Christmas Writing Contest - Win Cash AND Publication!

In celebration of the release of Christmas Miracles (see previous post), we're throwing a huge contest!

This contest is not like those we've had in the past, so please, please follow the directions.

Mid-December, Pix-N-Pens will publish a new book entitled A Pixel-Perfect Christmas 2009. This book will feature YOUR stories!

From October 26 - November 25th, 2009, you may submit two Christmas stories of 1,500 (one thousand five hundred) words or less. The stories may be fact OR fiction - the choice is yours - but you must state which on your entry.

Submission Guidelines:

1) Submit each story as separate attachment, Word format, and send to pixnpens[at]yahoo[dot]com. (Replace the words in brackets with the symbols) or if your computer is set to open your e-mail to send, just click here.

2) The document should be double-spaced, 1" margins all around, Times New Roman font size 12.

3) At the top of the document, please include:

In the LEFT corner:

Your name
mailing address
e-mail address
Paypal e-mail address if different from above in case you are chosen as winner.

In the RIGHT corner:

FACT or FICTION
Word Count
Prompt or Photo Assignment # Utilized (optional - see below)

4) Please include a header with the title, your last name, and page number.

5) You must own the copyright to your story. Previously published works will not be considered.

6) All contest entries will automatically be considered for publication in A Pixel-Perfect Christmas 2009 and/or on the Pix-N-Pens blog during the month of December, but submission of a story does not guarantee publication in either format.

7) We reserve the right to edit submissions for grammar, style, and length.

8) Deadline for submissions is November 25, 2009, Noon Central U.S. Time.


Here's how the contest will work.

All stories submitted by November 25th will be read and considered for publication. From December 1-31, I will post one story per day on Pix-N-Pens.

[I've also invited each of our regular columnists to submit one story themselves, so their stories will appear during the weeks on their regular posting day, but they will not be eligible for the contests.]

Stories will be judged on:

Story - 50%
Craft - 25%
Originality - 25%


Bonus points will be added if you utilize any ONE of the Writing Prompts we've offered here during the past several months (look under the Writing Prompts tab above), OR somehow incorporate one of the photographs in our Photo Assignments into your story. Do not place a photo in your story - just use one of the photos in our Pix-N-Pens photo album as a guide for your story. Be sure to include on the first page the assignment number utilized. And only incorporate one - no need for overload, only one will earn bonus points.

After the submission deadline, stories will be chosen for publication in the book and/or on the blog. (Some stories may appear both places, others may appear in only one or the other.) The book will be published by mid-December. If your story is chosen for publication in the book, we will e-mail you a contract to sign and return.

On January 2nd, I will post a list of finalists out of all the stories posted either on Pix-N-Pens or published in the book, and then I'll give all our readers the opportunity to vote on favorites. To keep the contest from being a popularity contest, the votes will only count towards 50% of the total scores for the cash prizes, but 100% of the total for the Bonus Prize.

Voting will take place from January 2-15th, and on January 18th, I'll announce the winners.

1st Prize - $100 Cash and one copy of A Pixel-Perfect Christmas 2009
2nd Prize - $50 Cash and one copy of A Pixel-Perfect Christmas 2009
3rd Prize - $25 Cash and one copy of A Pixel-Perfect Christmas 2009

BONUS Prize - One large box of books awarded to the Reader's Favorite story.



And don't forget - you can win a copy of Christmas Miracles just by leaving a comment on the previous post!