Contest
Abandoned Towers 2012 Writing Contest
To help celebrate the official relaunch of Abandoned Towers we are holding a writing contest! Please read the whole page for complete details.
NOTE: We’ve had some people with problems submitting through the eSub system, so we will be extending the deadline two weeks so that we can ensure that the problem is dealt with. New deadline is June 1 2012. We apologize for the inconvenience and hope that everyone who wishes to submit is able to.
Theme
The theme for the first Abandoned Towers writing contest is:
The concept of “abandoned towers” must be incorporated into the piece, as a phrase, allusion, metaphor, physical tower… however you choose.
Genres
- Short Story: any genre is acceptable for the contest
- Poetry: any form is acceptable for the contest
- Flash Fiction: any genre is acceptable for the contest
Length
- Short Story: 5,000 words or less
- Poetry: 10 pages or less (aprox 250 lines or less)
- Flash Fiction: 1000 words or less
Cost
- Short Story: $10 per entry or $25 for 3 entries
- Poetry: $5 per entry or $12 for 3 entries
- Flash Fiction: $2 per entry or $5 for 3 entries
Note: all entry fees and prizes are in US dollars.
Prizes
All winners and honourable mentions receive publication and a free electronic copy of the Abandoned Towers issue in which their entry appears. They also receive an author page on AbandonedTowers.com where they can include a biography and links to their assorted websites, works and accomplishments.
Short Story
| 1st Place | 2nd Place | 3rd Place | Honourable Mention |
|---|---|---|---|
| $500 | $250 | $100 | $10 |
Poetry
| 1st Place | 2nd Place | 3rd Place | Honourable Mention |
|---|---|---|---|
| $100 | $75 | $50 | $5 |
Flash Fiction
| 1st Place | 2nd Place | 3rd Place | Honourable Mention |
|---|---|---|---|
| $50 | $25 | $15 | $5 |
Note: all entry fees and prizes are in US dollars.
Purpose
We’re hosting this writing contest for a number of reasons, but in the interest of transparency we’ll share them with you here:
- To celebrate the relaunch of Abandoned Towers!
- To provide an opportunity for writers to be recognized and rewarded for the excellence of their writing
- To provide a sense of excitement about and interest in in Abandoned Towers
- To increase the profile of Abandoned Towers
- To provide a source of material to be published on AbandonedTowers.com and in print editions of Abandoned Towers
- To provide seed funding to Abandoned Towers, allowing for a budget to improve and expand the magazine
- To help Abandoned Towers move closer to its goal of becoming a professional market
Fine Print
Each submission category requires a minimum number of entries in order to proceed. If the minimum is not achieved all entry fees will be returned to the authors, and all rights will revert to the author. The minimums are:
- Short Story: 100 total entries
- Poetry: 50 total entries
- Flash Fiction: 50 total entries
Winners will be selected prior to short list announcement in order to preserve anonymity of the pieces. Short listed pieces which do not win or receive honourable mentions will be published to AbandonedTowers.com (upon contest close). If in the opinion of the judges there are not 3 pieces worthy of prizes, those deemed worthy of prizes will split the remaining unrewarded purse(s).
Example: if no third place short story is chosen, then first place would instead receive $500 + $50 = $550 and second place would receive $250 + $50 = $300, so the total purse of $850 is still awarded.
If, in the opinion of the judges, no piece is worthy of being declared “winner” the entire purse for the category will be awarded to a randomly selected author of a short listed piece.
Rights
During the submission process you will be asked to provide the following rights to Abandoned Towers.
Submitted Piece
First world electronic rights (text and audio). If the piece is not published electronically within the calendar year 2012, all rights revert to the author.
Short Listed Piece
In addition to first world electronic rights (text and audio), we claim first print rights and non-exclusive anthology rights.
Honourable Mention
In addition to first world electronic rights (text and audio), we claim first print rights and exclusive anthology rights (for 1 year, after which they become non-exclusive anthology rights).
Winning Piece
In addition to first world electronic rights (text and audio) we claim first print rights and exclusive anthology rights (for 2 years, after which they become non-exclusive anthology rights).
Judging
Pieces will be judged on the following 5 criteria (equally):
- Theme: how well the piece incorporates the theme “abandoned towers”
- Writing: the quality of the writing
- Potential: the quality of the ideas
- Enjoyment: how much the judge enjoyed the piece
- Intangibles: everything else
For information on becoming a judge, or on what the judges do, or on who they are check out the judges page (which includes links to information about the individual judges).
Dates
The following are the milestone dates for the contest:
- 01 Feb 2012: Announcement of the Contest
- February 2012: publicity and judge recruiting
- 01 Mar 2012: Contest starts accepting submissions – enter now!
- 1 Jun 2012: Contest closes to new entries (EDITED TO 1 Jun by K.E. Abel on 18 Mar)
- 01 Jul 2012: Flash Fiction Short List announced
- 08 Jul 2012: Poetry Short List announced
- 15 Jul 2012: Short Story Short List announced
- 22 Jul 2012: Flash Fiction winners announced
- 29 Jul 2012: Poetry winners announced
- 05 Aug 2012: Short Story winners announced
- August 2012: Issue of Abandoned Towers featuring the contest winning pieces is released
Note: the above dates are subject to change depending on the volume of entries received. We believe that they are realistic, but we reserve the right to adjust them if required, although we will do so as little as possible.
How to Enter
You enter the contest using Abandoned Towers eSub system and make payment through PayPal. Enter NOW!