Archive for the ‘Contests’ Category

55 Word Writing Contest: 2010

Saturday, July 31st, 2010

After a successful 2009 contest, the 55-Word writing contest is back!

Requirements:

  • Writers of all ages may submit. Winners are judged on the best stories.
  • The subject matter should be appropriate for everyone, ages 9-99.
  • There may be fewer than 55 words, but there may be no more than the limit. Hyphenated words count as one word, as do numbers when digits are provided (i.e., “one hundred twenty-seven” is three words; “127” is one word). Initials each count as a word (e.e. cummings would be three words); acronyms, such as MGM, would count as one word.
  • Please follow the MLA format. Edit for errors.
  • Titles are suggested, although not required, and should not exceed ten words in length. They are not included in the 55-word count.
  • Entries should be typed in Times New Roman font and double spaced.
  • Include the following: name, age, postal address, and email address.
  • This contest is for fiction only: setting, characters, conflict, and resolution.
  • Poetry and essays will not be considered.

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Winners of the 55-Word Fiction Contest!

Sunday, April 11th, 2010

These are the Winners for 2009 as announced by David Martin:

First Place

The Truth

By Marc Magisana,    Omaha, NE

The cards said murder. The old woman’s tarot readings were never wrong. To win the contest, I would need to kill. Who? She pretended not to know. Enraged, I beat the truth out of her. Her murder made me a famous writer. Now I’m framed: “Winner: First Prize Fiction Contest” hangs on my cell wall. (55)

Second Place

In Montana

By Marge Barrett,    Minneapolis, MN

By campfire light near Many Glacier, she snaps, crackles, pops. He strives to snuff out the flames, steaming water, sifting sand. Like paint pots in Yellowstone, they bubble, sizzle, while cedars crash and swans soar. Yet as fields seared in the fall, they spring up renewed, sip Beaujolais, curled together in Rising Sun’s fireplace lobby. (55)

Third Place

Toddler Turnabout

By Alberta Lee Orcutt,   St. Paul, MN

Chubby fingers clutch the peach to her mouth. Juice trickles down her chin and wrist on its way to her elbow, sugary orange passing through yesterday’s scratch and today’s dirt, finally sticking to the squirming kitten trapped between her knees. Then – the bolt! And Huntress drops the hallowed peach to devotedly stalk her panicked prey. (55)

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55 Word Contest

Tuesday, July 14th, 2009

Fine Lines announces its first-ever writing contest! For more information, download the pdf file and look for contest highlights in the current 2009 summer issue. Looking to pay via PayPal? Click on the button below. (more…)

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