Contests

Prizes:

• 1st $500 and “Ask the author” zoom session all available published books from our featured authors in your chosen format.
• 2nd $350 and “Ask the author” zoom session and two available published books from our featured authors in your chosen format.
• 3rd $150 and “Ask the author” zoom session and select e-books from featured judges.

How It Works

1. Receive story details via e-mail on May 21st (including Genre, Character prompt, and a Location prompt). If you have not received your prompts by 9:30am PST contact us.
2. Write and upload your story via the link in the e-mail before the Submission deadline May 23rd 9 am PST

Parameters are as follows:

• The story can have up to 2000 words
• Microsoft Word will be the standard to measure submission word count and adherence to the word count limitation is included in the judging criteria.
• Stories must be submitted via the link sent in your e-mail before 9 am PST Sunday May 23rd and must be a .doc, .docx, or .pdf file type. This gives you 48 hours to write and submit your story.
• Stories cannot be submitted or accessed after the submission deadline, so make sure you plan ahead and upload your story in plenty of time.
• PLEASE make sure there are NO identifiers within the title or body of your uploaded work. Submissions received with names, contact information, and/or web/social media links will be disqualified.

There are various interpretations of genres. You can put your own spin on them, but we will be going off the following basic definitions:

Sci Fi: Science fiction stories involve technology, environments, or worlds/cultures more fanciful or advanced than our own. Aliens, time travel, or even implants that allow a person to lift a building—we want stories that use speculative elements to enhance characters and build a world different from the one in which we live.

Romantic Comedy: Rom/Com (Isn’t there a movie or two that defines this genre pretty clearly?) We are going to stick with lighthearted stories that focus on romantic ideas, makes us laugh, and generally working out in the end—although maybe not the exact way we thought it was gonna end.

Mystery: A story that follows a crime of some sort and sets the reader in a role of trying to figure out the details of the crime and/or the identity of the criminal.

Comedy: Make us laugh with your wit and interesting perspectives. Comedies are meant to incite amusement.

Horror: A story that shocks, frightens, or incites a feeling of dread. It is the stuff of nightmares (but we just can’t turn away 🙂

Romance: Romance stories primarily center around interpersonal relationships. They focus on how love conquers all, but never without overcoming often seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

Supernatural: “Supernatural” stories incorporate speculative elements beyond our traditional plane of existence. Ghosts, mediums, possession, demons, angels, werewolves, vampires all qualify—anything that lurks outside our limited view of reality. Supernatural stories don’t have to be scary or horrific (although they certainly can be)—it’s more important to engage the reader’s thoughts about what lies beneath.

Historical Fiction: This one can be challenging because it has to be based in some fact. Historical fiction is usually a combination of true and imagined events and individuals. These stories include history with a flair for creating compelling and moving experiences that bring threads of history alive within the reader. Please set your stories a MINIMUM of 20 years prior to now. 2019 might feel like a lifetime ago, but for this genre, we’d like stories set prior to the turn of the century. You can have 100% fictional characters in your story, but they must be living/interacting in a distinct time period and dealing with either non-fictional events or locations.