As we edge into the middle of March, it is time to announce our Short Story Competition! This is exciting news for several profound reasons:
1. We get to read more of your amazing work
2. It is our first competition with more to come!
3. 1st and 2nd place winners will receive CASH prizes and all winners will appear in The Abstract Quill
AWARDS GIVEN TO WINNERS:
- 1st Place: $100 and publication in our June 1st issue
- 2nd Place: $25 and publication in our June 1st issue
- 3rd Place: Publication in our September issue
GUIDELINES, RULES, OPPRESSIVE DICTATORSHIP:
- Payments will be made via Paypal to winners of the competition
- Although we will consider work of any genre, PLEASE take the time to read our guidelines as they will still apply for contest submissions.
- We ask that you title your email “AUTHOR NAME — CONTEST SUBMISSION” to ensure it does not get lost in the shuffle.
- Winners will be notified and announced by May 25th with payment to be made after June 1st
SUBMISSIONS
The Abstract Quill is dedicated to publishing the best in high-quality fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. While we accept a variety of genres and types please keep the following in mind:
- Vampires have been done. Unless you’re Anne Rice or will absolutely blow us away, please don’t waste your precious time or ours.
- Heaving bosoms, manly men with no depth, and otherwise irritating stereotypes need not apply.
- If it’s porny, gory, or some exotic twist of both, it’s probably not going to work for us.
- We have a particular interest in speculative, science fiction, and literary work. If you can blend all three, so much the better for you and for us.
Submissions may be sent to our lovely slush editor/editors (editors @ theabstractquill dot com) Please read the guidelines below before submitting (obviously, we would hope.)
GENERAL GUIDELINES
- Attach submissions as a Word-compatible document to your email, preferably .doc or .rtf.
- PLEASE SPECIFY IN THE EMAIL SUBJECT IF YOUR SUBMISSION IS POETRY, FICTION, NON-FICTION, ETC. This will help expedite our reading/sorting process.
- Include a cover letter with your submission — in the body of the email. If we receive an empty email with an attachment it will not be read and you will not receive a response.
- Arial, Courier, or Times New Roman, readable font size, and no fancy editing or complex maneuvers. Let your work speak for itself, anything else is a negative distraction.
- Please include your contact information, which would obviously be your name and email address. No, we won’t be calling you at home or penning a pretty postcard… unless we’re bored or otherwise enthralled beyond our reasonable senses. No promises.
- Please only send one submission at a time — wait for a response — then send another. If you inundate us with submissions we shall inundate you with rejections.
- Multiple submissions are considered but show courtesy and notify us if it has been accepted elsewhere.
FICTION
Length: 500 – 5,000 words — though for longer works it better be damn brilliant. We will consider all genres with particular attention paid to quality speculative, science fiction, and literary work. And no, throwing in a random alien doesn’t make it science fiction.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
For inquiries: editors @ theabstractquill dot com
For submissions: editors @ theabstractquill dot com
Website: http://theabstractquill.com
