Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Free contest, Ninth Annual Speculative Fiction Reader Short Story Contest, top prize: $300

Deadline: 31 December 2010

SFReader is pleased to announce our 9th Annual (2010) SFReader Short Story Contest!

SFReader has established itself as one of the Internet's most popular communities for speculative fiction fans, hosting over 15,000 visitors each month, be it to browse the book and movie reviews, read the articles and interviews, or participate in SFReader's Discussion Forum. Members of SFReader can also take advantage of a free blog located on SFReader!

The 9th Annual Short Story contest opens to submissions on December 1st, 2010, and will remain open until midnight (US Eastern Standard Time) December 31st, 2010

Entries received before December 1st, 2010, or after midnight (US Eastern Standard Time) December 31st, 2010, will not be considered!

The Rules

* No submission fee
* Story length: 1,000 to 5,000 words firm
* No reprints
* SFReader will be purchasing first electronic rights only
* No simultaneous submissions
* Multiple submissions are welcome, but please do not send multiple submissions in a single mailing
* Email submissions ONLY! Send all stories to contest2010@sfreader.com
* Email all stories as attachments in Rich Text Format (.rtf)
* Make sure you include your name and email address on your story

Fiction guidelines

We are interested in works that feature well developed characters along with colorful settings and fast-moving plots. There are no restrictions on sub-genres, though all stories must be firmly within the realm of Speculative Fiction. Our interests include, but are not limited to: Hard Science Fiction, Soft Science Fiction, Horror, Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Cyberpunk, Slipstream, and Alternate History, just to name a few. The speculative element must be integral to the story.

Prizes

1st Place: $300.00 and publication on SFReader
2nd Place: $150.00 and publication on SFReader
3nd Place: $75.00 and publication on SFReader

Notification and Posting

Finalists will be notified no later than March 1st, 2011. We anticipate working with the finalists to select the final three winners by April 1st, 2011. IF YOU ARE NOT CONTACTED BY MARCH 1ST 2011, YOUR WERE NOT A FINALIST OR WINNER IN THE CONTEST!

Contracts will be completed, payments tendered, and the winning stories published on SFReader.com by the end of April 2011.

Submitting

* EMAIL SUBMISSIONS ONLY!
* Contest Opens December 1st, 2010
* Contest Closes Midnight (US Eastern Standard Time) December 31st, 2010
* Email to (as Rich Text Format (.rtf)) to contest2010@sfreader.com.
* Submissions must be as Rich Text Format (.rtf) documents. Other formats will be deleted unread!

Judging

All stories will be judged and the winners/honorable mentions (if any) selected by Pete Allen, judged by Pete S Allen, editor-in-chief at Creative Guy Publishing, the company that delights in bringing you such happy and weird titles as Stays Crunchy in Milk, Installing Linux on a Dead Badger and Starkweather Dreams. Tie-breaking votes (if required) will be cast by me, Dave Felts, SFReader.com's webmaster.

Odds 'n' Ends

Direct questions about the contest by email to: Pete or Dave at contest2010@sfreader.com.

More information here.