages long, and authored by a single person.

— OUR SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

1. Manuscripts should be titled. and accompanied with a one-paragraph synopsis— the synopsis should describe your artistic intent and/or summarise your content.

2. Fiction and non-fiction manuscripts should be in a single paginated .doc / .docx file (not PDF), Times New Roman pt 12, double spaced, with each new section (chapters for long-form work, short stories or essays for short-form work) laid out on a separate page. Do clearly state if the manuscripts are to be laid out with a specific font and line spacing.

3. Poetry manuscripts should be in a single paginated .doc / .docx file (not PDF), Times New Roman pt 12, single spaced, with each poem laid out on a separate page. Do clearly state if the manuscripts are to be laid out with a specific font and line spacing.

4. As manuscripts will be read blind by external readers, all identifying information should be excluded from the manuscript. If your manuscript is autobiographical, please exclude or substitute your name for the purposes of this submission. The title of the manuscript should appear in the header of the document.

5. Manuscripts should be in English, although nonstandard usage and inclusions of other languages are welcome. Translated work will not be read.

6. Do attach a CV separate from your manuscript that includes your name, NRIC, address, contact details, job / occupation history, and all past publication details / literary endeavours. Only Singaporean citizens or PRs are eligible to apply.

7. Manuscripts submitted outside of the submission period (1 Feb 2019 to 30 Mar 2019, 2359 hours SG time) will strictly not be considered.

8. All works are to be submitted via our Submittable page. Participants will be required to acknowledge Sing Lit Station, the Manuscript Assessment Scheme, and the National Arts Council in their work if their manuscript is eventually published.

9. Board members and employees of Sing Lit Station, as well as their immediate families and the immediate families of the organisers, are ineligible to apply for MASS and Manuscript Bootcamp. Participants of the 2015 and 2017 editions of Manuscript Bootcamp will not qualify for Manuscript Bootcamp 2019 (Poetry).

— OUR ORGANISERS