The Mystery Writers Key West Fest has announced a call for entries for this year’s Mystery Writers Whodunit Writing Competition. The winner will claim a book-publishing contract with Absolutely Amazing eBooks, free Mystery Writers Key West Fest 2016 registration, airfare, hotel accommodations for two nights, and a Whodunit Award trophy to be presented at the 3rd Annual Mystery Writers Key West Fest, set for June 10-12 in Key West, Florida.

Sponsored by Absolutely Amazing eBooks and supported by the Marion Stevens Fund at the Community Foundation of the Florida Keys, candidates wishing to compete for the 2016 Mystery Writers Whodunit Award are invited to submit the first three pages (maximum 750 words) of a finished, but unpublished manuscript no later than March 30, 2016. There is no fee to enter, finalists will be notified by May 1, and will have until May 10 to submit full manuscripts.

“Why just the first three pages? That criterion is a nod to late author Jeremiah Healy, a terrific mystery writer and great judge of mysteries,” says Shirrel Rhoades, co-producer of the Mystery Writers Key West Fest. “Jerry often said a book either captures a reader in the first three pages…or it doesn’t. The competition judges all agreed with that assessment, and decided to use it as a yardstick for the competition.”

The inaugural, 2015 award was called “The Jerry” in Healy’s honor and was won by J.E. Irvin of Springboro, Ohio, for her entry titled “The Dark End of the Rainbow.”

This year’s award judging committee will be led by celebrated mystery author Sandra Balzo, and includes Rhoades, who is an author, film critic, media consultant and publisher of Absolutely Amazing eBooks; Ted Hertel, attorney, author, reviewer and past executive vice president of Mystery Writers of America; and Gary Warren Niebuhr, library director, reviewer and author of numerous nonfiction works on the subject of crime fiction.

The 2016 Mystery Writers Key West Fest – “Murder & Mayhem in Paradise” – will include multiple workshops, presentations, panel discussions and social events where attendees mingle with acclaimed mystery, suspense, crime fiction and true crime writers, including special guest New York Times bestselling author Robert K. Tanenbaum; Los Angeles-based thriller and mystery novelist Timothy Hallinan; New York Times and USA Today best-selling author Heather Graham; award-winning crime and science fiction writer James O. Born; bestselling Buck Reilly adventure series author John H. Cunningham, and many others.

For information on attending the 3rd Annual Mystery Fest as well as complete Mystery Writers Whodunit Writing Competition guidelines and submission details, visit www.mysterywriterskeywestfest.com.