Official Explanation from MagooshThere is a lot to sift through here--and lot that lends itself to traps (such as the ones waiting in the answer choices!) The key to focus on is the contest itself: it is for writing a bad opening line ("groan-inducing and prosaic"). Therefore, the novels, even though nobody really reads them, have a negative association with the author and this contest. Only (D)--which means public disgrace--captures this meaning.
(A) is too positive.
(B) might describe the quoted lines: "It was a dark...night."
(C) is a trap that matches up with prosaic (unimaginative).
(D) The answer.
(E) this word is too positive.