Maybe you uncovered a lonely manuscript in your spring cleaning this year, or maybe you’d like to give that novel that no one decided to pick up another try. Or maybe you’d like to fuel up on your stimulant of choice and crank something out by July 1st? Whatever the case, I wanted to throw this out for your enjoyment or consternation (I’ll let you decide). Xerox has partnered with Lulu.com and the ColorCentric Corp. to launch its “Aspiring Authors Contest“. The winner will receive $5K and 100 copies of their book. Another interesting twist is that all entrants will receive at least one printed copy of their book — limited to 1,000 entries, I believe.

We’re pretty interested in the print-on-demand industry and self-publishing, so this caught our eye. If you’re looking to take an alternate route with a manuscript, this might be an interesting choice. As always, please read the fine print and contest rules — LitKicks doesn’t endorse or condemn this contest, we’re simply throwing it out there for your information. If you do check it out, be sure to tell us your experience. Of course, if you think it’s a great idea or think it’s the work of the devil, we’d like to hear that as well.