Tag Archives: contest

NEWS: Pirate Week, and a Contest

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I’ve teased a “Pirate Week” a couple of times over the past few months, and now I’m announcing that it is Officially On.

For the week of February 20 to 24, 2012, every story posted to 50WS will be pirate-themed. I’ll be looking for as many submissions as I can get. Forget one story per day, or even two stories per day: I’m going to post as many stories each day during that week as seems appropriate, so get writing and send your work in!


And guess what: there will be prizes! Here is the updated full prize list:

Fine print re: t-shirts: Shirts with stories on the back are only available up to size Large right now, but shirts with blank backs are available in more sizes. Shipping inside North America is included with your prize; if the winner lives outside North America I’d appreciate $5 to help cover the additional postage costs.

Contest Rules:

  • Each entrant is free to submit up to 5 separate stories.
  • Each story must be exactly 50 words long, not including the title.
  • Every story must have a pirate theme to be considered for publication and/or a prize.
  • If any runner-up winner already possesses an ebook copy of Fifty-Word Stories: Volume Two, the prize may be exchanged for a different ebook.
  • All entries must be received by February 17, 2012.

I’m looking forward to seeing what lands in my inbox. Arr, maties!

NEWS: Win a Free Volume Two Ebook

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Want a chance to win a free prerelease copy of the Fifty-Word Stories: Volume Two ebook? You have two chances to do so!

If you’re on Facebook, head over to the Fifty-Word Stories Facebook page and press “Like” on this photo.

If you have a Google+ account, click +1 on this post.

On September 10, I will do a separate random draw on each of these sites, and one Liker and one +1er will each receive a Volume Two ebook.

Of course, if you aren’t content to leave things to chance, you can always preorder a copy today.

NEWS: Draw Results

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It happened later than I originally intended it to, but the draw for the contest to win a print copy of Fifty-Word Stories: Volume One has taken place!

So…

I guess I should say who won, then.

I put all the names into a hat, and mixed ’em up good.

Then I closed my eyes, swirled ’em all around, and pulled out…

Congratulations to sketchlayerJosh, who entered via Twitter! I’ll be getting in touch so I can send a book winging its way along to you (Canada Post permitting).

Thank you to everyone who got involved on Twitter and Liked my Facebook page to enter.

NEWS: GeekingOutAbout Contest Results

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The 50-word story contest over at www.GeekingOutAbout.com has wrapped up, and the winners have been announced!

Congratulations to Chris Fries and Leslie Hanna, who won an ebook copy of Fifty-Word Stories: Volume One, and to D.C. McMillen, whose story The 8:15 Train (which you can read below) earned the $25 top prize.

 

The 8:15 Train

We purposely collided on the 8:15. Before reaching this pivotal moment, we’d spent weeks admiring each other from afar. She laughed, taking the blame for our faux collision. Some small talk, then we played hooky at a nearby hotel. Now I take the 7:45.

 

It was a great contest, and really difficult to judge. Head over to the GeekingOutAbout post to read some more of the really strong entries.

NEWS: Draw for Contest Winner Will Happen Soon

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I had intended to do the draw for the winner of the contest to win a print copy of Fifty-Word Stories: Volume One today, but my schedule isn’t allowing for it, unfortunately.

So the draw is postponed until tomorrow (Tuesday) evening. I’ll post the results here and on Twitter. Thank you to everyone who entered!

NEWS: Win a Print Copy of Fifty-Word Stories: Volume One

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If you don’t yet have a copy of Fifty-Word Stories: Volume One in print, how would you like a chance to win one?

On Monday, June 13, I will draw one name from a hat to win a print copy of Volume One.

How do you get your name in the hat? There are three “fronts” to the contest, and each can get you one entry. (That’s a maximum of three entries per person, for all you Math majors.)

First, you can share a link to FiftyWordStories.com on Twitter, making sure to include the hashtag #50wordstories.

Second, you can Like my new Page on Facebook.

Third, you can join in the discussion about the short story Saucer from my recent short fiction collection, Living and Dying. Everyone who comments on this blog post will receive an entry. If you haven’t read Saucer yet, get the collection here!

Good luck, everyone!

Note: If the winner lives outside of North America, they’ll have to cover the difference between the North American and outside-of-North-America shipping.

NEWS: GeekingOutAbout.com Guest Post and Contest

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Today www.GeekingOutAbout.com shared a guest post I wrote for them, about my experiences writing fifty-word stories and some of my other favourite microfiction formats and websites. This post has taken a little while to put together, and to find the right timing for sharing it, but I’m really excited to get it out there for people to see, and GeekingOutAbout is a great place to post it. Head over there to get some insight and recommendations from me, including an excerpt from the Tips and Tricks section of Fifty-Word Stories: Volume One.

In addition to sharing my guest post, GeekingOutAbout is also running a 50-word story contest, to celebrate their one-year anniversary (congratulations, by the way, guys!). The details are all here. The best three stories sent to geekingoutabout@gmail.com by May 31 will win a free Fifty-Word Stories: Volume One ebook bundle, and the first-prize winner will also receive $25 to the online retailer of their choice! That’s a pretty awesome prize, in my opinion, so get writing, and I can’t wait to see all of your submissions.

NEWS: Valentine’s Day Contest Recap

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I posted some thoughts about the Valentine’s Day contest over at TimSevenhuysen.com, including what I liked about each of the stories that were posted today.

In total, 22 people submitted 29 stories for the contest, and I really enjoyed receiving and reading them all. I hope you’ll all submit more stories in the future, both for other contests and for weekly guest stories.

Also, as a special thank you, if you submitted a story for the contest I’ve emailed you a thank you note which contains a 50% off coupon for the Volume One ebook bundle, so if you use that coupon before February 21, the bundle is under $2!

Winning Entry – RAMMY MEYEROWITZ: Sisters

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Rammy won the 2011 Valentine’s Day contest with the following entry:

Of course they look alike; they’re sisters.

Coincidentally, I met them on Valentine’s Day and immediately fell in love, and now they live with me.

It was through a want ad: “New in town. Looking for friends, a litter box, and meow mix.”

I named my kittens Always and Forever.

Rammy Meyerowitz is a Puzzle Person and a Cultural Marginal, as well as a jewish atheist and a secular humanist.

Second Runner Up – DEREK MULLANARI: Binary Love

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Derek’s story earned second runner up in the 50WS Valentine’s Day contest:

“Do you love me?”

They were young, and she laughed. “Zero. Computers can’t love, silly.”

Eons passed. They were alone, together. As entropy drained the last drops of energy in the universe, he strained to ask the question one last time.

“Do you love me?”

“One. Always and forever.”

Derek Mullanari is a teenager who enjoys writing science fiction.