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Sunday, 19 January 2014

February Short Fiction Contest

Welcome to the latest monthly short fiction writing competition here on The Cult of Me. Every month I post a new picture and you can then write and submit a short story (with a maximum word count of 500 words). At the end of the month I will pick the winners and announce them on this blog.

The winner's stories will be available here (and promoted across KUF, Goodreads, Twitter, Facebook and Stumbleupon and anywhere else I can) and you'll also have a link to your blog or website displayed alongside your story if you win.

Winning stories will also be compiled in a collection later in the year, proceeds from the sales of that collection will be used to help fund the prizes for this competition.

The winners will also receive an Amazon gift card:
  1. First Prize is a £50 gift card
  2. Second prize is a £20 gift card
  3. Third prize is a £10 gift card
Details on how you can enter are provided below and I'm looking forward to reading your entries!


For this month's image we have this rather happy looking clown, I shudder to think what stories will be inspired by his smiling face :-)

As always, thanks to everyone who has entered and a big thank you to everyone who has supported the contest. Please continue that support by sharing the link to this contest wherever you can, it's much appreciated!

Please make sure to check your story for typos before submitting. I don't mind a few errors, but my enjoyment of a story is diminished if I have to wade through too many.

I'll post the winning entries by March 1st 2014.

As with everything in life there are a few rules:
  1. Only one entry per person.
  2. The story must not be longer than 500 words.
  3. Closing date for submissions is February 23rd 2013.
  4. By submitting the story you grant me a non-exclusive license to use it. I'll only post the winning entries.
  5. You also grant me a one time non-exclusive license to include the story in an e-book release.
  6. The judges decision is final.
Use the form below to enter your submission. After you've submitted please leave a comment on this page stating that you have submitted. And please help spread the word. I'm working to make this a regular feature so I need readers for the stories as well as entrants.
As well as comments section below you can chat about this competition in any of the threads I've listed below. If you don't know the sites then entering the competition is a good way to introduce yourself. Note that these sites are not affiliated with the competition in any way!

KUF: http://www.kuforum.co.uk/kindleusersforum/thread-13760.html

Goodreads (UK Amazon kindle Forum group): http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/977021-michael-brookes-horror-science-fiction

Kboards: http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,152168.0.html

If you've started you're own thread or discussion somewhere about this month's competition then let me know and I'll add the link to this page.
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32 comments:

  1. Unknown20 January 2014 at 07:48

    Hello! Just a quick question: Is this contest open to everyone, IE residents of countries other than the UK? I live in the US and am wondering if I'm eligible. Thank you! -Erin

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Michael Brookes20 January 2014 at 09:51

      Yes, it's open to everyone. I just need to be able to send you the Amazon gift card if you win.

      Delete
    2. Unknown21 January 2014 at 06:30

      Great, thank you! :)

      Delete
  2. Bitesize20 January 2014 at 21:09

    Story submitted. :) Thanks for the opportunity! It was a real challenge to write this and I look forward to next month's exercise.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Unknown23 January 2014 at 02:58

    Great picture prompt for this one.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Michael Brookes23 January 2014 at 07:50

      Indeed, it makes me wish I could enter myself :-)

      Delete
  4. Unknown24 January 2014 at 13:58

    Great contest. Looking forward to when you've picked the winners. I would love to read some of them. I love the theme you chose, that clown is downright creepy. I could tell what kind of stories contenders will come up with. Keep us posted with the results. Lucius @ Skild®

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Michael Brookes24 January 2014 at 14:23

      Thanks - you'll get to read the winning stories at the end of the month!

      Delete
  5. Rose24 January 2014 at 15:21

    I'm surprised how much I enjoyed writing that story.
    Thanks Michael.

    ReplyDelete
  6. P.B. Cannon24 January 2014 at 18:49

    Very interesting (smiling? happy?) image you've found...hmmm. Enjoyed writing a story around it and just submitted my entry. As usual, I thank you for the opportunity. Keep 'em coming!

    ReplyDelete
  7. anonymous27 January 2014 at 21:13

    Thank you Michael. I just posted mine.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Unknown31 January 2014 at 20:24

    Incredibly creepy image! I've just submitted mine.

    ReplyDelete
  9. centurionman3 February 2014 at 15:47

    Hi
    Just posted mine
    Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  10. Tom Brand4 February 2014 at 12:21

    Submitted my story. Thanks. Tom

    ReplyDelete
  11. Unknown9 February 2014 at 12:47

    Hello, thank you for this opportunity. I have submitted my entry.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Unknown9 February 2014 at 14:13

    Just submitted mine. Thanks :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Beverley Carron14 February 2014 at 06:21

    Just submitted my story, thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous17 February 2014 at 11:49

    I felt to have a chance at winning, my submission: "Tiptoeing Round the Truth", would need to be different than expected based on the image you provided. I'm betting you'll think it is, too.

    Being limited to 500 words was arduous, but for some emotional depth and texture I include the following links that you can go to after reading the story:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaXVkQruSao

    http://www.katsandogz.com/onmarriage.html

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsJ4O-nSveg

    http://www.katsandogz.com/onjoy.html

    http://www.katsandogz.com/onchildren.html

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGEe_zpddNI


    ReplyDelete
  15. Unknown19 February 2014 at 22:10

    I usually don't do extreme flash fiction, but I couldn't resist this one.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous21 February 2014 at 14:02

    Submitted my entry.

    ReplyDelete