If you happen to have a 4000 word short story in your drawer all ready to go, you’re in luck.
I haven’t been paying too much attention to writing contests this summer, so the deadline for the 2012 Writer’s Digest Popular Fiction Competition – September 14 – snuck up on me. Here are the details if you have a piece you can polish in two weeks: http://www.writersdigest.com/popularfictionawards?et_mid=576916&rid=3017168
Of greater interest to me is the short short story contest for works up to 1500 words, with deadline set at November 15. That’s enough time to create something from scratch. Not that short shorts are easy! They’re very challenging but I find them compelling to write as well – they’re like a a small sketch, a place to test an idea and reshape it before committing to a longer format. Here is the link to this contest. http://www.writersdigest.com/competitions/short-short-story-competition?et_mid=576916&rid=3017168
The word count may be limited but the prizes are not. First place wins $3000, publication in Writer’s Digest, and an expense paid trip to the Writer’s Digest Conference in New York next year.
Worth thinking about!
The First Gates 
Ah, if only there were more time. Short stories take me much longer to writer than long ones!! Good luck on your entries.
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The short ones definitely have unique challenges – like poetry I think, in that every word has to count. And the whole “ocean in a drop” goal. When these competitions come around, I always vow to get one polished for the coming year, and then usually forget the resolution in a week or so…
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