photo © Michael Shaheen, 2013
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We are now inviting submissions
to the 2015 THRESHOLDS International Short Story Forum
Feature Writing Competition
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1st Prize of £500
2 x Runner-up Prize of £100
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EXTENDED DEADLINE:
06 May 2015, 11:59pm (BST)
NOW CLOSED
THRESHOLDS is the only online forum dedicated to the reading,
writing and study of the short story form. Entries are welcome in either of the following feature categories:
Author Profile: exploring the life, writings and influence of a single short story writer.
We Recommend: personal recommendations of a collection, anthology, group of short stories or a single short story.
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One overall winner will be chosen, followed by two runners-up. The judges hope to see a range of styles and approaches in the feature essays. They will be looking, above all, at the quality of the prose in each feature submitted, the insights offered, and the author’s ability to engage his/her readers. The winning and runner-up essays and shortlist will be published on the THRESHOLDS Forum during 2015.
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Previous winning essays:
2014 winner: Wolves at the Hearthside by Sharon Telfer
2013 winner: A Trio of Irish Short Stories by Nuala Ní Chonchúir
2012 winner: H.P. Lovecraft by Geoff Holder
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* PLEASE READ THE COMPETITION RULES (below) AND THE GENERAL THRESHOLDS Submission Guidelines CAREFULLY BEFORE SUBMITTING *
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Competition Rules:
• All entries must be submitted by email as a PDF or Word document (.doc, .docx or .rtf only) attachment and sent to thresholds@chi.ac.uk, with the subject line ‘Feature Competition’.
• Entries must be received by 11:59pm (BST) on 06 May 2015. Please note, this is an extended deadline due to technical issues resulting in Thresholds downtime in April.
• There is no entry fee.
• Maximum word count is 2,000, with a minimum of 750. Writers may submit a maximum of 3 essays.
• Please note: the Competition is open for feature essay entries only. Short story submissions will NOT be accepted.
• Work should be double spaced and in a minimum of 11 point font. All pages should be numbered.
• The stories or collections under discussion may be either contemporary or classic, and can be in print or out of print.
• Entries must be accompanied by a separate title page (i.e. saved in a separate document) containing the following information: name and email address of the writer; title of entry(ies); category of each entry — Author Profile or We Recommend.
• Entries will be judged anonymously. Your name, address, or email address should NOT appear on the manuscript.
• Entries cannot be altered once they have been submitted.
• Entries must be original and unpublished. Work that has appeared on the internet (apart from in a personal blog) is considered published and therefore is not eligible. Simultaneous submissions are NOT accepted (i.e. features submitted to multiple journals/magazines simultaneously).
• The entrant warrants to THRESHOLDS’ editors that the essay is original to him/her, that he/she has the full power to agree to the Competition rules of entry, and that he/she is the sole author of the feature essay.
• The entrant warrants to THRESHOLDS’ editors that his/her essay is in no way whatsoever a violation of any existing copyright and that it contains nothing libelous.
• The judges’ decisions are final and no discussion will be entered into once work has been submitted. The judges reserve the right not to make the award if the quality of entries does not merit it.
• The Competition is open to writers of any nationality writing in English, 16 years old and over at the time of the closing date.
• University of Chichester staff may not apply.
• The names of the winners, runners-up, shortlisted and longlisted writers will be published on The Forum.
• The longlist will be announced in May, and the shortlisted and winning writers will be notified soon after.
• Copyright of the submitted essay remains with the author, but THRESHOLDS has the unrestricted right to publish any winning or shortlisted feature essays on its website and in any related material for PR purposes.
• THRESHOLDS reserves the right to edit the winning, runner-up and shortlisted articles prior to publication, as well as any other pieces selected for publication on the site.
• By entering the competition, you are deemed to have agreed to the above rules.
