Contest Rules

An opening sentence will be provided.  All entries must use the sentence provided as the first sentence, after that, entries may take any prose form. They may be short stories, micro-essays, prose poems or journal entries.  No traditional poems, please.  There are no other limitations with regard to genre.  Contestants will enter 250 words or fewer (not including the opening line provided by Writingcompetition.com), in English, using the sentence provided. Word count should be posted on the entry. Entries must be typed and double-spaced.  Entries which fail to comply with the rules will be disqualified and will forfeit their entry fees.

Only entrant's home address and phone number should appear on the submitted manuscript.  No name should be on the entry. Please make sure that contact information is current and will be current for at least two months after the final entry deadline.  Winners will be notified by email and/or by phone and checks mailed to the address provided.

Entrants can be unpublished, or published authors.  Anyone that needs a little extra cash.  Entries can even be previously published--if you can find a way to fit the given opening line with something you’ve previously written that is, or can be made to be 250 words or less, go for it!  As long as the entrant still owns the rights to the piece.

Winners' names and hometowns will be posted along with their winning entries. Winners will also be invited to post information about themselves, should they wish to; however, there is no requirement to do so. Beyond this, there will be no dissemination of information. Names, addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses of entrants will be treated with strict confidentiality. Under no circumstances will any such information be given, sold, or in any other way passed along to a third party.

Winners will be selected during the month after the close of competition, and announced no later than the end of that month. Prizes will be awarded, and winning entries posted on the website, at that time. Winners are not allowed to enter the next three (3) consecutive contests (so the winner of the 2004-1 contest cannot enter the 2004-2, 2004-3 or 2004-4 contests).

ENTRIES SENT BY MAIL will be typed, double-spaced (no small print, please), accompanied by a completed entry form, and a cashier's check, personal check or money order for $25 made out to Writingcompetition.com. (Entries from outside the United States are fine, but entry fees and payouts MUST be made in U. S. dollars. Foreign entrants are strongly urged to use international money orders rather than personal checks.) Personal checks must clear--entries will not be considered valid until they do. Checks that fail to clear by the end of the competition will be discarded, along with the entry.

Multiple entries are allowed. If two or more are enclosed in the same envelope, only one entry form is required. If physically separate entries are submitted, duplicate entry forms must be attached. Each distinct entry requires the $25 fee. If multiple entries arrive with one check for $25, only the top one will be considered; the others will be discarded.

A self-addressed, stamped envelope will be included with the entry.

ENTRIES SENT ELECTRONICALLY must be sent as attachments in Word.  Current Contest Entry must be typed in the subject column of the email. The information requested on the entry form can either be typed into the attached email, or included in the Word document.  If included in the Word document, entry form information should be on the first page.  The entry must be on a separate page from the entry form information.  PayPal payment must be made BEFORE submitting the entry, and the PayPal transaction ID number must appear on both the entry and with the entry form information.  ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS REQUIRE A THREE DOLLAR ($3.00) TRANSACTION FEE TO BE INCLUDED WITH THE ENTRY FEE, THUS THE TOTAL PAYMENT FOR ELECTRONIC ENTRIES IS TWENTY-EIGHT dollars ($28.00).  Multiple entries must be paid for separately.

Entries must be postmarked or sent electronically by the closing date of the competition. Entries postmarked/sent after closing date, will be returned, along with entry fee.

A self-addressed, stamped envelope will be included with any mail-in entry, in the event it has to be returned.  If fewer than 50 entries are received, contest will be canceled and all entries and fees will be returned/refunded.  Otherwise, submissions will not be returned.

All judge’s decisions are final.