Contest Rules
Our rules for the Second Annual Ann & Dan Very Short Story Contest for People Who Don’t Pander:
Entry (Periods and Fees)
Contest Period: The submission period is from February 1st, 2016 to March 1st, 2016. This contest is limited to the first 100 valid entries. There are only two of us and we wish to give these stories the proper attention; hence, the limit. Any entries received after March 1st, 2016 will be rejected.
Entry Fee: Free! This year, there is no entry fee.
Submissions
Submission Type and Length: Your stories -must be fiction, and must be a minimum of 200 words to a maximum of 1,000 words in length
“But my story is 1,024 words, and it is perfect! I really CAN’T cut anything!”
Wrong. You can. Please stay within the limit so we don’t reject your story without reading it. If your story was 1,001 words and it could have made us laugh until the coffee poured from our noses, it wouldn’t matter. Our limits are firm. We will not read anything over 1,000 words. Tighten it up. Ditto if it’s too short. Yes, it may be perfect as it is, but not for the Ann & Dan Very Short Story Contest for People Who Don’t Pander.
Number of Submissions: People, please, only one submission per author.
Submission Format (Electronic): Entries must be sent by e-mail. Send entries to us at annanddantour@gmail.com with the words “Contest: Story Title” in the Subject line. All entries must be attached to your e-mail as a .doc, docx or .rtf file. Put your Contact Info (name, address, telephone number and e-mail address), story title and word count.
Response Time for Submissions: We will acknowledge your submission within one week of arrival. If you have questions, e-mail us with the words “About my story” in the Subject line. Please include the date sent.
Judging process:
We will divide the stories between us and read them for an hour or more with our morning coffee. We will add one or two lines of comments, and exchange our favorites after the initial reading. We will then choose the top three… We expect this process to take about two weeks. The the entry deadline is March 1st, 2016. We hope to announce the winners on March 15th, although it might take a few days longer. Winners’ names will be published on the blog along with their stories.
We want to emphasize that we are not judging the objective quality of your work. We are judging it by how much it entertains us. This criterion is completely subjective. We have been repeatedly accused of being ‘quirky’ and occasionally as ‘odd’, so by all means, if you do not win, don’t take it as a criticism of your writing ability. Keep writing!
Prizes and Payment
1st Place – $25
2nd Place – $15
3rd Place – $10
Winning stories will be posted to the blog.
Payment: Winners will receive payment within a week of the judging. After we notify you of results, it is up to you to provide us with preferred payment method. You are responsible to provide accurate information, as we do not wish to interrupt our morning coffee to do it twice.
Rights
You do not relinquish any right, copyright, or ownership of your story to us at any time.
We are not interested in stealing your ideas. Is it possible that we might have a giant grasshopper on a spaceship orbiting Alpha Centauri mention something that vaguely resembles what you had a truck driver utter at Waffle House in your story? Yes, but not intentionally. We are all influenced by everything we see, hear, touch, and taste every day.
Conditions
Entries should be original, unpublished work.
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The Ann and Dan Very Short Story Contest 