PUB: CJM Books - Colonnade Writing Contest and Announcements

Colonnade Writing Contest
   
Our contest is simple but competitive, and takes place quarterly. Winners and runners-up will be published once a year in our literary anthology, Colonnade. Here's the deal:
  • This year, 2011, the Colonnade Writing Contest invites fiction authors from any genre to submit their best previously unpublished work to compete for a place in our yearly anthology, Colonnade. Any genre of fiction is acceptable, so long as it's fiction. The result is an internationally distributed collection of the best stories of the year by authors who have the ability to stand out from amongst a diverse pack.
  • The deadlines for each quarter are March 31st, June 30th, September 30th, and December 31st. Each quarter's submissions will be judged as an independent group. The one winner and two runners-up from each of the four quarterly groups will be announced on these dates: April 15th, July 15th, October 15th, and January 15th. Quarterly first place winners will receive a $100 cash prize. The runners-up and the winners will each be eligible for publication in that year's issue of Colonnade, our yearly anthology.
  • Out of these twelve best stories of the year one story will be chosen as the Colonnade Story of the Year and will be awarded $500 in cash and two complimentary copies of Colonnade.
  • Keep reading for submission instructions...
     

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Contest Winners & Other Announcements
Congratulations to Mark Wagsaff of London and his short story titled The Inhuman Fashion, this quarter's $100 prize winner. So many great stories made it very difficult to pick favorites. I suppose that means we enjoy doing things the hard way.

 

The results for the Second Quarter of the 2011 Colonnade Writing Contest are as follows:

 

1st Place: The Inhuman Fashion by Mark Wagstaff

 

1st Runner-up: The Kambala Buffaloes by Leo Madigan

 

2nd Runner-up: Pushcarts & Highballs by Benjamin R. Hostetter

 

3rd Runner-up: One of a Million Things by Micheal Gunter

 

The winner and runners-up have been notified and are eligible for inclusion in our yearly anthology, due for publication in January 2012.

 

If you missed this quarter's deadline don't panic. Simply send us your piece by September 30th for another chance to win. Submission guidelines below.
The submission guidelines:
  • Entry fee: $12 per entry (make checks and money orders payable to CJM Books, or use the PayPal button below for all major plastic cards)
  • Each story must be:
    • Fiction
    • Typed on 8.5" x 11" paper (hard or electronic) using Microsoft Word (or compatible), with 1.25" margins, double-spaced, 12 point font size, and Times New Roman font
    • No more than 10,000 words, and previously unpublished. (Authors keep all rights to their work, and are offered one-time, non-exclusive publication in Colonnade.)
  • At the end of each quarter we'll pick a winner and two runners-up for publication and yearly reward eligibility. So if you miss a deadline, take your time and send us your best the following quarter!
  • Each story will be judged objectively in each of the following categories:
    • Character development
    • Story structure and plot
    • Grammar, punctuation, and spelling
    • Style, voice, and form
    • Reader impact (the only subjective category, to offset cross-genre nature of competition)
  • You may submit more than one story, however each author is only allowed one story as a winner per year. So go ahead and submit a bunch of stories, but once one of them wins the others become ineligible. (Hard copies will not be returned unless a SASE is included with submission.)
  • Contestants must be 18 years or older and stories must be written primarily in English. Employees of CJM Books, editors of Colonnade, contest judges, and their immediate family members are not eligible for contest entry.
  • On a separate cover page, to prevent bias during judging, please include the following information:
    • Name
    • Mailing address
    • Phone number
    • Email address
    • Brief 1-3 sentence author bio
    • Word count
    • Title
    • Genre
    • Brief 1-3 sentence overview of story
  • Once we receive your submission you will be notified via email (or by phone if necessary).
  • Quarterly winners and runners-up will be announced on this page, via email, or by phone (if necessary), 14 days after the quarter's deadline. The year's Best Story will be announced via email or phone upon the release of that year's Colonnade.
  • Please follow these submission guidelines carefully. Failure to do so may risk disqualification. Entering the contest does not ensure publication in our anthology Colonnade, but by winning one quarter, or by placing second or third runner-up you will become eligible for publication. You may decline publication at any time during the contest, even after your story has won. We will not ask you to give up more than one-time non-exclusive anthology rights to your work, unless agreed upon under different terms than those listed in these contest guidelines and rules.

Mail your submission and entry fee to:

CJM Books
PO Box 565
East Rochester, NY 14445
Attn: Writing Contest

For electronic submissions please click the PayPal button below to begin the process. Have your file(s) ready to go! (Note: From PayPal, you will be directed back to CJMBooks.com to complete the contest entry. If you experience problems during any of this please email us.)

For all inquires and queries, call or write:
Phone:  585-201-8666
via cjmbooks.com