The June Fiction in Five Contest is now OPEN for Entries.

This is the final contest for the Second Annual C4WE Fiction Anthology. The August contest will start a new contest year.

Deadline to enter: Midnight
June 1, 2012

Contest runs June 4-8, 2012

The winning entries in the April Fiction in Five Contest will be posted on the Year Two Winners page no later than May 14, 2012.  First year winning entries can be found on the Year One Winners page.

The judges have agreed to provide a one-two paragraph critique of ANY of the submissions. There is an additional $10 fee for the critique, so if you want the critique, click here and scroll down the list to the Fiction in Five Critique option and check the box. Critique fees go directly to the judges. Critiques will be emailed to the writers after the winners of each contest have been announced.

The Rules:

1. A $5.00 entry fee is required for each entry and multiple entries are allowed.
2. All rights to the story remain the property of the author.
3. Payment must be received before Midnight, June 1, 2012, in order to be eligible for this contest. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
   
4. A prompt will be issued via email to all paid entrants at 9:45am (Pacific Time) on June 4, 2012. Each entry must be a minimum of 700 words and cannot exceed 1,000 words. Final fiction stories are to be submitted no earlier than 10:00am (Pacific Time) on June 4, 2012, and no later than 10:00pm (Pacific Time) on June 8, 2012.
5. The story must include the prompt or be written with the prompt in mind. Stories that are not related to the prompt or do not include the prompt within them will be disqualified.
6. All entries will be judged by professional writers, English teachers, and/or editors, based on the following criteria: originality (25 percent), creativity (25 percent), use of language (25 percent), and appropriateness to contest theme (25 percent). Incomplete and/or inaccurate entries and entries not complying with all rules are subject to disqualification. Decisions of judges are final and binding. Winner will be notified by e-mail no later than July 9, 2012.
7. Stories must be written in good taste (i.e., no vulgarity, violence, or graphic sex) keeping in mind the audience could range from children to adults.
8. If profanity is used it should be in moderation and only as a necessary part of the characterization and plot.  For example,  Rhett Butler says in Gone With the Wind,  “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn!” That was a part of the story and of who Rhett was and not used gratuitously.
9. There are four prizes for the contest. All entries in the contest automatically receive a subscription to the free enewsletter: Excellent Writing.
   • First prize: $25 AMAZON.COM electronic gift card, PLUS:
     • A mouse pad proclaiming you are a winner,
     • Publication with bio and photo on the Center for Writing Excellence Website.
     • Publication in the annual Fiction in Five Anthology and a FREE e-copy of the Anthology at the end of the contest year! (Second annual Fiction in Five Anthology due out August, 2012).
   • Second prize: $15 AMAZON.COM electronic gift card,
     PLUS:
     • A mouse pad proclaiming you are a winner,
       • Publication with bio and photo on the Center for Writing Excellence Website.
       • Publication in the annual Fiction in Five Anthology and a FREE e-copy of the Anthology at the end of the contest year! (Second annual Fiction in Five Anthology due out August, 2012).
   • Third prize: A beautiful mouse pad proclaiming you are a winner.
     PLUS:
     • Publication with bio and photo on the Center for Writing Excellence Website.
       • Publication in the annual Fiction in Five Anthology and a FREE e-copy of the Anthology at the end of the contest year! (Second annual Fiction in Five Anthology due out August, 2012).
   • Honorable Mention
     • Name and Story title listed on the Center for Writing Excellence Website.
     • Publication in the annual Fiction in Five Anthology and a FREE e-copy of the Anthology at the end of the contest year! (Second annual Fiction in Five Anthology due out August, 2012).
10. All entries must be original works, in English. Plagiarism, which includes the use of third-party poetry, song lyrics, characters or another person’s universe, without written permission will result in disqualification. Excessive violence, gratuitous profanity, or sex, determined by the judges, will result in disqualification. (see Rules G & H above for more information.)
11. To be eligible, entries must be works of prose, between 700 and 1,000 words in length. Entries fewer than 700 words or with more than 1,000 words will be disqualified.  (NOTE: Do not count the title in the word count of your story.)
12. The Contest is open to anyone interested in writing fiction. Entrants younger than 18 must be entered by a parent or legal guardian.
13. Entries must be submitted via email post or attachment. All attachments are to be in Word, .rtf, .txt format. All other formats will be disqualified. The subject line of the email must read: June Fiction in Five Contest. In the body of the email, please include the authors name, address, telephone number, email address and word count. The submission email address is: janiewrites1@gmail.com. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
    
14. Each entrant may submit as many stories for each contest as they wish, and winners may submit stories in future contests. The $5.00 entry fee applies to each entry in any given contest.
15. All entries for each contest are final. No revisions are accepted.
16. Winners in each contest will be individually notified of the results by email.
17. This contest is void where prohibited by law.
18. Entry into this contest permits the I4IE Center for Writing Excellence to use winners’ names and excerpts from and/or complete stories for promotional purposes and other publications.

To enter the contest and pay the entry fee, click here.  You can pay either through PayPal or by check. If you choose to pay by check keep in mind the deadline. Payment must be received before midnight,  June 1, 2012, in order to be eligible for this contest. Prompts will be emailed to all paid entrants no later than 9:45am (Pacific Time) on June 4, 2012.

If you know someone who would have fun with this contest or any future contest, give him or her a gift certificate for this (or any of the future Fiction-in-Five contests)  Add the gift certificate to your cart and when we confirm the course and gift certificate, include his or her name, and we will send you a beautiful, personalized gift certificate that you can print and present.  Gift certificates will not expire and can be redeemed at the recipient’s convenience. The Fiction-in-Five contest will run in February, April, June, August, October, and December each year .