Golden Donut Short Story Contest Opens February 1, 2023
Open to all writers. Win the prestigious Golden Donut Award!
The Golden Donut Short Story Contest Rules
The rules are simple. Write a story about the photograph provided using exactly 200 words — including the title. Each story needs an original title, and the image must be the main subject of the story. No clues as to the subject matter of the image or where it was taken. You decide. Let your imagination run wild. Remember though, what you see in the image absolutely must be the main subject of your tale.
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Entry Fee: $25 per submission
3 submissions allowed per person.
*Due to an internal glitch, the submission deadline has been extended to: Midnight (EST) June 24, 2023, at 11:59 pm EST
*Entry fees are are used to supplement the cost of producing the Writers' Police Academy.
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200 Words
No more. No less. Including the title, the story must be 200 words. "Don't" is two words. "OMG" is three words. "Smith-Jones" is two words. Count them.
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Finished Product
All stories are to be polished and complete. They must have a beginning, middle and a twisted, surprise ending.
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Fairly Judged
The Golden Donut contest is judged blindly. Each entry is assigned a number so the judges do not see the writers' names.
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Reader Panel
A panel of readers will select their 10 favorite stories and then forward them to the final judge. All decisions are final. The judge will review and send the winning entry to the WPA.
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Contest Judge
Stories are judged by the editors at Bookouture, a dynamic digital publisher of bestselling commercial fiction and a division of Hachette UK.
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Winner notified by email
The contest winner will be notified by email. The top five stories to be posted in the fall on The Graveyard Shift blog.
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Open to All
Contest is open to everyone. You don't have to attend the conference to win. You don't even have to be a writer!
The Best in Digital Publishing
Submission Guidelines
Contest Opens
Contest opens February 1, 2023.
Contest Ends
Submission deadline is midnight (EST) May 28, 2023. Any submissions after this date are not eligible.
200 Words
Any entry not meeting the exact 200 word requirement will be disqualified. You will not receive notice of disqualification. Please be sure your word count is accurate and that all words are counted.
Hyphenated Words
Hyphenated words, for the purpose of this contest, will be counted as two words, or three, etc., depending upon how many words make up the hyphenated phrase/word.
Contractions
Contractions will be counted as two words (it’s, don’t, etc.).
Every Single Word
Every single word will be counted as a word. This includes: “a,” “and,” and “the.” If it’s a stand-alone letter or group of letters, count it as a word. If it’s a number, count it as a word. Social media and texting abbreviations will be counted as individual words. For example: OMG = three words.
No Refunds
No refunds for any reason.
Up to 3 Entries
Each author may submit up to three entries. Each entry must be accompanied by the corresponding entry fee ($25 per story). Proceeds help with the cost to produce the 2023 Writers' Police Academy.
Public Domain
By submitting an entry to this contest authors agree to allow The Graveyard Shift/Lee Lofland, the Writers’ Police Academy and/or affiliates to publish/reprint the story as a part of The Graveyard Shift blog and/or as advertisement for the Writers’ Police Academy or in other publications and media.
Reserved Rights
The Writers’ Police Academy reserves the right to exclude or delete any entry without cause, reason, or explanation.
General Audiences
ABSOLUTELY NO profanity or erotica. Please, no politics.
We ask that story entries remain family friendly. The contest is intended to be fun and quirky - light stories to take our minds and thoughts away from the troubles of the world.
Remember, the focus of your story must be about the photo at the top of this page..
Submit Your Story
Simple, easy to follow registration gets you one step closer to the infamous Golden Donut Award. After entering your contact information, and story, just hit Submit to pay and send. Good luck!