Contest Judge Dorothy Allison

We are pleased to announce the Saints and Sinners GLBT Literary Festival’s Third Annual Short Fiction Contest. SAS Fest is seeking original, unpublished short stories between 5,000 and 7,000 words with GLBT content on the broad theme of “Saints and Sinners.”

Judge: Dorothy Allison. The author of Bastard Out of Carolina and Cavedweller, Allison will select the winning stories.

Prize: One grand prize of $250 and two second place prizes of $50 will be awarded. In addition, the top stories will be published in an anthology from QueerMojo, an imprint of Rebel Satori Press. There will also be a book release party to promote the Saints and Sinners Literary Festival in New Orleans May, 2012.

Eligibility:

• The contest is open to authors at all stages of their careers and to stories in all genres.
• Only previously unpublished stories will be accepted.
• Stories that won this contest in previous years are ineligible; their authors remain eligible but must submit new work.
• Stories submitted to this contest in previous years that did not place are eligible.
• Stories that have won any other writing contest are ineligible.

Guidelines:

• Submissions should be in standard manuscript format (double-spaced, one inch margins, 12 point font). Please include a word count on first page under the title.
• Your name and contact information should NOT appear on the manuscript.
• No bios or resumes. We only consider manuscript quality.
• Word Count: 5,000 to 7,000
• Submit only original, unpublished short stories.
• Theme (interpret as you wish): Saints and Sinners

Entry fee: $15 per story. There is no limit on the number of stories each author may enter.

Deadline: December 1, 2011 (postmark)

To enter by mail: download the entry form and send 2 copies of each story with a completed entry form and your $15 entry fee to

Saints and Sinners Short Fiction Contest
938 Lafayette Street, Suite 514
New Orleans, LA 70113

To enter online: Click the button below to pay online and upload your script. One script per transaction please. To enter more than one script, please complete the online entry process for each entry.

Fiction Contest Online Submission Step 1: Entry Fee

To begin the Fiction Contest submission process by paying your $15 entry fee, click the button below. Once you’ve paid your entry fee, you’ll be taken to the Entry Submission form to provide additional information and upload your contest entry.
Read the contest eligibility rules and guidelines above BEFORE you begin the online submission process. Submission fees are non-refundable.

And, without further ado, the winner is: SALLY BELEROSE, and our two runners-up are: FELICE PICANO and JOHN MORGAN WILSON.  

Here’s the list of “nominees” from each category:

Fiction Contest Finalists and winners:

• “Fishwives” by Sally Bellerose, Northampton, Massachusetts (WINNER)

• “Everyone Has a Shazam!” by Felice Picano, West Hollywood, California (RUNNER-UP)

• “The Kindness of Strangers” by John Morgan Wilson, West Hollywood, California (RUNNER-UP)

• “Backfire” by David-Matthew Barnes, Hampton, Georgia

• “Hometown Boy” by Nathan Burgoine, Ottawa, Ontario

• “Who the Hell is Rachel Wells?” by J.R. Greenwell, Cox’s Creek, Kentucky

• “Like Spinning Stars, Like Flowers” by Alex Jeffers, Pawtucket, Rhode Island

• “Off Balance” by Belea T. Keeney, Apex, North Carolina

• “Path of Gold” by Jeff Lindemann, Houston, Texas

• “Put That Record On, Fat Man” by Tasha C. Miller, Cambridge, Massachusetts

• “Forgiveness” by Joe Openshaw, Bessemer, Alabama

• “The Altruist” by Shawn Syms, Toronto, Ontario

• “Final Farewells” by Steve Scott, Rancho Mirage, California

• “The Cocktail Hour” by John Morgan Wilson, West Hollywood, California

Play Contest Finalists:

• “The Library of Tomorrow” by Jacob M. Appel, New York, NY

• “Circle” by Suzanne Bachner, New York, NY

• “Memorial” by Anna Renee Pattison, Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts

• “Bad Beans” by James Magruder, Baltimore, Maryland

• “Mona Lisa” by Ron Burch, Los Angeles, California

• “Suzzy Wells & the Supergirls” by Gerald Arthur Moore, Moncton, New Brunswick

• “From Prague” by Kyle Bradstreet, Brooklyn, New York

• “The Eleven O’Clock Number” by John Kane, West Hollywood, California

• “The Atoning” by Ray Connell Sawyer, Richmond Hill, Georgia

• “Driving to the Moon” by Kim Hanna, Tampa, Florida

• “Chez Gisele” by Dennis Ward, Opelousas, Louisiana

• “The Gallerist” by Fengar Gael, New York, New York

• “The Last Nights of the Sunshine Sage Club” by William Fowkes, New York, New York

John Berendt

JUDGE: Bestsellling author John Berendt (Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, The City of Falling Angels)

The Saints and Sinners GLBT Literary Festivals Second Annual Short Fiction Contest is soliciting original, unpublished short stories between 5,000 and 7,000 words with GLBT content on the broad theme of Saints and Sinners. The contest is open to authors at all stages of their careers and to stories in all genres.

The entry fee is $15 per story. There is no limit on the number of stories each author may enter. One grand prize of $250 and two second place prizes of $50 will be awarded. In addition, the top stories will be published in an anthology from QueerMojo, an imprint of Rebel Satori Press. There will also be a book release party held during the 9th annual Saints and Sinners Literary Festival in New Orleans May 12-15, 2011. The deadline for the receipt of manuscripts has been extended to December 1, 2010.

The winner of the First Annual Short Fiction Contest is Wayne Lee Gay of Denton, Texas for his story “Ondine.”

• Wayne Lee Gay recently completed the Ph.D. in creative writing / fiction at the University of North Texas. He also holds degrees in music history and musicology from Baylor and the University of Iowa. During an earlier career as a journalist and classical music critic, he was named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for criticism. His fiction has appeared in Swell and SN Review, and his poetry appears in The Weight of Addition: An Anthology of Texas Poets.

Our two runners-up are Danny Bracco of San Francisco for “Dancing Pink Roses” and James Driggers of Asheville, NC for “Jesus Is My BFF.”

The winning stories, along with new stories by a few of the best names in GLBT literature, have been collected into an anthology, Saints & Sinners 2010: New Fiction from the Festival, by QueerMojo, an imprint of Rebel Satori Press. A book release party featuring readings by the winners and others will be held on Thursday, May 13 as a fundraiser for the festival. A copy of the anthology is included with the event ticket. Order at www.sasfest.org

The winner of the FOURTH ANNUAL FULL-LENGTH PLAYWRITING CONTEST is St. Louisian Jerry Rabushka for his play Brushup Ten.

• Jerry Rabushka is a writer, actor, musician, and composer. He is a co-founder of Ragged Blade Productions, where he gained experience writing and producing plays, and in 2006 received the Director’s Award at the Columbus Gay & Lesbian Theater Festival for its efforts in bringing GLBT theater to St. Louis. Many of his scripts, ranging from 3 minutes to full length, have been published by Brooklyn Publishers, and some are also available from Heuer Publishing. His band, The Ragged Blade Band, plays his original tunes in St. Louis and on the road. Rabushka has toured two of his plays to New Orleans; his play “He’s a Real Boy Now” was a Saints and Sinners finalist in 2007.

  Brushup Ten
  will premiere at the Marigny Theatre during the Saints and Sinners weekend. Tickets are available through the Marigny Theatre. Stay tuned for our next e-newsletter for further information on our theatre events.

Congratulations to all our winners and finalists!