The winner of the annual Omnidawn Fabulist Fiction Chapbook Competition wins a $1,000 prize, publication of the chapbook with a full color cover by Omnidawn, 100 free copies of the winning book, and extensive display advertising and publicity, including prominent display ads in Poets & Writers Magazine, Rain Taxi Review of Books and other publications. (Note that although Omnidawn has been conducting poetry contests since 2008, this is Omnidawn's first fiction contest. The guidelines for this fiction contest are very similar to the guidelines for Omnidawn's poetry contests.)
For this contest, Fabulist Fiction includes magic realism and literary forms of fantasy, science fiction, horror, fable, and myth. Stories can be primarily realistic, with elements of non-realism, or primarily, or entirely non-realistic.
Open to all writers. All stories within a fiction submission must be original, in English, and previously unpublished. Submissions should be 5,000 to 12,000 words, consisting of either one story or multiple stories. Postal and online submissions accepted. Stories are not eligible for inclusion within a submission if they have been previously published online or in print or Ebook editions. Revisions are not allowed during the contests. Friends, colleagues and students of the judge, Theodora Goss, are not eligible. Collaborations by more than one author and translations are not eligible. All Omnidawn poetry competitions are blind, so you can submit manuscripts that contain identifying information, but please be aware that such information will be removed from manuscripts before they are passed on to our editors who select manuscripts to be sent to the judge. If we find a serious error in your entry we will contact you to obtain a correction at no cost to you, so your error will not disqualify you. Nor will a few smaller errors in your manuscript, including spelling, punctuation, formatting, or typographic errors, reduce your chances of winning. (We fully understand that such errors sometimes occur for everyone, and that these can be easily corrected later.) Online entries must be received and postal entries must be postmarked between August 1 and October 15, 2013 at midnight Pacific Daylight Time. Reading fee is $18. For $2 extra to cover shipping cost, entrants may choose to receive a copy of the winning chapbook or any Omnidawn fiction title, including our highly acclaimed ParaSheres anthology of fabulist and new wave fabulist fiction. A complete list of all Omnidawn fiction titles is available at www.omnidawn.com/fiction-catalog.htm. The poetry chapbook contests winner will be announced to our email list and on this web page in May 2014, and we expect to publish the winning chapbook in August of 2014.
All the essential information for the current chapbook contest is contained in the above three paragraphs.
For additional helpful information you can read the section titled "Additional Details" immediately below.
OR, if you want to skip the additional details and go directly to concise submission procedures, you can either:
Go to the POSTAL submission procedure below by clicking here.
OR
Go to a non-working image of the ONLINE submission web page and its concise procedures by clicking here, The actual submission web page will be available when the contest opens on August 1, 2013.
Note that if we find any significant problem with your manuscript (your manuscript file is incomplete or won’t open, important information is missing, or any other significant problem) we will contact you so that you have every opportunity to correct the issue at no charge to you. Smaller errors or deficiencies in your manuscript, including spelling, punctuation, formatting, typographical errors, or coffee stains will not disqualify you from the competition, nor will a few small errors reduce your chances of winning. (We fully understand that such errors sometimes occur for everyone, and that these can be easily corrected later.) The only really critical requirements are to:
Any identifying information will be removed from all manuscripts before they are sent to the editors who choose the semi-finalists to be sent to the judge. All manuscripts will be given a number to associate them with the contact information of their submitters. The Omnidawn staff members who remove the identifying information are NOT involved in the reading or selection of manuscripts.
Only Omnidawn's Fiction Editors will read submissions, and these editors will not have access to the identities of the submitters. For the sake of avoiding any conflict of interest, if an editor believes that he/she recognizes the work of a colleague, student, or friend, then that manuscript is given to another editor. The editors will select the semi-finalists to be sent to the judge. The judge will then select the winner and five finalists. If the judge wishes to see additional manuscripts, she or he may request them; the judge is not, however, permitted to request specific manuscripts. Friends, colleagues, and/or past or present students of the judge are not eligible to compete. Past or present Omnidawn staff and interns are also not eligible to compete. The judge is not allowed to choose manuscripts that present a conflict of interest.
Omnidawn abides by The CLMP Code of Ethics. The Council of Literary Magazines and Presses’ community of independent literary publishers believes that ethical contests serve our shared goal: to connect writers and readers by publishing exceptional writing. We believe that intent to act ethically, clarity of guidelines, and transparency of process form the foundation of an ethical contest. To that end, we agree to 1) conduct our contests as ethically as possible and to address any unethical behavior on the part of our staff, editors, or judges; 2) to provide clear and specific contest guidelines — defining conflict of interest for all parties involved; and 3) to make the mechanics of our selection process available to the public. This Code recognizes that different contest models produce different results, but that each model can be run ethically. We have adopted this Code to reinforce our integrity and dedication as a publishing community and to ensure that our contests contribute to a vibrant literary heritage.
Option 1: Submit on our secure web site. (Most submissions are via our online contest web site. This is usually the easiest way to submit.)
Option 2: Submit via postal mail.
Procedures for each of these options are listed in detail below.
We suggest you read at least the bold type in the directions below. Reading the non-bold type is optional.
To go to the secure submissions page and begin the electronic submission process, please click the button below.
[ CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT ONLINE ]
Or paste the following link into your browser: www.omnidawn.net
If you have any questions send an email to submissions@omnidawn.com
Please DO NOT send Fed Ex, UPS, or signature required US Post Office envelopes. These will not be accepted.
Note that if you send a cover letter, acknowledgements, or bio these will be removed before your manuscript is read.
Please enclose the following:
1. One title page with your name, contact information, and where you learned about our contest (to the best of your recollection). Please include your mailing address, phone number, and Email address if you have one. (Alternate contact info, such as additional phone numbers, Email addresses, or mailing addresses can also be added here if you like.) This title page with contact info can be at the front or, so you don’t have to repaginate, at the back of your manuscript
2. One title page with manuscript title only and nothing else.
3. Your fabulist fiction chapbook manuscript.
4. For this chapbook contest, include a check or money order made out to Omnidawn for the reading fee of either $18 or $20.
Enclose $18 if you choose to receive NO book
OR,
if you have a U.S mailing address (or can provide a U.S. mailing address), you can enclose $20 ($2 extra for shipping cost) to receive your choice of the winning chapbook or any Omnidawn fiction book, including our highly acclaimed ParaSheres anthology of fabulist and new wave fabulist fiction. If you choose to pay $20, please use the title page that has your contact info to write your choice of the fiction book or to write “send this contests winning chapbook.” A complete list of all current Omnidawn fiction books is available at www.omnidawn.com/fiction-catalog.htm. If you pay the extra $2 and forget to specify your choice of book you can send an email to submissions@omnidawn.com to let us know your choice.
5. All manuscripts will be deleted or recycled at the end of the contest. For entries sent by postal mail, please do NOT send an SASE for return of the manuscript.
6. If you provide an Email address with your contact info, within a ten days of receiving your entry we will send you an Email to confirm we have received it, so if you mailed your entry via either United States First Class mail or Priority Mail you should receive this verification Email within two weeks of mailing your manuscript. If you have provided us with an Email address and you do not receive this confirmation Email within two weeks, something may be wrong, and we strongly suggest you contact us by sending an Email to submissions@omnidawn.com (Note that if you choose to submit online our turnaround time is much faster, and we will send you two Email notifications of receipt, one automatic Email sent immediately after you submit online, and a second Email from a member of our staff within 3 days after you submit, with the last lines of your manuscript so you know your manuscript has been received completely, and so you can fix the problem at no cost to you if it has not.)
7. (Optional) A self-addressed stamped postcard and/or a standard sized SASE. You may, if you choose, include a self-addressed stamped postcard, and we will mail this back to you to verify that your manuscript has been received. (If you include an Email address, you will also receive an email when we enter your submission into our database, so this email will likely precede your receipt of a postcard. You may also enclose a standard size SASE and we will use this to send you information on the winner and finalists when these are determined. (If you include an Email address, you will also receive an email notification of the winners and finalists when they are chosen.)
Send postal submissions via First Class or Priority Mail to:
Omnidawn Fabulist Fiction Chapbook Contest
Omnidawn Publishing
1632 Elm Avenue
Richmond, CA 94805-1614
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