So I figured I would start this thread to list a few contests when fellow writers stumble across them, as a short resource for those of us who like the idea of being able to submit to a venue where we can have our manuscript directly read (or at least STARTED to be read...) without relying solely on a query letter... And, any contest wins would surely be a feather in the cap of any writer to add to said query letters. I recognize that some websites like Ralan.com list contests, but their selection is rather thin right now.

So, for my contribution, I will add the first contest I ever entered, the Random house contest for first novels for children. My first novel was a fantasy-ish work for juveniles, and I was proudly rejected from the contest. But, since the award is publication, I figured it is a pretty good contest to spread around (realizing that although it isn't primarily for speculative fiction, they do accept entries from all genres targeted to that age range...)

EDITED TO ADD TO LIST:

http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/writingcontests/
A writing contest for kid-length first time novels. Prize is publication and $9,000 prize money ($1,500 award and $7,500 advance)

http://www.writersofthefuture.com/
The Writers of the Future contest. 'Nuff said.

http://www.onthepremises.com/current_contest.html

It's a poor man's WotF. A quarterly issue that is open to all writers. The top prizes are respectable and the editors will offer you a critique for rejected submissions (for a small fee).

Also - do you have any sense of whether they accept genre fiction? My read of the rules was that the novels need to be set in North America (which presents a problem for me, since my novels take place ABOVE North America. Way, way, way above in geo-synchronous orbit and/or outer space.

Thanks for the ideas either way, always good to see what else is out there.

I don't participate in them, but I know Writer's Digest runs a number of contests, though most have some sort of entry fee I believe.