I had a great experience with the 2023 Writing Award. I had always heard that writing contests are mostly scams, but the Page Turner Awards is definitely not! My novel was shortlisted and I had a publisher request my full manuscript (which is something that I have yet to achieve through traditional querying). Just being listed as a finalist was immensely validating to all of the work that I have done and really re-energized me in my quest to publish the book.
Having won one of the genre awards, I also received a critique of my full manuscript. The person critiquing it had obviously read my full manuscript and put a lot of time and thought into their feedback. I know from personal experience that a critique like this would cost quite a lot of money if I were to hire someone to do it myself.
I would definitely enter this contest again!