Submission Guidelines

If you prefer, you may click here for the PDF version of the guidelines.

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This method does not require additional software to be loaded on your system, once finished you can mail it to us via snail mail.

This competition is intended to be a showcase for short fiction by new and emerging authors. All work submitted must be sent in the form of typed manuscripts in MS Word 97, Corel WordPerfect 7, plain text or RTF (Rich Text Format) on disk formatted for PCs. Any submission sent as a PDF will require the equivalent text file in a separate folder. 

If your work is selected, you will be required to submit a resume and 50 words on why or what prompted and or inspired you to write the story. All entries must have a cover page that outlines the author's name address, telephone, 50 word summary about the story, word count, and title of piece. 

Each entry envelope must contain a self addressed stamped envelope for notifications. An additional Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope for the return of materials, if you want your materials sent back to you. Each page of the manuscript must have the author's last name and  page number (1 of 12, 2 of 12 etc) as a footer throughout the entire manuscript.

All manuscripts must include a cover page, a writer's 50 word bio, headers with page number on each page, word count (500 to 5400 words), and a single paragraph summary of work. Any genre except children, erotica, western & sci-fi will be accepted. We prefer adult literary material. Three winners consisting of; first $ 50, second $25 and third place $15; a total of 20-30 stories will be published in each issue each quarter.

Please note - no work will be returned. If you want your submissions returned, you must include sufficient return postage and reusable packing materials. Work that we find appropriate for future issues will be filed, otherwise it will be discarded if reusable materials and return postage are not available. In addition, All entries must be accompanied by a business size SASE (self addressed stamped envelope) so that we can mail your notification of competition results if you wish to learn of the results.

Each author may submit 2 manuscripts in the same envelope for a reading with a fee of $8 dollars US per envelope that pays for a copy of the current issue. The current issue that is sent upon receipt of your entry will not contain the winning entries for the current issue. No more than three entries per writer maximum. The entry fee covers the price of the issue and to a lesser degree, offsets our fees for editing, media announcements, printing, free copies to newspapers, readings, advertising and one copy of the current issue. Each contestant will receive only ONE copy of the current issue, regardless of their individual results. If you want to support our efforts and only buy the book or buy additional copies of the soft cover $14.95 best of annual book you may order any quantity at the pre-publishing price of $9.00 each, that includes all shipping and handling fees. To reserve your copy of the $50 library bound annual "The Best of..." edition, please send your order with a $15.00 deposit for the pre-publishing price of $29.00. We must have a total minimum order of 250 hard cover edition books, in order to manufacture and print the case bound library edition. If the total number of orders by the final order date does not total or exceed 250 copies, all monies and or deposits will be returned.