Saturday, June 6, 2015

Short Story Contest



Homeschooled Authors is happy to announce we are hosting a Jane Austen short story contest! But this isn’t just any short story contest; this contest will get your story in print! Contest deadline is May 31, 2016.Winners will be announced June 2016. Six stories will be selected, with the possibility for six more for a second collection. The collection will be published in the Fall of 2016.

What kind of story should you write?
This contest is for a collection of six stories of Jane Austen retellings, Second Impressions. You can pick any setting or genre (except erotica and horror. If you choose fantasy, keep it light and little to no magic). It can be set in any time period, and told from any character perspective.
All the stories should have classic, timeless feel to them. While you can take some liberties with the story, major changes to original plots are discouraged (i.e. making villain out to be good guy, changing who gets with who, etc.).
Christian themes welcome (though as long as the story is morally good, not necessary), but should not be preachy, they should come out as a natural part of the story. Scripture quotes should be very limited.

Who will be judging and how it will work.
This contest will be judged by Hannah, who will be overseeing the collection.

Hannah Scheele is a Texas native and college graduate. She loves dogs, cats, and movies.  She enjoys any genre if the book is worth reading.  She feels there is no such thing as a badly written book--there is only a good story and a bad story.
(See what she likes to read on her Goodreads page)

To enter, send your short story to thedestinyofone(at)yahoo(dot)com (replacing (at) with @ and (dot) with .). Your story will them be assigned a number then anonymously sent to Hannah. She will not know who wrote what stories until after final selections have been made.

The boring (but important details)
Did we mention no erotica or horror? Well, it is worth repeating.
The contest is open to ALL writers, not just those who were/are homeschooled.
Your story should me no more the 15,000 words.
Each author will be given an author page within the collection and 1 physical copy.
You should submit a Microsoft Word document if at all possible.
Your name should not be anywhere in the document you submit, only in the email.

The Fun Stuff

Here is the cover with sample story names. Will your name be there?

What to tell others about the contest?

Share this image and link it to this post!

37 comments:

  1. Definitely interested! I was thinking about revising my original story "Lissie" - JA themed - so this would be perfect.

    Also it's Jane "Austen" not "Austin" - Texas gals, I see..... hahaha

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    1. Julia,

      I hope you enter! We would love to have you!

      Sarah

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  2. How exciting! I will be entering, God-willing, and already have my story started! Yay!
    I'll also try to share on my blog soon. :)

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  3. Oh this sounds so neat! I love the idea!

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  4. Sounds cool, although I have never read a Jane Austen Book so that could be a problem.

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    1. Clare, watch the long version of a couple of the movies and you will have a good grasp of Austen.

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  5. Love this idea, and though I won't be contributing to the writing I know I will be in line to buy a copy in the future! ;) I'm a big Jane Austen fan.

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    1. Rachel,
      We promise it will be something spiceal.

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  6. What a neat idea! I am maxed out on my list of things to write - and I tend to stick close to the fantasy genre, which isn't as beloved over here ;) so I won't be entering the contest... but I will definitely buy it the second it hits the amazon store-front!

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    1. Jenelle,
      I understand being maxed out. I hope you will be able to enter next time!

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  7. Oh, I hope I can do this!! <3 Jane Austen is one of my writing heroes!!

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  8. Can a person enter more than one story? As separate entries obviously.

    I don't necessarily plan on writing or entering more than one, but I wanted to know if the option was on the table, and I noticed that question wasn't covered in the rules.

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  9. Do you have a minimum word count that you prefer? I'm just getting the "bigger than a breadbox but smaller than a truck" vibe. ;)

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    1. Sarah,

      We don't have a minimum, but you are right about the vibe. We look forward to your entry!

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  10. This sounds really neat and I would love to enter, Lord willing! I have a question, though---if I choose a story to retell, am I supposed to basically write a shortened retelling of the entire novel? Or am I supposed to just pick a scene or two out of the book, and retell that? Since the maximum word count is only 15,000 words, I wasn't sure how much of the story I could fit in.

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    1. It can be a part of the story, a prequel story, or maybe and idea of what happened afterward. If could be a story about one of the minor characters, or perhaps a glimpse into why one of the main characters made a decision. There are all sorts of possibilities. Good luck, Katherine!

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    2. Since I can write about something that may have happened afterwards, is it possible to make Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy to have children? (the story would be focused on the children)

      CutePolarBear

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  11. I would LOVE to do this, but don't have any time b/c of college and work, plus it's a little late in the game :( lol But what an AWESOME idea :)

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  12. Must we stick to the six major novels? I've got a few ideas for Sanditon, which might have been Jane's final novel had she finished it before her death. Thank you!

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    Replies
    1. Any Jane Austen related short story is welcome from any of her works.

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  13. I know it's a little late, but I'm hoping I will find time to participate in this! It sounds like fun!! :)
    I do have one question, though: Is there a word minimum? I understand that writers should not go over fifteen-thousand words, but is there a word limit they SHOULD go over?
    Thanks! :)

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  14. I am interested in entering, but I do have a question: am I supposed to write about one of Jane Austen's characters, (just a different story than in her books) or a story that Jane Austen could have written, having a surface of romantic life but the deeper meaning being Christian? Thanks!

    CutePolarBear

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    1. It should be related in some way to Jane Austen's characters and books. If can be a side character, someone in the same town, or something like that, but it should be related to her stories.

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    2. Okay, thanks! I'll try to enter. :)

      CutePolarBear

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  15. Replies
    1. What does second impression mean though?

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    2. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Impression

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  16. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  17. I'm surprised this contest isn't closed yet. Maybe I'll try my hand at something, but would a new story about Jane Austen's characters be acceptable? Something that takes place in the future?

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