Monday, May 3, 2010

National Short Story Month Contest

In case you didn't know it, May has been designated National Short Story Month. Don't feel bad; I didn't know it either until I read an article in the May/June issue of Poets and Writers Magazine.

I love reading and writing short stories and can still remember some favorites from high school and college--"The Most Dangerous Game," "The Gift of the Magi," "The Fall of the House of Usher," "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall," and "Good Country People"--are some that come to mind.

So, in honor of National Short Story Month, I'm going to sponsor a little no-entry-fee contest to encourage writers to write and submit a short story this month. I'm also doing it to accomplish my goal of downsizing my bookshelves by giving away a copy of Cuivre River Anthology (Volume I), Saturday Writers Winning Words, which contains one of my short stories.

Here are the short and simple rules.

Short stories must be:
The submitter's own work
Written between May 1 and May 31, 2010
Written in English
Unpublished
No longer than 2010 words (as in the year 2010)
Submitted by e-mail to dvolkenannt (at) charter (dot) net
Received by midnight CST on May 31 2010

Other guidelines:
Copy and paste into the body of an e-mail
No attachments; attachments will not be opened
Submit your best work
Proofread before sending
No pornography or gory content
One entry per person
Open to residents of USA and Canada
Decision of judge is final
Writers retain all rights to their stories
No whining, please

Prizes:
First place winner will receive a copy of Cuivre River Anthology (Vol I), which includes my short story "Golden Lilace Under the Worm Moon"
Top three winners will receive certificates
Depending on number of submissions, I might award some honorable mentions
Titles and names of winners will appear on Donna's Book Pub on June 8, 2010

5 comments:

  1. Cool idea, Donna! Bet you get some interesting entries!

    Pat
    www.critteralley.blogspot.com

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  2. That's brilliant, Donna! And I was all set to write up a super short story till I saw that "No whining" thing. :-)

    I'll spread the word!

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  3. Hi Pat,
    Thanks. I'm hoping one of those entries will be from you.
    Donna

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  4. Hi Cathy,
    Aww, shucks. I'm blushing--or maybe it's the sunburn on my cheeks from watching the soccer game yesterday. Anyway, I can't wait to see your story.
    And thanks for spreading the word.
    Donna

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  5. Shoot! I just remembered this!! I have close to 2 hours to come up with something....I'll give it my best try!! :)

    ReplyDelete

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