Here is a link to the article found on CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/11/health/ancient-squirrel-leads-to-giant-virus-discovery/index.html

One lucky winner will be selected to not only have their novel published by Realmwalker Publishing Group in 2016, but they will also earn a $5000 advance for the novel, plus a three book deal worth up to an additional $5000 in advances.

Here are the contest details:

Submission period: September 15th, 2015 – March 15th, 2016 11:59pm

Send Submissions To: submissions@realmwalkerpublishing.com

Ten Finalists Announced: April 15th, 2016

Winner Announced: June 15th, 2016

Target Publishing Date: September 13th, 2016

Minimum Manuscript Length: 80,000+ words

Any genre or sub-genre will be accepted, and it does not even have to be Earth upon which this story is developed, BUT the story linked above must be used as the inspiration for the story presented. So the novel could be a mystery, or a hard science sci-fi thriller. It could be a fantasy set in a world threatened with global extinction or a horror novel. Whatever it is, write it!

All of the entries will be reviewed by a panel of literary judges once the submission period has ended on March 15th, 2016, The top 10 finalists will be announced on April 15th, 2016, and the winner of the contest to be determined and announced on June 15th, 2016.

In entering the contest, the contestant authorizes Realmwalker Publishing Group the right to use their name, the title of their entry, and excerpts not to exceed 5,000 words from the submitted work for promotional purposes during the contest period.

Only original, unpublished (including self-publishing) manuscripts will be accepted for consideration to this contest. Manuscripts developed or shared through free services and workshops such as Wattpad or NaNoWriMo, ARE acceptable as long as it was developed specifically for this year’s contest. Additionally, novels developed from existing short stories or other work previously created by the author are acceptable as long as the source material has not been published, self-published, or previously submitted for consideration to a publisher, magazine, or website.

Current employees, authors, artists, and support personnel of Realmwalker Publishing Group and their immediate family members, are not eligible for this contest.

All authors will retain copyright on the works submitted, and will be free to submit their works to other publishers for consideration, or self-published upon elimination from the contest. Realmwalker Publishing Group will hold exclusive, worldwide publishing rights for the manuscript selected as the winner of the contest, for the length of the publishing contract signed by the author.

The tentative contract proposal for the winner can be found on the Realmwalker Publishing Group's web site.