Enter our short story contest!

The “Words Alive” Short Story Writing Contest

The Words Alive book festival and the Brandon Sun have teamed up to present a short story writing contest. We’re looking for short works of never-before-published fiction — about 2,000 words — written by someone from Westman. Try your hand at any genre! Enter multiple times! The winner gets published — twice! Once in a Saturday edition of the Brandon Sun and once in the program of the 2007 Words Alive book festival.

Mail or drop off your manuscript to the Brandon Sun before the deadline: Friday, October 26 at 4 p.m. Remember to include your name, address, phone number and e-mail address.

CONTEST RULES:

1. You may enter as often as you wish:
a) Mail each completed manuscript in a separate envelope to “Short Story Writing Contest,” c/o the Brandon Sun, 501 Rosser Avenue, Brandon, MB R7A 0K4 (open Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.);
b) Manuscripts must be typed, at approximately 12-point font, double-spaced, singled-sided; and
c) Pages must be numbered.

2. Manuscripts must be accompanied by the following author information:
a) Name;
b) Address, including City/Town, and Postal Code;
c) Phone number; and
d) E-mail address, if available

3. Incomplete or pseudonymous entries are not be eligible to win. The Brandon Sun and Words Alive are not responsible for late, lost, destroyed or wrongly addressed mail in connection with the contest. Do not include any other correspondance in envelopes with entries.

4. Employees of the Brandon Sun, the Words Alive organization and their immediate families are ineligible to enter.

5. Any genre of fiction is eligible for entry. Manuscripts should be approximately 2,000 words in length. Entries that are substantially longer or shorter may be disqualified.

6. Entrants warrant that:
a) their short stories are original and unpublished works of fiction, and authored by a resident of the Brandon Sun readership area (Westman);
b) their short stories do not infringe upon any copyright, proprietary right or any other right of any kind; and
c) that the author has the unimpaired right to convey publication rights to the Brandon Sun and to the Words Alive book festival.

7. All entries must be received by contest closing date, Friday, October 26, 2007, at 4 p.m. Odds of winning depend upon the number of eligible entries received. Selected entrants will be notified by telephone and/or e-mail.

8. Entrants, by entering this contest, consent to the use of their name and/or photograph, without compensation, for future publicity carried out by the Brandon Sun or Words Alive in connection with this contest.

9. Entrants retain copyright to their manuscripts. However, by entering this contest, all entrants grant to the Brandon Sun and to Words Alive a worldwide, perpetual, paid-up, non-exclusive licence to publish, republish or reproduce their manuscripts an unlimited number of times, in original or edited form, in all media and forms of reproduction and distribution now in existence or developed in the future.

10. Except for the winners, neither the Brandon Sun nor Words Alive will barter or share any entrant’s personal and/or private information with any other organization.

11. Winners may be selected on entertainment value as well as literary merit or any other quality or combination of qualities. Contest judges, as appointed by the Brandon Sun and/or Words Alive, will be the sole appraisers and will have the sole power to determine winning entries.

12. Winners will be published by the Brandon Sun on Saturday, November 3, 2007, with runners-up to appear in one or more issues of the Community News Edition near that date. The winning story will also appear in the program for the 2007 Words Alive book festival. Prior to publication, entries may be edited for taste, length, spelling and/or grammar.

13. Contest judges will make the final decision on any interpretation of these rules.