-
"14:365 Pen & Paper" by mattbeckwith is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
The Reporter is elated to introduce its first short story writing contest. The officially titled, “A Winter’s Tale: 2022 Iron County Reporter Short Story Contest” is the first of its kind at the Reporter.
Submissions for the contest will be accepted beginning Dec. 8 until Feb. 1, 2022.
The contest provides an opportunity for aspiring writers, young and young-at-heart alike, to introduce works of fiction or non-fiction to audiences across the country. For the experienced composer of narrative prose, the contest serves as an invitation to expand brand awareness or introduce unpublished and more obscure works to the public.
There are two divisions for entrants, Junior and Senior, which primarily align with ‘children’ and ‘adult’ respectively.
Every entry will be judged first and foremost by its adherence to the rules. Beyond the listed guidelines, the only remaining limitations lie in the human consciousness.
To Arizona in the west, Florida in the south, and North Carolina in the east, Americans subscribe to the Reporter. For the sake of valued readers everywhere, the contest is open to entries from anyone with a love of writing. There are no residency requirements.
All entrants should refer to the complete list of contest rules and instructions below before submitting a short story for con-sideration:
Entry Rules, Instructions, Essential information, and Prizes
Entry Rules and Instructions
▪ The submitted story must not be currently published in any format
▪ Every contest entry must be typed; handwritten submissions will not be accepted
▪ Entries should preferably be submitted via e-mail to news@ironcountyreporter.com with the subject line “2022 ICR Short Story Contest”
▪ Only submissions printed in black ink on white paper will be accepted for consideration
▪ Stories must be a minimum of 3,500 words and a maximum of 9,000. Submissions exceeding the maximum allotment of words or failing to meet the minimum requirement will be with-drawn from publication consideration at the discretion of the Iron County Reporter
▪ All entries submitted as physical copies must be typed in 12point Times New Roman font, with double line spacing
▪ Only one (1) entry per person will be accepted
▪ All Entries must be submitted by February 1, 2022
▪ Entries can be based on fact or fiction
▪ “Fan fiction” — fiction stories based on copyrighted and/or currently existing literary/film/television characters — is not allowed and will result in instant disqualification
▪ Every submission must have the following information in the upper left corner of the first page:
o First and Last name
o City/Town and State of Residence
o Contact information (Phone number, e-mail address, or both)
o Age
o Division of entry (Junior or Senior)
o Word count
o Title
▪ Failure to adhere to any of the aforementioned rules may result in disqualification at the discretion of the Iron County Reporter
Essential information
▪ There will be two divisions in which an entrant can make a submission: ‘Junior’ and ‘Senior’
▪ The Junior division is intended for children age 16 and younger
▪ The Senior division is intended for those age 17 and older.
▪ There will be two winning entries, one for each division – Junior and Senior
▪ Address, phone number, and e-mail address will not be published
▪ Stories may be subject to reformatting and editing for con-tent; Any changes made will be kept to a necessary minimum as to maintain the submission’s original meaning, purpose, and/or intent
▪ “Invented words” – spellings of fictional places and things are acceptable but the intended idea must be clear
▪ All characters in works of fiction must be original. Copyright-ed names and images will not be accepted and will result in disqualification
Prizes
▪ The winning submissions will be printed in the Iron County Reporter over a span of several issues
▪ The winning entrants may receive a free one (1) year online subscription to the Iron County Reporter