2017 Wallace Foundation Short Fiction Contest
Same Same But Different presents the 2017 Wallace
Foundation Short Fiction Contest.
Entries open on 1 October 2016 for the Wallace Foundation Short Fiction Contest was first awarded in 2016, replacing a previous contest, begun in 2014 by express. And this year you can choose your own storyline!
The Wallace Foundation Short Fiction Contest gives New Zealand LGBTIQ writers an opportunity to prove their creative skills and the chance to publish and publicise their work. The competition provides a safe and supportive environment for both emerging and established writers to share their stories. Other than a word limit of 1500 words there are no creative restrictions; entries might express the triumph and joy of alternate sexuality, or the pain and difficulty. They might be funny or sad, sweet or bitter, outrageous or introspective. This longer story should allow you to develop your theme and really demonstrate your storytelling skills. The word limit is a maximum of 1500 words and should not be exceeded.
Participation is the most valued aspect of the
Wallace Foundation Short Fiction Contest. It is a
competition, however, and we are blessed to be part of a
kind and generous community — so the prize is
fabulous!
With the support of The Wallace Foundation and
GABA Trust, we are awarding $600 cash for the winning story
and $300 cash for the best writing from an emerging writer
aged under 25. Please state in your covering email if you
are entering this emerging youth category. All entries will
be judged for the overall contest winner.
The inaugural winner in 2016 with Lily of the Valley was Jade du Preez. The contest will be celebrated at an event at the Pah Homestead in November 2016. The winner will be announced during Same Same But Different during Auckland Pride Festival 2017.
Our judges are well known in queer literary
circles and they take their duties very seriously. They are
looking for outstanding sparks of creative brilliance. This
year the judges are established publisher Ian Watt, who has
notably published books for Reed Publishing, HarperCollins
NZ and Exisle Publishing and Aorewa McLeod who taught in the
University of Auckland English Department for 37 years until
her retirement. She undertook the MA in creative writing at
Victoria University of Wellington in 2011. She has published
as a critic, edited anthologies and published the book Who
Was That Woman Anyway?. They are both thoroughly looking
forward to the experience. Their decision is final.
If
the Wallace Foundation Short Fiction Contest encourages us
to keep telling our unique stories the best way we can, it
will have achieved its aim.
There is no specified theme for 2017. Go with your heart and share your chosen story.
2017 COMPETITION RULES
1. Stories must be
your own work, and not previously published.
2. Stories
must be original works of fiction.
3. All stories should
have relevance to the broader New Zealand LGBTIQ (lesbian,
gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer)
community.
4. Stories must not exceed 1500 words. Any
entry over this limit will be disallowed automatically.
Please include your word count at the end of your
story.
5. Stories must be emailed as attachments in Word
to alternativebindings@gmail.com
6. All stories must be
received by midnight on 20 December 2016. Late entries will
not be accepted.
7. Please include your full name, email
address and contact phone number in your submission
email.
8. Please state in your covering email if you are
entering your story for the award for the best writing from
an emerging writer youth category. If you are please
confirm that you are aged under 25. You will still be
eligible to win the Wallace Foundation Short Fiction
Contest.
9. Your name must not appear in headers or
footers or anywhere in your story – our judges read all
stories in blissful ignorance of the writer’s
identity.
10. Please give your work a name. This helps
us identify each piece.
11. If you submit a story to the
competition, you are also giving us permission to publish
it, which may be online or in a printed publication.
12.
The winner may be invited to read their work at our
winner’s event.
13. You may submit more than one
story.
14. We only accept stories from writers resident
or normally resident in New
Zealand.