Short Story Contest - St. Louis Writers Guild

Today's weather forecast for St. Peters: Mostly sunny, high 45 degrees. A good day to finish my grocery shopping for Thanksgiving.

Claire Applewhite, Publicity Chair for the St. Louis Writers Guild, e-mailed the other day that the deadline for their annual short story contest has been extended until December 13. Word limit is 3,000 and entry fee is $15. You DO NOT have to belong to SLWG to enter their contest.

Here's some background about the contest from Claire:
"For decades, the St. Louis Writers Guild, has sponsored an annual short story contest, which must be one of the oldest, if not the oldest, writing contests in the country. It is certainly one of the most prestigious. Tennessee Williams won first place in this contest in 1935 for his story, "Stella for Star." (University of Delaware library; Special Collections Department; Tennessee Williams Collection, 1939-1994; www.lib.udel.edu/ud/spec/findaids/williams_t/willtenn.htm.)
The St. Louis Writers Guild Annual Short Story Contest opens for submissions every October and prizes are awarded in December. Historically, entries have come from all across the nation and Canada. Stories are blind-judged by one or more expert(s) in the fields of writing and literature. Writers do not need to be a member of the Guild in order to participate in this contest.
The first prize is $300! With Christmas around the corner, or any day of the week, a cash prize is a nice surprise. Let us hear from you. "

If you have questions, contact Claire at claireapplewhite@gmail.com or check out their website for complete details. Here's a link to the contest page:

http://www.stlwritersguild.org/zfiles/calendarprograms/contests/shortstory/shortstory.php

On a personal note, many years ago one of my short stories received second place in their annual contest. I was so excited when I got the phone call inviting me to the banquet to receive the award. What I didn't know was I would have to read my story--which had a few off-color words in the dialogue--in front of the banquet audience. During the reading I rushed through and mumbled the offending words. My face was red by the time I was finished, but it was still thrilling to receive the award--and the check.
Send your best material--who knows, you might have the winning story.
Good luck!
Donna