|
Twisted Stringybark Short Story Award 2011
The Twisted Stringybark
Short Story Award 2011 is open. All genres accepted. There are only
two constraints. Firstly, that the story must have a nifty
twist at the end that surprises the reader and secondly, that
the story must have some link, no matter how tenuous, to Australia.
The Twisted Stringybark Short Story Award 2011 will be presented to
the writer whose story entertains the judges the most. International
entries are most welcome.
Stories can be fiction, non-fiction or a combination of both - see
the FAQ.
The Twisted Stringybark Short Story Award 2011 offers the winner
A$300 cash, a certificate, publication and a free copy of the anthology
(both paperback and e-book). The second prize winner receives A$125
cash, a certificate, publication and a free copy of the anthology (both
paper back and e-book) and the third prize winner receives $50 cash, a
certificate, publication and a free copy of the anthology (both paper
back and e-book). Authors of highly commended stories are also be
invited to have their stories published.
There is an entry fee of
$9.75
for one story, $18
for two stories or
$25 for
a maximum of three stories.
Stories must be
sent via email.
Closing date for entries is 4 March 2012. Winners will be
notified by 16 April 2012. The word limit is 1500 words.
Cash and publication
First Place
$300 Australian Dollars
Certificate
Publication (hardcopy and/or electronically)*
Free copy of the anthology (hardcopy* and e-book)
Second Place
$125 Australian Dollars
Certificate
Publication (hardcopy and/or electronically)*
Free copy of the anthology (hardcopy* and e-book)
Third Place
$50 Australian Dollars
Certificate
Publication (hardcopy and/or electronically)*
Free copy of the anthology (hardcopy* and e-book)
Highly Commended
Publication (hardcopy and/or electronically)*
*It is expected that both a paperback and an e-book will be published.
However, we reserve the right to publish only one or the other. To date
we have always published paperbacks and e-books.
Conditions
1.Entry is open to all authors of any age or nationality.
2.A maximum of three entries per author will be accepted.
3.The maximum length of any entry is 1500 words.
4.The entry fee must accompany each entry.
5.Stories must be submitted electronically to
judges@stringybarkstories.net
6.Each story must have the cover sheet as its first page. (Download to
the cover sheet to your computer by clicking this link => Twisted
Stringybark Short Story Award Cover Sheet 2012.rtf). Your name must not
appear on the stories but only on the cover sheet. Do not send the cover
sheet as a separate file, but as the first section of your submission.
That is, if you are sending one story, send one file (that incorporates
the story and the cover sheet), two stories, two files and three
stories, three files.
7.Computer file titles are to be named in the format “surname - story
title.doc” For example. If your story is called “The Delicatessen” and
your name is Jane Smith, your file would be called
Smith - The Delicatessen.doc
8.The stories are to be formatted in 12 point Times Roman typeface.
Single spaced and indented paragraphs in preference to block paragraphs.
For a graphical example of what we want, please click here :
http://www.stringybarkstories.net/The_Stringybark_Short_Story_Award/Example_Layout.html
9. Stories are to be sent as a Microsoft Word file (.doc or .docx),
Pages file, Open Office doc file or an RTF. They are not to be hosted on
other websites where they have to be downloaded by the judges. PDF, WPS,
TXT formats are not acceptable.
10.There is an entry fee of $9.75 for one story, $18 for two stories or
$25 for a maximum of three stories.
11. The story must match the competition theme. To meet the theme for
this competition the story must relate to Australia in some manner or
form and have a twist at the end.
12.By submitting the story, the author warrants that the story has not
been published elsewhere and that they own the copyright to the story.
13.If the story wins a place or is highly commended then the author
undertakes to provide the publisher with the right to publish the story.
The copyright to the story is always retained by the author and the
author may submit it elsewhere.
14. If the story does not win a place, the author may still be asked to
contribute their story to an anthology of short stories. Permission to
reprint the story will not be unreasonably withheld.
15. Once the story has been received and registered, no refund of entry
fees will be made.
16.The decision of the judges is final and legally binding and no
correspondence shall be entered into regarding the awards.
17.The closing date for submissions is midnight 4 March 2012 Australian
Eastern Standard Time.
18.Winners will be notified by 16 April 2012 by email. Results will be
published on this website.
Twisted Stringybark Short Story Award 2012
Cover Sheet
Each entry must have a separate cover sheet :
http://www.stringybarkstories.net/The_Stringybark_Short_Story_Award/Twisted_Stringybark_Short_Story_Award_2012.html
Paying is simple
There is an entry fee of A$9.75 for one story, A$18 for two stories or
A$25.00 for a maximum of three stories.
We offer two forms of payment. You can pay via PayPal (this includes
credit card payment — you do not need to belong to PayPal to use this
option). If you wish to do this click the PayPal link below. You can pay
via Direct Deposit. To do this, click the Direct Deposit link below.
Regretfully, we cannot accept cheques, money orders or cash. Gold
bullion on the other hand...
The judges
David Vernon is a full time
writer and editor. While he is known for his non-fiction books about
birth: Men at Birth, Having a Great Birth in Australia, Birth Stories
and With Women, he has turned his hand to writing science articles for
newspapers and magazines as well as scribbling the odd short story or
two. Some would emphasise the word ‘odd’. He established the Stringybark
Short Stories Awards in 2010 to promote short story writing. He is
currently writing an Australian history book. David’s website is:
www.davidvernon.net
After twenty years in the
media Susan Briggs has clocked up million of words as a journalist and
editor for Australian Associated Press in Sydney and the Press Gallery
in Federal Parliament House. But despite her love of words (especially
over a glass of wine), she had originally laughed at the suggestion of a
career in the media. It seems she is still on a journey of personal
discovery, cutting back to a two-day week to enjoy the "good life" on a
small property near Bungendore with husband Graham.
Julia Robertson, a lawyer
by training, spent ten years working for the Institute of Criminology
before resigning to establish her own tourism business down the South
Coast. A voracious reader, Julia suffers from a vast lack of bookshelf
space.
Frequently Asked Questions
1.Why do you charge an entry fee?
There are two reasons for charging an entry fee. Firstly, to defray
expenses. Websites like this do not come cheaply, nor does the time
involved in running a competition or printing a book of winning stories,
or providing a prize. But the main reason is provide an incentive to
writers to provide only their best work. An entry fee helps ensure this
occurs. You won’t pay to enter a bit of rubbish (we hope!).
2.Why did you set up this competition?
We have been concerned that there are inadequate opportunities for
writers to showcase their short stories.
3.Do you meet the Australian Society of Authors Literary Competition
Guidelines?
No. Sadly we do not have the financial resources to meet the Guidelines.
When we are wealthy and the Stringybark Story Awards gain sponsorship,
we shall gladly meet all the ASA Guidelines. The ASA Guidelines appear
to be written for wealthy philanthropic organisations. In the meantime,
we meet as many requirements as possible. As authors ourselves we are
keen not to disadvantage fellow scribblers. If you wish to sponsor a
short story competition, please contact us.
4.Do you accept non-fiction stories?
Yes (except where the competition specifically calls for fiction). Why
not? What is fiction and what is fact? Any re-telling of an event will
have elements of fiction within it. All fiction has elements of fact.
Writing is a spectrum with absolute fact (whatever that may be) at one
end, and fantasy at the other. All stories fall somewhere in between.
5. Will you accept my story if it is published on my website?
We consider electronic publishing to be the same as print publishing.
Any story published elsewhere, on your own website or someone else's,
makes your story ineligible for the Award.
6.If I submit more than one story, can I win more than one prize?
Yes.
7.Can I use references in my story?
Yes, but please put them at the end.
8.Can I submit a children’s story?
You may, but it is unlikely to be to the taste of the judges. The
competition is for stories of interest to adults and perhaps, teenagers
(if you want a younger audience).
9.Can I submit an illustrated story?
You may, but it will have no impact on the judging.
10. What criteria do you use for judging a story?
Stories are scored on six criteria and are awarded a score out of 50
points. Points are allocated as follows: Interest/Entertainment (10
points), Style (10), Plot (10), Characterisation (5), Setting (5),
Spelling/Grammar (5), and a maximum of five points if in the opinion of
the judges, your story should be published.
11. What happens if two or more stories score the same?
That’s why we have three or more judges. This leads stories to being
scored out of 150 (or 200) points and thus minimising the likelihood of
a draw. If there is a draw the judges will get together and argue it out
over a glass of red wine.
12. Why was my story rejected/unpublished/did not win?
Stories are rejected not writers. So please don’t feel too despondent.
Have a look at this page (http://www.stringybarkstories.net/The_Stringybark_Short_Story_Award/Tips_for_Writers.html)
for some hints about improving your story and increasing its likelihood
of publication.
Follow this link to an excellent blog entry about why stories are often
rejected. It will take you off site. “Why did I get rejected?” :
http://writeanything.wordpress.com/2011/01/23/why-did-i-get-rejected/
13. Do you provide feedback on my story?
Yes. But it will cost you A$10 per story. Click here for more
information :
http://www.stringybarkstories.net/The_Stringybark_Short_Story_Award/Feedback.html
14. If you publish one of my stories do I get paid for it?
No. Please see answer 3. If you win, you obviously get the prize money.
If your story is selected for publication you get that wonderful feeling
that all authors want, that someone is reading your work. We would love
to pay you, but sadly we can’t. Maybe next year.
15. Who owns copyright? Can I publish my story elsewhere?
You own the copyright of your story. You can do anything you like with
it after the competition is over. Copyright of the anthology remains
with Stringybark Publishing but copyright of the individual story
remains with the author. Remember some other publishers may not publish
your story if it has already been published. When you enter our
competition you are licensing us to publish your story, if we wish, in
one of our anthologies (either printed or as an e-book and perhaps as a
podcast).
16. Why do I have to format my story using your guidelines?
If you don’t follow the formatting instructions for providing both your
story and the coversheet (See Conditions 7,8,9,10) then we have to do
the formatting for you. We might accidentally remove a line, a comma,
some italics and not notice. When the judge comes to reading your story
and finds the formatting ‘up the creek’ they will look less favourably
on the story than on those whose formatting follows all the
instructions.
17. Can I submit my stories late? I have a really good excuse!
Sorry. No. That would not be fair to other competitors.
18. At uni we are given a 10% leeway on word length. Do you do that?
Nope. We have a strict word length policy. If we ask for a 1500 word
limit then we expect 1500 words or fewer (excluding the title). We may,
at our discretion, allow a longer piece to be judged but it cannot win a
prize. It’s simply not fair on the other competitors.
19.How do I buy one of the books of short stories?
Visit our Bookshop.
Any other questions? Please
contact us at:
judges@stringybarkstories.net
Snail mail:
Stringybark Short Story Awards
Attn: David Vernon
PO Box 851, Jamison Centre,
ACT 2614 |
