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Mystery Writers of America - Florida Chapter ~ SLEUTHFEST

SleuthFest 2011 Short Story Contest
The SleuthFest Short Story Contest is now a yearly event. All registrants for SleuthFest 2011 are invited to submit a short story. The winning story will be published in the SleuthFest 2011 program and, in addition, the winner will be given free registration for SleuthFest 2012.

The 2010 SleuthFest Short Story Contest Winner was Elaine Togneri whose winning story was entitled “The Red-Headed League.”

Click to read Elaine's winning story, The Red-Headed League. To learn more about Elaine, visit her website.
 

Elaine Togneri -- 2010 Short Story Winner
Elaine Togneri
2010 Short Story Winner

This time you're on your own. No set-up. No helpful hints. Just give us the best short story you can write in 2500 words or less.

 

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General Guidelines

Deadline
Deadline for submission is January 10, 2011. Manuscripts must be postmarked by that date.

Notification
Finalists will be notified about February 15, 2011. The winner is announced in the best way possible. You open the SleuthFest 2011 Program and find your story featured for all to see.

Manuscript Guidelines
1.) Six copies of each story should be sent to the SleuthFest 2011 Short Story Contest Chair, Bob Williamson, at 1235 NE 96th Street, Miami Shores, FL 33138.
2.) Manuscripts must be submitted on paper. E-mail submissions will not be accepted. An electronic version of the selected story will be needed later, but do not send one unless asked to do so.
3.) Take mercy on your judges’ tired eyes and use a legible standard font such as Courier or Times New Roman at 12 pt size; no fancy fonts or formatting, please. Double space. Indent the first line of new paragraphs by five spaces.
4.) Print on one side of the paper only. Make sure the story title and page number is at the top of each page and use at least 1" margins on all sides. Paper clips are okay, but do not bind, staple, fold, or put your story in a folder.
5.) On the cover sheet only, put your real name, and on new lines each: your pen name if you use one, your address, phone number, e-mail address, and word count (2500 or less) for the story. We need only ONE cover sheet. Judges do not know the names of the people submitting stories.
6.) At the middle of the first page of the story, type the full story title in CAPS, go down two lines and begin the story on the next line:

(Example)
A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT

It was a dark and stormy night….

7.) At the end of your story, type END or ###.
8.) Mail the six copies of the manuscript in an envelope marked "SleuthFest 2011.”
9.) The contest is open to SleuthFest 2011 participants only. You must be registered because we want to introduce the winner at the Friday lunch.

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