The public vote for the storySouth Million Writers Award is now open. All writers and readers are welcome to take part in the vote, which will last until 11:59 pm Eastern time on May 31, 2010.

To take part, simply email me at storysouth@yahoo.com for the password and voting link.
To see the continually updated vote tally, please go here.

Please note this isn't my regular email. After you email, you will receive a Yahoo Auto Response with the link and password. If you have any problems with the system, please contact me.

I apologize in advance for any hassles, but writers and readers get really worked up about literary awards and I believe this system will prevent any attempts at ballot stuffing. And before anyone asks whether I'll be able to identify individual voter choices, no, I will not. Your vote will be between yourself and your favorite literary god(s).

As a reminder, here are this year's top ten stories, from which the top stories will be voted on:

"Secondhand Objects" by Renee Simms (from 42opus)
"I Am My Rooster" by Taylur Thu Hien Ngo (from Blackbird)
"The Library" by Jolie Braun (from BluePrintReview)
"Non-Zero Probabilities" by N. K. Jemisin (from Clarkesworld Magazine)
"A Song to Greet the Sun" by Alaya Dawn Johnson (from Fantasy Magazine)
"The Moose Head Haus" by Tom Burkett (from Storyglossia)
"Ditch" by Eric Beetner (PDF download, from Thuglit)
"Eros, Philia, Agape" by Rachel Swirsky (from Tor.com)
"This Program Contains Actual Surgical Procedures" by Roxane Gay (from Twelve Stories)
"Hospitality" by Summer Block (from Wheelhouse Magazine)

Thanks to our generous donors, this year the prizes break down as follows:

First place: $400, plus the $100 ThinkGeek gift certificate and a one-year Greatest Uncommon Denominator subscription;
Runner-up: $200, plus PDFs of GUD magazine;
Honorable mention (third place): $50, plus PDFs of GUD magazine.