I’ve just found out about a relatively new award for prose fiction under 1000 words written in English. It is called the Micro Award. The nominations for the 2nd Annual Micro Award are due by December 31st, 2008. Only short stories (no poems, non-fiction pieces, or translations) are accepted. The author of the winning story receives a trophy and $50. The winner of the 1st Annual Micro Award was Bruce Holland Rogers with his piece titled “Reconstruction Work” which was in the December 2007 issue of Flash Fiction Online.
Last year’s grand prize winner of the 2008 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award was Bill Loehfelm with his novel titled Fresh Kills. Amazon and Penguin Group (USA) are going to launch the 2009 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award on February 2, 2009. Between February 2nd and February 9th, up to 10,000 novelists can enter their unpublished novels on Amazon’s site. If you are a writer this may be a good contest to motivate you to re-edit and polish the novel that has been sitting on your hard drive untouched for the last six months.
I submitted a fantasy novel to the Amazon contest last year – it made the first couple cuts, (among last 800 entries I think). It received some fairly harsh but deserved feedback which is helping me to rewrite it. Not sure if I will have anything ready by February, but it is worth a try for anyone who does.
Hi Elmore! Did you use the feedback to do more editing? Or did you trunk it for now?
I used it for some editing, but haven’t gotten back to a full rewrite, which it seriously needs. I want to as I like the story, but have to get in the proper frame of mind. For now, I seem to be concentrating on short stories.
*nods* I understand about being in the proper frame of mind.