Grain Magazine's 28th Annual Short Grain Writing Contest #seanocarolan.com #writing #contest

$4,500 to be won!

Now open to email submissions and online payment.

Grain and the Short Grain Writing Contest have featured the work of such literary luminaries as Lorna Crozier, Xi Chua, Tim Lilburn, Guy Maddin, Patrick Lane, Miriam Toews, Zsuzsi Gartner, and Eleanor Wachtel.



You could join them in the pages of Grain.


Contest Guidelines

Contest prizes donated in part by Cheryl & Henry Kloppenburg, Barristers and Solicitors, Saskatoon.

$4,500 in prizes to be won!

Each entrant receives a FREE subscription to Grain Magazine!

DEADLINE: APRIL 1, 2016 (POSTMARKED)
Judges

Poetry: Paul Vermeersch

Fiction: Greg Hollingshead

Categories

Poetry: Poetry of any style - including prose poetry - up to 100 lines.
Fiction: Short fiction in any form - including postcard fiction - to a maximum of 2500 words.
Prizes

3 prizes will be awarded in each category:
1st = $1,000
2nd = $750
3rd = $500
Entry Guidelines

1. The basic fee for Canadian entrants is $40 (includes GST) for a maximum of two entries in one category (Poetry or Fiction). The fee for US entrants is $50 and the fee for international entrants is $60, payable in US or Canadian funds. Please make your cheque or money order payable to Short Grain Contest. You may also pay online via PayPal (see below).

2. Every entrant receives a one-year (four-issue) subscription to Grain Magazine, starting with the Summer (August) issue.

3. All entries must be POSTMARKED or EMAILED by April 1. Entries postmarked or received by email after this date will not be accepted.

4. Each entry must be original, unpublished, not submitted elsewhere for publication or broadcast, nor accepted elsewhere for publication or broadcast, nor entered simultaneously in any other contest or competition. Work that has appeared online is considered published and is not eligible.

5. All entries in this contest will be judged anonymously, on merit alone. The judges' decisions are final. Judges reserve the right not to award a prize in a given category if no entry is of sufficient quality to warrant publication.

6. Entries must be accompanied by one cover page, regardless of the number of entries submitted, and must provide the following information. If you are submitting via email, include this information in the body of your email.
Your name, complete mailing address, telephone number, and email address.
Title of your entry(ies).
Category you are entering: Poetry (to a max of 100 lines) or Fiction (to a max of 2,500 words)
Word Count (Fiction) / Line Count (Poetry). An absolutely accurate word or line count is required.
Method of Payment (if submitting by email)

Judging is blind. Do not print, type, or write your name on the text pages of your entry.

7. Your entry must be typed (double-spaced for fiction) on 8 1/2 x 11 inch paper.

8. Mailed entries will not be returned. Keep a copy of your entry.

9. Names of the winners and titles of the winning entries of the Short Grain Contest will be posted on the Grain website in August. Contest winners will be notified directly either by telephone or by email.

10. Make your cheque or money order payable to Short Grain Contest. If you want to pay online, use the PayPal order form below. If payment is from a name other than that which is on your submission, please let us know.

11. Send your entry or entries to:

Short Grain Contest
PO Box 3986
Regina, SK
Canada, S4P 3R9

12. Entries by fax will not be accepted.
Submit by Email

Now accepting email entries.

1. Send entries as an attachment to: grainmag@skwriter.com Judging is blind. Do not put your name on your entry. Acceptable file formats are Word (.doc or .docx) or PDF.

2. All emails must include a subject line that contains the author’s full name, genre(s), and payment method (cheque, money order, or PayPal). For example: Jane Grain, Fiction, Cheque OR Jim Grain, Poetry, PayPal

3. Follow instructions as listed above.

DEADLINE: APRIL 1, 2016 (postmarked)
Pay Online!

You may pay for your online entry by paper means (cheque or money order) or online via PayPal. Use the form below to submit your online payment. Remember: each entry of UP TO two poetry entries or UP TO two fiction entries requires one entry fee. If you submit a poetry entry and a fiction entry, that’s two entry fees. If you submit four fiction entries, that’s two entry fees. All fees are subject to GST (5 %).

SHORT GRAIN ENTRY FEE




After paying, please print a copy of the PayPal receipt for your records.
We will match your payment with your entry by your name. If there is any doubt, we will contact you to confirm your receipt number.
Frequently Asked Questions:

Q. When you say, "...a maximum of two entries in one category..." does that mean I can enter one piece of Fiction and one piece of Poetry with one $40 entry fee?

A. No. For each $40 entry fee, you may enter one or two pieces of Fiction OR one or two pieces of Poetry. If you do send one piece of Fiction and one piece of Poetry, we will choose one of them at random to be considered.

Q. Can I enter more than once?

A. You may enter as many times as you like, provided you include another entry fee for each entry beyond the first. Therefore two Canadian entries would cost $80.

Q. If I enter twice, can I enter two pieces of Fiction AND two pieces of Poetry?

A. Absolutely! Or you could enter four pieces of Poetry. Or two pieces of Poetry and one piece of Fiction. But not three pieces of Poetry and one piece of Fiction.

Q. Do I need to send a separate cover page for each piece of writing I enter?

A. No. Send only one cover page that includes all the information for every piece of writing you are entering. Don't forget to include your complete contact information!

Q. And what happens to my free subscription if I enter more than once?

A. Your Grain subscription will be increased by four issues for each entry fee received beyond the first. So, if you enter twice, you will receive a two-year (eight-issue) subscription to Grain Magazine. If you already have a subscription to Grain, we'll simply add another four issues to your current subscription for each entry fee received. If you’d rather your additional entry fee go towards a subscription for someone else, please indicate this on your cover letter, and provide your friend’s name and mailing address.

Q. What if I enter something that's over the word count? Will that piece be disqualified?

A. Yes. Any piece that is over the word or line count will not be judged. Be conscientious of your word and line counts.

Q. For poetry, do titles or line breaks count as lines toward the 100 line maximum?

A. No. Titles or line breaks or spaces between lines of poetry do not count toward the 100 line maximum. Only lines of text count.

Q. Will entrants be notified of the winners?

A. No. Winners and the names of the winning pieces will be posted on this website in August.

Q. What if the postmarked deadline falls on a weekend when the post offices are closed?

A. Because we are using a postmarked deadline, if the deadline falls on a day when the post offices are closed, we will accept entries postmarked on the next business day.