MONTHLY COMPETITIONS (ROUND 1)

Submissions to the monthly competition in each category are accepted electronically. Entries submitted after midnight, Pacific Standard Time, on the last day of a given month will be entered into the following month's competition.

If requested at the time of submission, winners and first runners-up in each category will receive our reader comments via e-mail. Winners who have granted us the right to post their winning entry will have the opportunity to edit and resubmit their work based on our reader comments before we announce the winner on our website.

Monthly winners and first runners-up are announced approximately three weeks after the last day of each month. If the author has given permission to post the submitted work, the winning entry is hosted on this site and linked to the announcement.

YEARLY COMPETITIONS (ROUND 2)

Monthly winners and first runners-up within each category are automatically entered into the yearly competition for that category and division. The only way to enter a yearly competition is by winning or placing as the first runner-up in one of our monthly competitions. At the year's end (by early December), all monthly winners and first runners-up will be given the opportunity to submit edited versions of their original entries. Yearly winners are announced approximately one month after the year's end.

AWARDS

In addition to listing the winners' names on our site, winning entries will be awarded the following:

• Monthly Winners (Round 1) receive a $25 honorarium, generally in the form of an electronic gift card.
• Yearly Winners (Round 2) receive a further $225 award, generally in the form of an electronic gift card.
• All winning entries are hosted on our site for up to a year at the author's discretion (copyright always remains with the author).
• Monthly winners and first runners-up in each category (Round 1) are automatically entered into that category's yearly competition (Round 2).
• Entries of monthly winners and runners-up receive reader comments upon request. Winning entries may be updated by authors in light of our readers' comments before we publish the entries on our site.
• WritersType will forward inquiries from publishing professionals to winning authors (with author permission).

CATEGORIES OF COMPETITION

• Flash Fiction Competition

Often called a "Short Short-Story," we accept submissions up to 1,000 words. Most entries, however, are around 300 - 500 words. Flash Fiction submissions must contain a discernable plot and at least one character. Submissions may be of any form, style, or subject matter.

Each Flash Fiction entry must be self-contained, must be titled, and must be previously commercially unpublished. Before submission, it would be advantageous to review our advice on editing.

Please, remember to include your name, the name of your work, and your email address in the text of the uploaded Flash Fiction story (preferably in the header or footer). If you have a website that you would like us to link to should you win, please include that web address in the text of your submission.

• Short Story Competition

Short stories should be focused. That is, they should be characterized by several of the following: highlighting of one incident, focusing on one single plot, setting in one place, limiting to a small number of characters, or spanning a narrow period of time. However, short story submissions may be of any form, style, or subject matter.

Each short story must be self-contained, must be titled, and must be previously commercially unpublished. While short story submissions can be from 1,000 to 6,000 words in length, please remember that a short story should be easily readable in one sitting. Before submission, it would be advantageous to review our advice on editing.

Please, remember to include your name, the name of your work, and your email address in the text of the uploaded short story (preferably in the header or footer). If you have a website that you would like us to link to should you win, please include that web address in the text of your submission.

• First Chapter Competition

This competition is limited to the first chapter of completed, but commercially unpublished, novels of any genre. Please do not submit chapters from elsewhere in your novel. However, you may include a brief prologue as part of your first chapter. This competition is to aid in creating a buzz around quality new works.

Each first chapter submitted must be previously commercially unpublished and must be the introduction to a completed larger work. Your submission can be up to 6,000 words in length. Before submission, it would be advantageous to review our advice on editing.

Please, remember to include your name, the name of your work, and your email address in the text of the uploaded chapter (preferably in the header or footer). If you have a website that you would like us to link to should you win, please include that web address in the text of your submission.