5th Annual Micro Award Open For Submissions

It's that time of year again:

The 5th Annual Micro Award is now open for submissions through Dec 31, 2011. The Micro Award is presented annually for flash fiction not exceeding 1000 words. Stories of all genres published originally in 2011 are eligible. Editors may submit two stories; writers may submit one. The winner of the $500 prize and all other finalists will be announced on Feb 29, 2012. Please see the official rules for all requirements and guidelines before submitting. Good luck!

Get the word out, submit your micro stories, because, hey, how often is there a contest like this with no entry fee?

Microstyle Writing Contest

Last year the Gotham Writers' Workshop held a Hint Fiction Contest in conjunction with the anthology's release. This year they're having a Microstyle Contest in conjunction with the release of Christopher Johnson's new book (which I reviewed here). Here are the details:

Inspired by the July publication of Microstyle: The Art of Writing Little, Gotham is pleased to present a Microstyle Writing Contest. We are honored to welcome the book's author, Chris Johnson, as the finalist judge.

THE SET-UP This is the age of the Incredible Shrinking Message. Tweets, status updates, text messages, email subject lines, blog post titles, and other miniature messages are tools we all need to grab a bit of people's precious attention. Everyone is a copywriter now.

Expressive economy is the key to this new world of miniature messages. And there's no better way to maximize the expressive potential of a short message than to get two interpretations for the price of one. Wits, lyricists, and sloganeers have always been keen to seize upon a felicitous ambiguity:

If I said you had a beautiful body would you hold it against me? -Groucho Marx (later used by songwriter David Bellamy)

You can lead a horticulture, but you can't make her think. -Dorothy Parker Labour isn't working. - Saatchi and Saatchi for the Conservative Party in Britain

THE CHALLENGE Your job is to use double meaning to create your own memorable quip, using twenty words at the most. It might, like the quote from Dorothy Parker, highlight an accidental and unexpected second interpretation of a word or phrase, or it might, taken as a whole, express two distinct and equally apt meanings, like the quotes from Groucho Marx and Saatchi and Saatchi. (For writing tips, read Johnson's "Use Ambiguity for Good, Not Evil.")

THE PRIZE The author of the winning entry will receive bragging rights and:

• 10-week Gotham Writing Workshop
• $50 Barnes & Noble Gift Card
• One-year Subscription to The Writer (12 issues)
• Microstyle: The Art of Writing Little

In addition, the winner and four finalists will each receive a copy of Microstyle: The Art of Writing Little.

Enter here.

The Serial Killer's Wife Giveaway

So that's what was in the mail today, ten copies of The Serial Killer's Wife (which is now available) and the proof copy of The Calling (which is not yet available).

It's cool to have the actual physical book, I guess, though it doesn't really mean much. After all, the reason self-published writers never made much money in the past is because there is no distribution. Bookstores don't normally carry self-published books. And self-published books printed by CreateSpace? Don't even think about it. So it's very unlikely any of these self-published books will ever appear in bookstores. The only way they can be sold is a) via Amazon or b) via me hand-selling them at some conference or convention, which can become a very big pain in the ass and could, most likely, not even be worth my time.

So why even bother?

Well, because readers prefer the choice between electronic and print, that's why. And because it's not really a big deal when it's all said and done -- the print on demand aspect makes it so I don't have to rent out a warehouse or at least clear out a space in my house for extra books. If someone wants to buy the book, they can order the book and CreateSpace prints a copy and ships it. Simple as that.

I am going to try something, though, which may be successful but will most likely fail, which is to offer the option to order a copy directly through me so I can personally inscribe and sign the book. The cost would be retail (for TSKW that's $13.95) plus an extra dollar for shipping in the US, for anywhere outside the US ... email me.

So if you live in the US and are interested in a inscribed signed copy of The Serial Killer's Wife, you can PayPal me at robert (at) robertswartwood (dot) com with $14.95 and I'll ship one out. If you're outside the US, email me first to see how much more shipping will be (probably only an extra buck or two).

Or, if you're in the US, you could always sign up for five free copies that I'm giving away at Goodreads.

A "Multiplicity" Contest

The Best of Every Day Fiction Three is now available, which features my story "Multiplicity" along with 99 other fine stories published last year at Every Day Fiction, including stories by K.C. Ball, Gay Degani, Ben Loory, Aaron Polson, and many more. Many thanks to Camille Gooderham Campbell and Steven Smethurst and Carol Clark for including me. The anthology comes in two formats, hardcover and trade paperback, which you can purchase here. Or, if you'd like, you can win a free signed copy from me.

Last year when I gave away a copy of The Best of Every Day Fiction Two, I tried to do it as a Twitter giveaway. That had mixed results. So this year I've decided to keep it simple. You know how in high school you would take those math classes and always ask when you'll ever need to know any of those equations in real life? Well, here you go. If you'd like a chance to win a copy, simply enter some kind of mathematical equation in the comments section. That's it. The crazier the equation, the better, though honestly at the end of the week a random name will be picked. This contest runs until the midnight Friday EST. Have fun!

And The Winners Are ...

First, I want to thank everyone for helping spread the word and participating in the contest. We had an amazing turnout this year, with just under 650 stories submitted, which isn’t too bad considering the contest was open for just two weeks. The past two years there have been 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners and two honorable mentions; this year we're changing it up and only awarding one winner and one runner-up. Before I get to them, though, I did mention that I would be giving away copies of the Hint Fiction anthology signed by a number of the contributors at this past year's AWP. Besides the winner and runner-up, these three writers were randomly selected: Tracy Gonzalez, Fred Osuna, and Aisha Sultan.

Now, without further adieu, chosen by Joyce Carol Oates …

Winner:

HERO by Trenton Orris 

They remembered him for the battles he fought in. She remembered him in the rocking chair on the porch at sunset, withered, telling fairy tales.

Runner-Up:

THE FORTUNE TELLER by Lis Anna 

“Can you contact the dead?”

I pull a photo out of my back pocket.

She stares then hands it back. “He ain’t dead, honeypie.”

Congratulations to the winner and runner-up! And thanks once again to everyone who participated. I hope you had fun.