Anthrofiction Network

Short Story Contest, Fall 2010

Welcome to Anthrofiction Network’s short story contest for fall 2010.

This Quarter’s Theme is The Gift

A detailed description of this quarter’s theme is on the theme page.

Contest Rules

The rules for entering the contest, how the scores are calculated, and the judging criteria are all on the contest rules page.

Enter Your Story

Authors, do you have a story that would be perfect for this contest? I’d love to see it. Please go to the contest entry page to enter your story.

Sample Story

The purpose of a sample story is to illustrate the use of the theme, but this one may be more interesting than the typical sample story for two reasons.

First, this story is right up against the limits for what’s allowable in the contest. In the rules I reference PG-13, which is subjective, but I also state that things like rape, murder, and sex shouldn’t take place in-scene. Here they don’t, but the villain’s thoughts about what he’ll do next are what push the scene to the wall. I had to ask myself, “If someone entered this in the contest, would I accept it?” I think I would.

Second, this is an excerpt from a larger story in which most of the characters are human, not rabbits. On occasion someone will enter a story where there’s nothing to indicate the characters are anything but human. So, is it possible to rewrite a story to make the characters anthropomorphic? You bet!

Important Dates

Kickoff off and announcement of the theme: 2010-Jul-08.

Last day to enter your story: 2010-Sep-07, at day’s end.

Opening day for public judging of the stories: 2010-Sep-08, when ready.

Last day for the public to turn in ballots: 2010-Oct-07, at day’s end.

Announcement of the judging results: 2010-Oct-08, when ready.

Text of the stories removed from the site: 2011-Jan-07, at day’s end.

Important note: dates roll over at midnight, Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
The time is: 2010-Sep-03 10:23:47.

You have: 4 days, 13 hours, 36 minutes, and 12 seconds left to enter the contest. Reload this page to update.