Free contest, Ligonier Valley Writers Flash Fiction Contest 2011, top prize: $50 (PA)

Deadline: 14 August 2011

Where do you find winning stories? For our contest, graveyards, mausoleums, cemeteries, and other burial places. Write a scary (or not so scary) story for moolah, cash, coin of the realm!
Ligonier Valley Writers is again looking for scribes to put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard and write a Flash Fiction story for its seventh annual Flash Fiction Contest. Ed Kelemen, contest chair, announces the deadline for the contest: the witching hour when August 14, 2011, passes into history. Knowing the lack of cash in most writers' wallets, Ligonier Valley Writers is pleased to announce that there will be NO ENTRY FEE for this contest. Here are the details:

1. This year the setting must be a graveyard, mausoleum, cemetery, or other burial place.

2. Since this year marks the 25th anniversary of Ligonier Valley Writers, you must include the words twenty-five, anniversary, and silver somewhere in the body of your story.

3. A flash fiction story is less than 1,000 words long. But good news: The words twenty-five, anniversary, and silver don’t count. Your story can run as long as 1,003 words.

4. To save a few trees, writers are encouraged to submit electronically. Please place your story in the body of an email and send it to Ed Kelemen at ed.kel@verizon.net. Do NOT send it as an attachment; attachments will not be opened.

5. Include a short (150 words maximum) bio and the following statement with your entry: “I, [Your Name Typed Here], hereby give Ligonier Valley Writers the right to read my story titled “-------------------” at various venues during the Halloween season of 2011 and a one-time right to publish the story online at www.lvwonline.org. The rights revert to me six months after the story is published.” Include your name, address, contact information, and signature.

6. Winning entries will be read at the Hanna’s Town historical site in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, as part of its annual Graveyard Tour shortly before Halloween.

7. Winning entries will also be published online at www.lvwonline.org.

8. Now for the part you've been waiting for. Prizes will be awarded as follows:

First Prize $50, Second Prize $25, Third Prize $15. There will also be three Honorable Mentions. These stories will not receive cash prizes but will be published and read aloud with the other winners.

Contact Information:

For inquiries: ed.kel@verizon.net

For submissions: ed.kel@verizon.net

Website: http://www.lvwonline.org