2013 Short Story Competition Seeks Entries

Are you a wonderful wordsmith, writing away at short fiction and waiting to win an award? It may be your year.

The 2013 NC State Short Story Contest, sponsored by the NC State University Creative Writing Program, seeks entrants for one of the largest free literary competitions in the South. This annual event is open to all NC residents except tenured/tenure-track professors in the University of North Carolina system; writers with a published book; or previous winners.

The contest has categories for both short fiction and short-short fiction pieces. Short fiction pieces are limited to 5,000 words and are eligible to win the James Hurst Fiction Prize of $500 in addition to honorable mentions. Short-short stories must be shorter than 1,200 words and stand to win $250. Stories for either category must not have been previously published in either printed form or by an established online venue.

This year’s guest judge will be Rebecca Lee, a professor from UNC Wilminton’s MFA program and an acclaimed author. Her recent collection of short stories, “Bobcat and Other Stories,” has received rave reviews, including in the New York Times and INDY week.

The postmark deadline for all entries is October 21. For additional information regarding the contest, including submission guidelines, visit the Creative Writing Program website.

The contests are supported by the Barnhardt Family Fund and other friends of the NC State Creative Writing program.

By Alyssa Putt, CHASS Communication Intern