Short Story Contest

The following are the rules and submission guidelines for the Keycon 2006 Short Story Contest. If you have any questions or concerns regarding these rules and guidelines, please check the F.A.Q., or send an email to the contest coordinator: writingcontest@keycon.org.

Contest Rules

The following rules apply:

1. The contest opens on October 9/2005.
2. The deadline is January 15/2006.
3. Short stories shall be no longer than 4500 words.
4. Only three entries per person are allowed.
5. If the author of the story is under 18 their submission must include the parental/guardian permission form (parental permission PDF coming soon, if you require one please contact us).
6. Each piece should be accompanied by the following information: title, your full legal name, date of birth, street address, phone number and email address. (This information does not count toward your 4500 words.)
7. The contest judges' may, at their sole discretion, refuse to consider any entry. Submissions that do not follow the instructions (incorrect format, poor spelling/grammar, too long, etc.) will be not be considered. You have complete freedom in your choice of subject matter, but please ensure all submissions are tasteful and available to be read by all ages. Coarse language and mature subject matter will not be considered.
8. Submissions should not contain pornographic and/or tastelessly explicit material.
9. Submissions must be original and unpublished. Entries must be the original work of the entrant.
10. It is expected that your submissions will contain accurate grammar and spelling.
11. Entrants should indicate if they will be attending Keycon 2006 and whether or not they will be available to participate in a discussion panel. (Attendance at Keycon and/or participation in the discussion panel will have no bearing on the judges' decision.)
12. The author retains all rights to their own work with the following exceptions: The author agrees that, should their entry be accepted as a winner in this contest, Keycon 2006 will retain exclusive first, as well as non-exclusive second and third rights to publish the winning manuscript in a chapbook that will be used to promote the convention. The author understands that they will NOT be receiving any royalties from the sale of these chapbooks. The winning authors also agree that Keycon has the right to re-print and re-sell these chapbooks again in the future, provided written permission has been received from the author.
13. The Keycon 2006 convention committee, WINSFA senators, and their immediate families are not eligible to enter.
14. Keycon 2006 is not responsible for any lost/delayed mail submissions or any corrupted file attachments or e-mails. You will receive a confirmation message within 72 hours of when your electronic submission has been received. You will receive another confirmation message at least one week before the contest deadline to let you know that your submission has met all the guidelines and has been submitted to the contest judges for review.
15. Submitting to the contest constitutes acceptance of these rules and conditions.

Submission Guidelines

You may send your submissions by following methods:

E-mail Without Attachment (preferred method)

• Please submit work in text-only format in the body of your E-mail.
• Please ensure you do not include any additional formatting (backgrounds, pictures, animated signature files, etc.).

If you are unable to use the above method to enter your submission, please click here for alternatives.