Lit Idol: Here we go again

I got the link from Publisher’s Lunch but it’s circulating around the ‘sphere at a furious pace. Anyway, Lit Idol–that oh-so-utterly fabulous exercise in catapulting unpublished novelists to fleeting fame and lesser fortune–is back for another go-round. And this time, they want all crime fiction, all the time:

The second Pop Idol-style search for literary talent has begun with the help of the brother of Simon Cowell.

Writer Tony Cowell is among the judges who will hear aspiring writers read their work aloud. The winner gets a deal with literary agency Curtis Brown.

“I’m not going to be the Mr Nasty of books,” said Cowell, 54, in reference to his brother’s caustic remarks on TV shows Pop Idol and The X-Factor.

This year, the competition is specifically looking for a crime writer.

Writers must submit up to 10,000 words from the opening chapters of their novels and a synopsis.

Now, if it’s going to be a mystery-themed competition, you’d think there’d be a crime writer among the judges, but so far, no word on who else will be alongside Tony Cowell in the judging booth.  Whatever happens, here’s hoping a winner is actually announced at the scheduled time, which still hasn’t been the case with the Sara Ann Freed Award–it’s been over two months since someone was supposed to win the inaugural prize for unpublished crime fiction and well, some of us are still waiting…