Contest Rules and Requirements

• Deadline April 4, 2013. Midnight, Mountain Daylight Time (Calgary, Alberta, Canada).
• Original, unpublished, English-language works only. Translations are acceptable, but translation is the responsibility of the author and story must be submitted in English only. 
• No contest entry fee.
• Stories must fit this year's theme of "In Places Between", as interpreted by the author.
• Eligible writers cannot be SFWA eligible (not professional writers). See FAQ & ANSWERS Page for SFWA Active Member summary. SFWA = Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America.
• Short stories of up to 5,000 words maximum. No poetry.
• Story must be "speculative", which may include Science Fiction, Horror, or Fantasy. See the FAQ & Answers Page for the definition we use.
• Two submissions per entrant, maximum, sent in separate eMails, as attachments.
  • story must be in .rtf or .txt format only. Italics should be underlined, not in italics. This is to ensure that the author's intended emphasis is not 'lost in transit'.
  • Story title should be in the header on each page, and the pages should be numbered.
• No simultaneous submissions.
• Double spaced,12pt New Times Roman or Courier.
• Competition format - stories must be sent as attachments only. Do not include the story in the body of the email.
  • The judging is blind, so the first page of the story must contain: the title of the story and the word count.
  • No author information should be contained on the document in the attachment (including name, pen name, address, nation of origin).
• The Subject Line of the eMail should be structured thus: "CONTEST ENTRY: (story title), (author name)".
• In the body of the email, include all of your contact information, including:
  • Real Name
  • Address
  • eMail address
  • Phone Number
• No biography is necessary.
  

• Stories will be judged on a combination of factors, including professional presentation, originality, ingenuity, entertainment factor, character, plot, spelling, grammar, and other authorial skills.
  
• The top eight stories as selected by the panel of judges will be published in the contest's annual small-run chapbook publication, "In Places Between". By entering this contest, the author(s) agree to allow their story to be published in the chapbook for no further compensation than a copy of the chapbook (sent regular post at our expense) and the prize money awarded as noted below.
• By entering into the contest, authors placing in the top eight agree to allow their name (or pen name, if preferred) to be used for contest promotion on this website and other appropriate social media and advertising, including but not limited to "Past Winners" lists.
• The rights of the story remain with the author.
• Send all entries to this email only: ipb (dot) contest (at) gmail (dot) com

All stories will be read and rated to provide the top eight stories. All remaining submissions will be returned by eMail to the authors along with a short critique (minimum five sentences) of the work with notes for suggested improvements.

Final judging will be done and the winners announced at the When Words Collide Festival for Readers and Writers in Calgary, Alberta on August 11, 2013. Winners do not have to be in attendance to win, but are welcome, of course.

$125.00 - First Place

$100.00 - Second Place

$75.00 - Third Place

$25.00 - Honorable Mentions (5)  

a WWC Festival Favourite will be selected. Details to follow. 

Please forward all questions regarding the competition to ipb (dot) contest (at) gmail (dot) com, 

with "CONTEST QUESTION" in the eMail subject line.