Is everybody ready for a new round of writing contests? Some of these are associated with writing
conferences, but with deadlines significantly earlier than the conference. So though I’ll
address conference dates in a future post, for now, here are the deadlines
for some worthwhile and fun writing contests or workshops with writing
critiques, and what they offer. I mentioned some of these early this year, but
a timely reminder may be in order.
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| image: wikimedia commons |
April 30: DFW Writers’ Conference, already notorious
for terrifying (but thankfully, anonymous) contests is teaming with WRiTE CLUB
for 10 weeks of writing bouts. To begin, contestants must submit a
500-word writing sample in any genre (even poetry) by April 30. Right – that’s
day after tomorrow! See www.dlhammons.com/p/write-club-2015.html
for guidelines.
May 15: Sword & Sorceress anthology. Annual
anthology inspired by works of Marion Zimmer Bradley. Stories should be of the
sword and sorcery type, with strong female protagonists. See www.mzbworks.com/guidelines.htm
for complete guidelines. No contest fee.
June 1: Mayborn Writing Competition entries in
personal essay, reported narrative and book manuscript. This competition is
held in connection with UNT’s Mayborn Literary Narrative Nonfiction Conference.
For information, contact writing contest coordinator Sarah Whyman at maybornconferenceinfo@unt.edu/
June 15: ArmadilloCon writing workshop. ArmadilloCon
is the Austin, Texas, literary science fiction conference. This is for stories
of fantasy, science fiction or horror, with small group critiques led by
professional writers and editors in the field. Fee of $79.50 includes
membership in the conference, scheduled for July 24-26. For guidelines, see http://2015.armadillocon.org/writers_workshop#submission/.
June 15: 2015 FenCon Young Author short story contest.
Open to writers in grades 3-12. No contest fee. See www.fencon.org/page/young-author-contest
for details. And see the rest of this post for more about writing at FenCon,
the annual science fiction/fantasy convention in Dallas, Texas.
June 30: British Fantasy Society’s Short Story
Competition. No contest fee for BFS members, £5 for nonmembers. Contestants do
not need to be from the UK: PayPal will happily convert your currency if
necessary. I can’t resist adding this since competition judge Allen Ashley
posted his list of story likes and dislikes at the blog of UK writer Deborah
Walker, http://deborahwalkersbibliography.blogspot.com/.
Complete competition guidelines at www.britishfantasysociety.org/the-bfs-short-story-competition-2015/
July 17: Registration for writers’ workshop at FenCon,
the annual science fiction/fantasy convention in Dallas. Registration is
limited to 20 participants, with cutoff July 17, or when the workshop is
filled, if earlier. This is a four-day workshop with USA Today bestselling
author Jaye Wells. Registration for the workshop is $25 plus FenCon
registration. (Membership fee not yet available, but typically $50). See www.fencon.org/page/writers-workshop
for details.
July 20: FenCon short story (science fiction or
fantasy) contest. No fee for first story submitted by FenCon members, $10 for
nonmembers or for additional stories (up to three) from members. Winner and
first two runners-up receive cash awards and membership in next year’s
conference. See www.fencon.org/page/short-story-contest
for guidelines.
(Why all the entries for FenCon? Honest, I don’t get
paid to do publicity for the Con, I just think it’s a great deal for the money.
I’ve used critiques from the workshops and writing contest to polish several
stories for publication, including my last year’s second place story contest
winner, “Planet, Paper, Space,” due out in June.)
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