Digital Imprints/Short Story Contest

Writer's Thought for the Week: Do give books - religious or otherwise - for Christmas. They're never fattening, seldom sinful, and permanently personal. ~ Lenore Hershey

RANDOM HOUSE has three new digital imprints in addition to Loveswept:

        Loveswept  romance and women’s fiction

Alibi     mystery and suspense

Hydra   sci-fi, fantasy and horror 

Flirt     new adult

Although there is no official word count limit, the editors are interested in short submissions (15,000 to 30,000 words) and full-length works (40,000 to 60,000 words.)

ANDERBO SHORT STORY CONTEST

Deadline: December 31, 2012

Award:    $500, trophy, and publication on Anderbo.com

For an unpublished short story 3,500 to 5,000 words

No fee; limit of one submission per author.

Writing advice/Short story contest

Writer’s Thought for the Week: It's like building a stone wall without mortar. You place the words one at a time, fit them, take them apart and refit them until they're balanced and solid. ~ W.C. Heinz

Lisa Gardner, New York Times bestselling author of suspense, has some wonderful free resources on the Toolbox section of her web site. The articles are downloadable in PDF format – no videos to wade through. The first group deals with advice on craft, the second group with the submission process, and the third with romantic suspense. Well worth a read.

THE FLYING ELEPHANTS SHORT STORY PRIZE

Deadline: November 30, 2012

No entry fee; one entry per writer

Theme: “AndWeWereHungry...”

Theme for the top prize: “And We Were Hungry for Nature...”

This international prize is meant to showcase the work of short story writers published or emerging. The top prize is $2,000; three other writers will receive $1,000 each. Eight stories will be short-listed and published online in their winter 2013 issue along with the winners. The top prize is reserved for the story that connects the theme with nature or the natural world. “No length restrictions, but longer manuscripts (8,000—10,000 words) or shorter manuscripts (less than 2,000 words) will have to be truly exceptional to be shortlisted.”