The ever useful Pikes Peak Writers list serve recently had an item on the fact that Amazon.com is now running a contest to find "the next great novel." The only requirement seems to be that the work not have been published before (although they ask for cover art "if available" which suggests self-published books might be OK). Follow the link to read the details. There's no entry fee, but there is a strict limit to the number of entries accepted, and it's only 5,000. The winner gets published by Penguin!

Read the rules carefully. You have to be able to submit your m.s. (in its entirety and with an excerpt) in M.S. Word. Their format is spelled out but sounds pretty standard.

So, it seems to me this is a little like the Pillsbury Bake-off. If you sell something, you want more consumers. Of course, Pillsbury's contest doesn't have "mainstream," "literary" and "genre" distinctions. My works is all genre, but hey, the contest is free! I entered anyway. Now if I can just work crescent rolls into my novel...