In conjunction with Black Static Magazine, WHC 2011 has announced the World Horror Convention 2011 Short Story Contest. Writers from around the world will be able to submit their most engaging and terrifying short fiction to for the chance to have their story published.
The winning entry will appear in the collectible WHC 2011 Souvenir Book, alongside work by Sarah Langan, Joe Hill, Steve Niles, Peter Crowther, Joe R. Lansdale, Brian Keene and other top genre names. In addition to appearing in the Souvenir Book, the winning entry will be republished in Black Static Magazine and will be paid industry professional standard of .05 per word.
Guidelines:
1. Must have a WHC 2011 full membership or supporting membership at time of story submission to participate. No exceptions.
2. WHC 2011 committee, contest judges, and their families are ineligible.
3. Stories should range between 500 – 4,000 words. Though this contest is open to international authors, all submissions must be submitted in English.
4. Traditional manuscript format: Double-spaced; 1-inch margins; paragraphs indicated by indent not extra line space; 12-point type presented in a clear, readable font (Times, Times New Roman).
5. On the first page of the story, please include Story Title, Author Name and Contact Information, and Word Count. A cover letter is not necessary and will not be forwarded to the judges.
6. This will be a blind submission, meaning author names and identifiers will be stripped from the document before being presented to judges. Page number and story title should appear in the Header.
7. Open submission dates – August 31st through Oct. 31st, 2010 (Midnight, Central Standard Time). Any submissions that arrive before or after the submission period will be deleted, unread.
8. No reprints. No simultaneous submissions. No multiple submissions. If a story is found to be in violation of any of the above, it will be disqualified from the contest.
9. Authors will receive confirmation that their stories have been received. Due to the nature of the contest, rejection notices will not be sent out. While this is an inconvenience to authors, due to the nature of the contest, it just isn’t possible. Please consider your story under consideration until the winner is named. The winner will be announced on Thursday, April 27, 2011.
10. Electronic submissions only! An email address for submissions will be announced the week before the open reading period begins.
11. Confirmed judges – who will pick the 3 finalists from the story submissions:
Nicholas Kaufmann – author of the Bram Stoker Award-nominated General Slocum’s Gold, as well as Chasing the Dragon, Walk In Shadows, and (as Gabriel Hunt) Hunt at World’s End.
Weston Ochse – won the Bram Stoker Award for First Novel, and has been nominated for a Bram Stoker Award in Long Fiction, as well as the Pushcart Prize for short fiction. His most recent novel is Empire of Salt.
Mary SanGiovanni – author of the Bram Stoker-nominated The Hollower and its sequel, Found You. She has a Masters in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University. She lives in NJ with her son.
Wrath James White – acclaimed author of Succulent Prey, The Resurrectionist, The Book of a Thousand Sins, His Pain, and Population Zero.
12. The winning title will be chosen from the 3 finalists by one of WHC 2011’s Guests of Honor.
13. Please direct all questions by email to Lee Thomas (and no, that’s not the submission address).
