FRIGHTMARES! FLASH FICTION ANTHOLOGY CONTEST

Submission to this anthology is open to all writers, published or unpublished as long as you hold the copyright to your story. The story style does not matter as long as it is a horror tale and does not exceed 500 words. Submissions for Frightmares! will be accepted until the volume has been filled. They estimate a release date of Fall 2011 which means a closing date of approximately July 2011. Five authors will be awarded cash prizes.

1st Place - $100
2nd Place - $50
3rd Place - $25
4th Place - $15
Random Drawing - $50

For more information visit the Frightmares website.

Flash Fiction Contest

1st Prize: $60 plus publication
2nd Prize: $30 plus publication
Theme: Open
Genre: Fiction
Length: 500 words or fewer
Deadline: July 21, 2009 (postmark)
Entry Fee: $2.00 per story

THE RULES

- Write a self-contained short story in 500 words or fewer. No predetermined
theme this year, so let your imaginations run wild!
- Be original. Be concise. Be spelled correctly.
- Send your story in plain text in the body of an e-mail to
contests@inkspotter .com (subject line =
"Annual Contest Submission") or to the address on the website (below). Do
not indent paragraphs. Leave one line space between each paragraph.
- All stories MUST have a title.
- Be sure to include your full name and e-mail address. If your story wins,
we'll contact you for your preferred method of payment.
- Enter as often as you like, but payment must be received for each entry.
- You retain copyright of your story.
- All entries will be acknowledged if an e-mail address is included.
- By entering the contest, you agree to have your name and email address
added to the subscriber list for InkSpotter News, our monthly ezine. Contest
news and winning stories appear in the newsletter. (Our subscriber list will
never be shared with or sold to a third party.)

NOTE: Please, do not submit fan fiction.

FULL DETAILS at http://inkspotter. com/contests. htm

Short Story Contest - “Old Mold New Milieu"

There’s still time to submit your winning short story to TRI Studio LLC for our current writing contest, “Old Mold New Milieu.” The deadline is June 30th. Winners will be published in The Fiction Flyer, our free ezine for writers with 1,000 subscribers. There are modest cash prizes, but you likely will survive without the ten dollars. More interesting, winning stories (and their authors) will receive the benefits of much promotion.

Okay, you can survive without the exposure, too, but wouldn’t it be nice? And your story only needs to be 1,000 words or less. You can write that much before lunch! AND you get to showcase a couple characters in your own books or stories, which of course begs readers to investigate further, which is why links to winners’ books and stories will be included. Details for the contest are here:

http://tri-studio.com/contestguidelines.html

We have some interesting judges, too, which include the well-known and mutli-published author and artist of youth fiction, Kevin Collier, his wife, Kristen Collier, author of critically acclaimed Christian literature, and Carolyn Howard-Johnson, promotional guru and multi-award winning author of numerous novels, books of poetry, and the best-selling how-to Frugal Book series on book promotion.

We hope you’ll take a look and decide to join in the fun!

Kathe and Ray Gogolewski
Editors/The Fiction Flyer
TRI Studio LLC www.tri-studio.com
http://tri-studio.com/contestguidelines.html

2008 Finding the Right Words Flash Fiction Contest

1st Prize: $60 plus publication
2nd Prize: $30 plus publication
Theme: Open
Genre: Fiction
Length: 500 words or fewer
Deadline: July 21, 2009 (postmark)
Entry Fee: $2.00 per story

THE RULES

- Write a self-contained short story in 500 words or fewer. No predetermined
theme this year, so let your imaginations run wild!
- Be original. Be concise. Be spelled correctly.
- Send your story in plain text in the body of an e-mail to
contests@inkspotter .com contests@inkspotter .com> (subject line =
"Annual Contest Submission") or to the address above. Do not indent
paragraphs. Leave one line space between each paragraph.
- All stories MUST have a title.
- Be sure to include your full name and e-mail address. If your story wins,
we'll contact you for your preferred method of payment.
- Enter as often as you like, but payment must be received for each entry.
- You retain copyright of your story.
- All entries will be acknowledged if an e-mail address is included.
- By entering the contest, you agree to have your name and email address
added to the subscriber list for InkSpotter News, our monthly ezine. Contest
news and winning stories appear in the newsletter. (Our subscriber list will
never be shared with or sold to a third party.)

NOTE: Please, do not submit fan fiction.

FULL DETAILS at http://inkspotter. com/contests. htm

Age of Elegance

Ah, Baby Boomers. Look who's entering the Age of Elegance...

According to author Chloe Jon Paul who wrote, Entering the Age of Elegance - A Rite of Passage & Practical Guide for the Modern Maturing Woman, this second adulthood reaches us around age forty and if this “rite of passage” isn't done with style and grace, we can become disoriented and lose our way.

We want to know what the Age of Elegance means to you. Fulfillment? Exploration? Discovery? Tell us!

To enter this contest, simply follow these short and simple guidelines before submitting your story.

CONTEST GUIDELINES:

Using 500 words or less, and using these helpful questions below, tell us;

What does the “age of elegance” mean to you?
Have you embraced this time in your life? If so, how?
Have you used this journey to define yourself as a new woman?


Please submit your entry in a WORD document AS AN ATTACHMENT. Include your name, email address, and short bio (no more than 75 words) INSIDE the WORD document NOT IN THE BODY OF THE EMAIL.

SUBMIT to - contest@nabbw.com with Age of Elegance in the subject line.

Deadline – May 31, 2009

PRIZE MONEY - 100.00 and F-R-E-E membership or renewal in the NABBW. Plus your story will be published in the Our Voices section at www.BoomerWomenSpeak.com.
also
TWO LUCKY RUNNER-UPS will receive a framed copy of The Litany of Elegance plus easels, compliments of author Chloe Jon Paul!

For more information, please visit: http://www.nabbw.com

Contact Information:
Dotsie Bregel
877-226-6637
boomercontest@nabbw.com

Audience with an Agent Contest 2009

It's the moment you've all be waiting for! THE announcement you've been hankering for. Yep, today is the day we announce the first MAJOR contest from Novel Matters.

Audience with an Agent Contest 2009!

Let's all take a deep breath, and steady ourselves. It doesn't get more exciting than this!

You could win an Audience with an Agent!

Who can enter? Novelists in North America.

How does it work? We will post full contest rules in the "Promotions" section of the blog so you can refer back to them whenever you need to - or print them out.

Who is the agent? None other than the amazing uber agent: Wendy Lawton of Books & Such Literary Agency.


There are two stages to the Audience with an Agent Contest:

Stage one: Submit as an attachment a sample chapter of your completed novel along with a one page synopsis to us at novelmatters@gmail.com by July 31, 2009. (This means you will have until that time to finish your novel if it isn't yet complete, but it is important that your book be finished when you submit your chapter and synopsis. Details of what is expected in a sample chapter and synopsis is posted in the "Promotions" section of the blog).

Stage two: If your manuscript is chosen, it will land on the desk of Wendy Lawton in October, 2009. Wendy will read the sample chapter and synopsis. There will be a total of six manuscripts that will make it to this stage. At that point, it is possible that Wendy will contact one or more of six authors and ask to see a full manuscript. It is completely up to Wendy Lawton's discretion to seek out more information from a writer.

What? Only ONE Chapter?
Yes. Just one.
Latayne shared this story with us one evening: "Once I interviewed several prominent editors from Christian publishing houses for an article I was writing for Christian Retailing magazine, for an article entitled, "What Makes a Bestseller?" One very prominent editor told me of the importance of the first few lines of a manuscript. She said that if the writing didn't "grab" her on the first page -- or conversely, turned her off in those first few lines -- she didn't read further.
All the editors I talked to said that they read manuscripts, proposals, query letters etc. trying to find a reason to reject them. Now, they may not have said it so baldly, but that's what they meant. That's because everyone is inundated with writing. They simply don't have the time to keep reading through boring/illiterate/inappropriately-pitched materials to find something good later on.
When I conducted the interview with this editor, she told of hiring kids from her church youth group to come to her corporate office on Saturdays once a month. She would pay them and buy them pizza just to stuff manuscripts and proposals back into SASEs with form-letter rejection slips. She pictured mountains of materials that deserved a response -- but did not deserve to be published.
Now, that was a decade ago when major publishing houses were all still accepting manuscripts directly from authors; and in the early days of electronic submissions. But I would imagine the story is even more overt today: The ease of electronic submission has made it even easier for increasing numbers of people to send off their projects. Now, if a synopsis or first chapter doesn't compel an agent or editor to read further than the first computer monitor screenful, why would they?"

Some writers ask, "How can an agent or editor really know if they want my book based only on the first chapter and a synopsis?"

The answer is that while you probably won't be offered a contract from a first reading, there is more than enough information in the first chapter and synopsis to let an agent or editor know she wants more. It shows you've got the chops for writing. And it leads to the next step.

Get your submissions ready to send in. We look forward to hearing from you.

Love Is the Theme

Since I didn't find an anthology to highlight today, here is a free writing contest.

Writing Sprint 3: Deadline - February 6, 2009

Challenge: Love is a theme which fuels many popular stories and novels. Writing about love can also be difficult. For this challenge, write a story about two long lost lovers who are suddenly reunited. The story should be between 500-2,000 words.

To enter, post your piece during the sprint period and include the tags Long Lost Love (entered as long_lost_love).

The entries will be judged on originality and poignancy. Make us experience what the reunited couple are feeling and do it in a way that is genuine and unforced.

Awards:

* The winner of each weekly competition will receive $30.

Submit online.

Rules and Regulartions

HIGHLIGHTS 2009 FICTION CONTEST

CATEGORY:
Contemporary world-cultures stories.

PRIZES:
Three prizes of $1,000 or tuition for the Highlights Foundation Writers Workshop at Chautauqua.

ENTRY DATES:
All entries must be postmarked between January 1, 2009, and January 31, 2009.

RULES:
No entry form or fee is required.

*Entrants must be at least 16 years old at the time of submission.

We welcome work from both published and unpublished authors. All submissions must be previously unpublished.

Stories may be any length up to 800 words. Stories for beginning readers should not exceed 500 words. Indicate the word count in the upper right-hand corner of the first page of your manuscript.

No crime, violence, or derogatory humor.

Entries not accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope will not be returned.

Manuscripts or envelopes should be clearly marked FICTION CONTEST. Those not marked in this way will be considered as regular submissions to Highlights.

SEND ENTRIES TO:
FICTION CONTEST
Highlights for Children
803 Church Street
Honesdale, PA 18431

WINNERS:
The three winning entries will be announced on Highlights.com in June 2009. These stories will become the property of Highlights for Children and will be published by Highlights. All other submissions will be considered for purchase by Highlights.

* We're sorry that we cannot consider contest entries from children under the age of 16. Young writers are welcome to submit their work for consideration elsewhere in the magazine. Guidelines are available on HighlightsKids. com.

"Discovery" / Boston Review 2009 Poetry Contest

Deadline: January 16, 2009.
Judges: Mary Jo Bang, Terrance Hayes, and Mark Strand.
Four Prizes: $500

Complete guidelines:
Four winning authors will be awarded a reading at the 92nd Street Y in New York City (May 11, 2009 at 8:15pm), publication in the May/June 2009 issue of
Boston Review,
and $500.

1. The contest is open to poets who have not published a book of poems (chapbooks and self-published books included). Those who have a book contract at
the time of submission or who are subsequently awarded a book contract are not eligible for the contest if their book is scheduled for publication before
Fall 2009. Individual poems that have been or will be published in periodicals or anthologies may be submitted; however, at least two of the submitted
poems must be unpublished and under two pages in length.
2. Submit four identical sets of a typed ten-page manuscript. Each set is to contain the same ten pages in the same order. Include no more than one poem
per page. NO personal identification should appear on any of the poems; no copyright attributions for previously published poems should appear on the poems.
3. Photocopied manuscripts are acceptable. However, in the case of previously published poems, do not send photocopied pages of the periodical or book
in which the poem(s) originally appeared.
4. Please staple each manuscript; do not use paper clips.
5. Enclose one cover letter including your name, address and day and evening telephone numbers, as well as a list of the submitted poems in the order in
which they appear, with copyright attributions for published poems. Do not attach this cover letter to the manuscripts.
6. An entry fee of US$10.00 must accompany the submission. Please make checks (drawn on U.S. banks only) or money orders (in U.S. currency only) payable
to the 92nd Street Y, and attach them to your cover letter. DO NOT SEND CASH.
7. All poems must be original and in English (no translations) .
8. No contestant may submit more than one entry. No corrections can be accepted after receipt of the contest submission.
9. Entries must be received by January 16, 2009. This is not a postmark deadline. If you wish to receive confirmation of receipt of your manuscript, please
enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard (not envelope) and allow several weeks for its return. Due to the large number of submission received, manuscripts
cannot be returned. Winners will be contacted by telephone by the end of February; all contest entrants will be mailed the names of the winners and of
the judges shortly thereafter.
10. No phone queries can be taken. If you wish to hear a recording of the guidelines, or to receive another set of these guidelines in the mail, call 212.415.5759.

Mail contest submissions to:
"Discovery"/ Boston Review 2009 Poetry Contest, Unterberg Poetry Center, 92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10128

http://bostonreview .net/about/ contest/

* * *

To support the author of this blog, consider buying her books.

Pumping Your Muse (Creative writing book)

Windwalker (Fantasy)

Beyond the Fifth Gate (Fantasy)

For more about the author of this blog check out Theinkslinger.net.

Blue Mountain Poetry Contest

Thirteenth Biannual Poetry Card Contest
Deadline: December 31, 2008
1st prize: $300 * 2nd prize: $150 * 3rd prize: $50

In addition, the winning poems will be displayed on our website sps.com.
Please read the following, then scroll down to submit your poem.

Poetry Contest Guidelines:

1. Poems can be rhyming or non-rhyming, although we find that non-rhyming poetry reads better.
2. We suggest that you write about real emotions and feelings and that you have some special person or occasion in mind as you write.
3. Poems are judged on the basis of originality and uniqueness.
4. English-language entries only, please.
5. Enter as often as you like!

Poetry Contest Rules

All entries must be the original creation of the submitting author. All rights to the entries must be owned by the author and shall remain the property of the author. The author gives permission to SPS Studios, Inc. to publish and display the entry on the Web (in electronic form only) if the entry is selected as a winner or finalist. Winners will be contacted within 45 days of the deadline date. Contest is open to everyone except employees of SPS Studios and their families. Void where prohibited.

How to Submit

Simply complete the contest form below, or if you prefer, you may send your submission via snail mail* to:

SPS Studios Poetry Card Contest,
P.O. Box 1007, Dept. E,
Boulder, CO 80306.

Poetry Contest Submission Form

* * *

To support the author of this blog, consider buying her books.

Pumping Your Muse (Creative writing book)

Windwalker (Fantasy)

Beyond the Fifth Gate (Fantasy)

For more about the author of this blog check out Theinkslinger.net.

Bathsheba Monk's Second Annual Short Story Contest

I don't have an anthology market today but came across this short story contest, and it's FREE! And the first place winner gets a $500 award! Read on for all the details.

Enter the Second Bathsheba Monk Short Story Contest. No entry fee, no word or entry limit (although please be reasonable and remember that your best work has the best shot of winning). $500 award to first place and publication on Bathsheba Monk's website http://www.bathsheb amonk.com/ and on his blog http://bathshebamon kssc.blogspot. com/2008/ 10/bathsheba- monks-second- annual-short. html.

No electronic submissions. Please, send manuscript(s) via USPS mail to:

The Bathsheba Monk Short Story Contest
2435 W. Walnut St.
Allentown, PA 18104

Please double space manuscripts and make sure you have toner in your printer. Tell them about yourself in a cover letter. Simultaneous submissions are okay, but please let them know if your manuscript is accepted for publication elsewhere in the meantime. Manuscripts cannot be returned, and Inotification of final results will be sent via email. Deadline is December 31, 2008. The winner will bel announced in February.