leethomas, nihilistic_kid, bev_vincent and a host of others are on the planning committee for the World Horror Convention 2011 in Austin, Texas, and so I gladly told them I'd be up for helping out any way I can. Perhaps I spoke too soon, because they've made me one of the judges for their short story contest!Black Static Magazine and WHC 2011 Short Story Contest:
In conjunction with Black Static Magazine, we are proud to announce the World Horror Convention 2011 Short Story Contest. Writers from around the world will be able to submit their most engaging and terrifying short fiction to our judging panel for the chance to have their story published.
And we do mean published! The winning entry will appear in the collectible WHC 2011 Souvenir Book, alongside work by Sarah Langan, Joe Hill, Steve Niles, Peter Crowther, Joe R. Lansdale, Brian Keene and other top genre names. In addition to appearing in the Souvenir Book, the winning entry will be republished in Black Static Magazine and will be paid industry professional standard of .05 per word.
What's most exciting about this contest is that the winning story will be published twice, once in the collectable souvenir book and then again in the U.K.'s superb magazine Black Static for professional rates, both of which should result in the winner getting quite a bit of good exposure. All the contest details can be found at the link above, but here's the skinny:
+ you have to buy a membership to the convention before you can submit a story
+ contest starts August 31, 2010, and ends October 31, 2010
+ stories should be 500-4,000 words
+ submissions will have all author information stripped from them before being sent to the judges
+ the contest judges are myself, Mary SanGiovanni, Weston Ochse and Wrath James White
WHC 2011 is shaping up to be the best World Horror Convention in ages. You won't want to miss it! And if you're planning to attend, why not submit a short story to the contest too? With the deadline still most of the year away, there's plenty of time for you to come up with something extraordinary!
