from Toasted Cheese’s Dead of Winter writing contest submission/rules
Dead of Winter is a fiction contest (any genre) for stories with supernatural elements or themes. Ideally, stories should be set in autumn or winter. The most original, most haunting stories will be chosen for publication.
Stories submitted to the 5th Annual Dead of Winter contest (December 2005) should follow the theme: “The souvenirs/trophies of a returned soldier.”*
The word limit is 3900 words.
Deadline for submission is December 21, 2005. E-mail entries to dow2005[at]toasted-cheese.com. Your subject line must read: “Dead of Winter Contest Entry.” Entries must adhere to Toasted Cheese’s regular fiction submission guidelines and to the chosen theme.
Notes:
- Your main character and/or narrator need not be the soldier him/herself.
- The souvenirs do not necessarily need to be from war; they could be from a tour of duty, for example.
- The “souvenirs” should be tangible items (ex: a wound would not be considered a souvenir but the shrapnel would).
- Ideally we would like you to introduce the supernatural elements of your story via the souvenir(s). Be as creative as possible in using the theme—we love that!”
First, second and third prize entries will be published in Toasted Cheese, March 2006. Prizes: Amazon gift certs. 1st-$20, 2d-$15, 3rd-$10 (*Toasted Cheese reserves the right to not award second and third place if the quality of the entries does not meet the journal’s standards.)
[hattip to Debbie Ohi/inkygirl — my boss at the late, lamented inkspot.com]