A final reminder that story nominations for the 2009 Million Writers Award must be made by March 31st. To nominate a story, go here.
The award features the following prize money:
We have now received 169 reader and writer nominations for the Million Writers Award, along with editorial nominations from 40 online magazines (for around 120 editor-nominated stories). Remember: you have until March 31st to make story nominations. Complete information, including nominating links, is here.
Over at HTML Giant is the laugh out loud funny "Guide to becoming a better writer." Among the highlights:
If you can't laugh at yourself, don't even think of being a writer.
Thanks to the generosity of many donors, the 2009 Million Writers Award will offer the following prize money:
As I mentioned elsewhere, I've been overwhelmed by the generosity people have shown through their donations. Many, many thanks to everyone!
Remember, story nominations must be made by March 31st. To nominate a story, go here.
As I mentioned last night, we received so many donations that the top prize for the Million Writers Award is now $500, with the runner-up set to receive $200. In addition, we received a few more donations since that announcement, so I'm trying to decide what to do--should we add the additional money to those prize amounts, or offer a small prize for the third-place honorable mention? Drop me an email with your opinion.
I want to give my great thanks to all the MWA donors. A few donors wished to remain anonymous, while others didn't want a specific dollar amount listed next to their name. To honor these wishes, I've arranged the donors in the following categories. I've also included, where available, a link to the donor's website.
$200 donors
$100 donor
$50 donors
Other donations
Wow! I can't believe how people responded to my call for donations to increase the prize money for this year's Million Writers Award.
First, the background. As I mentioned the other day, our previous monetary sponsor dropped out, meaning we didn't have the $300 we usually give to the overall MWA winner. To ensure that there was at least some award money, I ponied up $50 while storySouth's new publisher, Spring Garden Press, promised another $50, getting us to $100. I then placed a call for donations, hoping we could add a few dollars to that amount.
But instead of a few bucks, we raised just over $600 in two days! With the previously committed money, that means we have $700 to give out. So the top prize for the Million Writers Award is now $500, while this year's runner-up will receive $200.
Thank you to everyone who donated. As people know, too often short story writers receive little if any payment for their work. This money will go a long way toward raising the profile of both the winners of this contest, and online fiction as a whole.
I'm working on a post to honor all the people who donated this money and hope to have it up soon. And while I'm reluctant to turn away anyone who still wishes to donate, please note that we've more than met our goals. That said, if more donations come in, I'll simply use the money to increase the prize money even more.
So many thanks to everyone. And remember--turn in your reader and editor story nominations by March 31, 2009. Complete details are here.
The storySouth Million Writers Award is now open. I will be running the reader and editor nominations from my blog; the main award page on storySouth will be where the notable stories and top ten stories will be posted.
For background information on the award, please see my previous introduction and the award rules. In short, the award is for any fictional short story of at least a 1,000 words published in an online publication during 2008. By "publication," I mean an online magazine or journal with an editorial process (so self-published stories are not eligible).
The deadline for nominations is March 31, 2009.
Thanks to everyone who has taken part in the award in previous years, and I hope you enjoy the award this year.
UPDATE: Thanks to the generosity of many donors, this year's award offers the following prize money:
Please note that we no longer need donations to increase the prize money. However, if anyone still wishes to donate, I will use the money to cover the admittedly small cost of the voting system the award uses; additional money will then be applied to fund next year's prize.
The 2009 Million Writers Award is now open for nominations. This page is for READERS to nominate one short story published in an online magazine during 2008. Editor nominations are here.
If you like what we're doing with this Million Writers Award, please consider making a donation to increase the amount of prize money we can offer. Unlike in previous year's, the 2009 award does not have a monetary sponsor.
Nominations will be accepted through March 31, 2009. If a story is already nominated below, there is no need to nominate that story multiple times. Attempts to "stuff" multiple nominations of the same story by one reader or a group of readers will be deleted.
To nominate a story, please first read the rules, then use the following format to place information in the comment box at the bottom of this page.
storySouth
http://www.storysouth.com
Story: "7 Cornish Hens" by Erich Sysak
http://www.storysouth.com/fiction/2006/11/7_cornish_hens_1.html
Failure to use this format can result in nominations not being considered. Be sure to provide your name and a valid e-mail address or your nomination will not be considered.
The 2009 Million Writers Award is now open for nominations. This page is for EDITORS to nominate three short stories published in their online magazine. Individual nominations are here.
If you like what we're doing with this Million Writers Award, please consider making a donation to increase the amount of prize money we can offer. Unlike in previous year's, the 2009 award does not have a monetary sponsor.
Nominations will be accepted through March 31, 2008. To nominate stories from your online magazine or journal, please first read the rules, then use the format below to place information in the comment box below. Failure to use this format can result in nominations not being considered. Please also provide a valid e-mail with your story nominations. All editor nominations will be verified.
Correction nomination format (which should be entered into the comment box at the bottom of this page):
storySouth
http://www.storysouth.com
Story 1: "7 Cornish Hens" by Erich Sysak
http://www.storysouth.com/fiction/2006/11/7_cornish_hens_1.html
Story 2: "Letters from Mercury" by Jessica Schneider
http://www.storysouth.com/fiction/2006/01/letters_from_mercury.html
Story 3: "Grappling" by Jacob M. Appel
http://www.storysouth.com/fiction/2006/09/grappling_by_jacob_m_appel.html
The Million Writers Award page is working again (with all thanks going to Andrew, storySouth's new web guru). I have now finished pulling together a group of preliminary judges, and expect to open the award to reader and editor nominations within two weeks. Check back here in a day or two for the next update.
A few moments ago I botched an update to the storySouth Million Writers Award page. Before anyone asks, I'm aware of the issue and have emailed storySouth's new system's administrator about fixing the problem. But because its a three-day weekend, this may take time to fix. Until then, rest assured that the award is almost ready to kick off its sixth annual run! It hasn't actually disappeared from the world--only from the storySouth web server.
BTW, due to my error the page is gone. Poof. Not there. That's why the link above redirects to the main storySouth page.
This is the final call for preliminary judges for the 2009 storySouth Million Writers Award. These judges help screen the nominations and select the list of notable stories of the year. As always, I will select a group of judges from across the literary genres.
To apply, e-mail me your writing and/or editing experience at lapthai (circle a sign) yahoo (dot) com. Be sure to tell me why you'd make a good preliminary judge.
As I begin work on the 2009 storySouth Million Writers Award for best online short story, I'm putting out the call for preliminary judge applicants. These judges help screen the nominations and select the list of notable stories of the year. As always, I will select a group of judges from across the literary genres.
To apply, e-mail me your writing and/or editing experience at lapthai (circle a sign) yahoo (dot) com--be sure to tell me why you'd make a good preliminary judge.
Seven years ago, I founded storySouth with my co-editor Jake Adam York. While I've really enjoyed working on this literary journal, the time has come to move on. Anyone wanting all the details can read my introduction to the current issue of storySouth.
storySouth's new publisher will be Spring Garden Press, a well-regarded literary publisher in Greensboro, North Carolina. storySouth'snew editor is Terry Kennedy, the Associate Director of the MFA Writing Program at UNCG Greensboro and the editor of Spring Garden Press. Joining him as fiction editor is Drew Perry, a UNCG alum who teaches fiction writing at Elon University. Julie Funderburk, who previously served as one of storySouth's associate editors, will be the poetry editor, while Andrew Saulters, who created the websites for the UNCG MFA Program, The Greensboro Review, and Spring Garden Press, will be storySouth's new designer.
I will continue to run the magazine's Million Writers Award, but otherwise all the current storySouth editors will be fading into the journal's background. Thanks to all the writers and readers who have supported the journal over the years. But also realize this isn't the end of storySouth--instead, this change is an exciting new start. In the coming months Terry and his crew will be rebuilding and improving the journal, all while continuing to keep the focus on promoting the best new writings from the new South.
The voting for the Million Writers Award is now over and the winning story is "Alex Trebek Never Eats Fried Chicken" by Matt Bell (originally published in Storyglossia). Matt wins the overall prize of $300, which is provided thanks to the sponsorship of the Edit Red Writing Community. Second place goes to "Friday Afternoons on Bus 51" by Sruthi Thekkiam (Blackbird).
These are the final hours of the Million Writers Award, with voting set to end at 11:59 p.m. Eastern time tonight. I'll be up until the very end--making sure there are no last minute attempts at vote stuffing--and I'll officially announce the winner shortly after midnight.
For those needing more of a MWA fix, blogger Erica Naone has written some excellent posts about this year's finalists. Here's her review of Cat Rambo and Jeff VanderMeer's "The Surgeon’s Tale," her thoughts on Matt Bell's "Alex Trebek Never Eats Fried Chicken," her review of Kelly Shriver's "The Ethical Dilemma of a Sandwich Down the Pants," and her analysis of how much fantasy it takes to make a fantasy (with regards to Liz Williams' story "The Hide").
We're about to enter the last day of voting for the Million Writers Award. At 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on July 17, voting will stop. "Alex Trebek Never Eats Fried Chicken" by Matt Bell (Storyglossia) holds a narrow lead over "Friday Afternoons on Bus 51" by Sruthi Thekkiam (Blackbird), so it looks like it will come down to a photo finish between these two stories.
We're into the last week of voting for the Million Writers Award. "Alex Trebek Never Eats Fried Chicken" by Matt Bell (Storyglossia) holds a narrow lead over "Friday Afternoons on Bus 51" by Sruthi Thekkiam (Blackbird), while "The Surgeon's Tale" by Cat Rambo and Jeff VanderMeer (Subterranean) and "We Never Talk About My Brother" by Peter S. Beagle (IGMS) are close behind. So don't forget to cast your vote before voting ends on July 17.
Voting for the Million Writers Award appears to be going smoothly, with just over 500 people casting their votes so far. "Alex Trebek Never Eats Fried Chicken" by Matt Bell (Storyglossia) remains in first place with 18% of the vote, while "Friday Afternoons on Bus 51" by Sruthi Thekkiam (Blackbird) and "The Surgeon's Tale" by Cat Rambo and Jeff VanderMeer (Subterranean) are close behind.
So far attempts to stuff the ballot have been manageable and I've only had to remove a few votes. I should also note that there isn't that big a vote difference between the top five ranking stories, so this remains a very competitive race which can easily swing any way. Remember, voting ends on July 17.
Writer Robert Laughlin e-mailed that he analyzed all the authors who've made it to the different levels of the Million Writers Award over the last five years. His purpose: to determine who are "the Chekhovs and Maupassants of the weblit era."
His findings:
So there you have it--the new weblit Chekhovs and Maupassants.