THE 2012 CARMEL BIRD SHORT FICTION AWARD

LATEST NEWS!

This year we are running a NOVELLA competition, open only to women.

Entries close in August, 2012.

More details on how to enter will soon be available soon on this page.

140 Wonders winners announced!

Congratulations to:

Kathryn Yuen, winner, who will receive a KOBO Touch ereader

Sylvia Petter and Grace McCarter, runners up who will both receive Spineless Wonders ebooks

Jane Spence, readers choice winner who will receive a Spineless Wonders ebook.

Thank you to all our entrants. And thanks to our judges:

Bree Tinsley

Natalie Texler

Ben Crisp

Emily Craven.

And extra special thanks to the 140 Wonders competition organiser, our intern, Tosca Dasent.

140 Wonders shortlisters announced!

Congratulations to the authors of the top five shortlisted stories, as voted by our esteemed judges and the public via our Facebook page. These stories use only 140 characters to make us think, wonder, laugh and cry – that’s impressive.

Special mention goes to Jane Spence for Love In The Time Of Social Media, winner of the peoples’ choice award!

Watch this space for the announcement of the winning story in the next few days. Who’ll be reading our literary marvels on their Kobo eReader? You’ll see…

Jane Spence ‘Love in the time of social media’

They met in a Facebook group for natural light enthusiasts. Love at first light. By daybreak they had gone separate ways.

Kathryn Yuen Untitled

Accident. Coma. Amnesia. Strangers call me son-in-law. I attend funerals for a woman and baby I don’t know. I feel a void. But I also feel like a child playing dressups.

Martina Hoffmann ‘Hangman’

_ h a t   a _ e   t h e   e i _ h t  

_ o s t   _ o _ _ o n _ _   _ s e _  

_ e t t e _ s   i n   E n _ _ i s h ?

Sylvia Petter ‘Humpty the D’

OK, he fell. Yeah, and he was raw, but you can’t blame the king’s horses for trampling him and for making a mess. Somebody pushed him. Didn’t you, Your Majesty?

Grace McCarter ‘Neighbour’

There is always that guy who buys zombie comics and an energy bar to put in the Secret Santa. He wraps them up in clear cellophane so no one chooses that gift until his turn.

Deadline extended! The 140 Wonders Competition now closing January 31st

Opens January 1, 2012.

Spineless Wonders is celebrating the 2012 Year of Reading with a writing competition – 140 WONDERS. Prizes include a Kobo Touch ereader plus Spineless Wonders ebooks. Entry is free.

What is 140 Wonders? Based on the number of characters allowed in a Twitter post, submissions are to be 140 characters max. Any genre is accepted – be adventurous! The competition will be judged blind by volunteer judges – not published writers, not writing teachers, they’re aspiring creative types just like you.

To find our more about the judges and for inspiration and ideas for this competition, follow us on Facebook, click here.

Terms and Conditions of Entry

1. Maximum length 140 characters. This includes letters only. Punctuation and spaces will not be counted.

2. Entries will be judged anonymously. The author’s name must not appear anywhere on the manuscript.

3. Entry is free. Multiple entries are acceptable. You may include more than one entry in the uploaded file ie: more than one 140 character story in the document.

4. Entrants must be over 18 years of age.

5. Entries can only be made electronically, using the Submission Manager link below.

6. Spineless Wonders will publish shortlisted and winning stories on Twitter. The winner will be contacted after judging is completed to organise shipment of Kobo e-reader.

Results will be announced in February, 2012.

To enter, go to Spineless Wonders Submissions Manager

https://spinelesswonders.submishmash.com/Submit

small wonder prose poem/micro fiction competition

Winning entries

Winner: Charles D’Anastasi receives $300 for ‘Madame Bovary’

Runners up: $100 each to Erin Gough for ‘William Shatner vows to save the Great Basin Pocket Mouse’ and to Clare McHugh for ‘Briefly’.

Thanks to all those who entered our competition. We will soon post details on this website about the forthcoming publication small wonder, an anthology of prose poems and micro fiction.

Judging of the small wonder prose poem/micro fiction competition is now almost complete. We are able to announce the entries which have been shortlisted. The winner and runners up will be announced here on Australia Day. Entries from prizewinners and those shortlisted will be published in the forthcoming anthology, small wonder. We would like to thank all those who entered the competition.

Congratulations to the following whose writing has been shortlisted:

John Carey, ‘Ivan’

Charles D’Anastasi, ‘Madame Bovary’

Michael Farrell, ‘The Story of What’s Inside The Heart’

Adam Ford, ‘Sequel’

Monica Goldberg, ‘The Stranger from Skierniewicza’

Erin Gough, ‘William Shatner vows to save the Great Basin Pocket Mouse’

Gregory Gould, ‘The story of the thin red book that sits on the bookshelf’

Stu Hatton, ‘meds’

Stu Hatton, ‘refuse’

Jo Langdon, ‘Pause’

Kent MacCarter, ‘Light Foxing’

Clare McHugh, ‘Briefly’

Alyson Miller, ‘Impossible’

Cara Munro, ‘An Arrangement’*

Aden Rolfe, ‘The end of things’

Laurie Steed, ‘But what have you done lately?’

Sean Wilson, ‘Silver Fox’

*’An Arrangement’ was wrongly attributed last week to Scott Steenmsa.

Competition details:

Maximum 800 wds. Closed December 16, 2011.

Judged by joanne burns

First prize $300, Commended entries $100.

Winning and shortlisted entries will be published in the small wonder anthology. For more information on this competition go to, The Column

Terms and Conditions of Entry

1.    Maximum length 800 words.

2.    Entries must be typed using 1.5 line spacing and 12 pt font size. The pages must be numbered. The title of the entry and word count must appear on the submitted work.

3.    Prose poems or micro fiction under consideration by another competition or publication or previously published or awarded, at a national level, will not be accepted.

4.    Entries will be judged anonymously. The author’s name must not appear on the manuscript.

5.    The judges’ decision will be final. No correspondence will be entered in to.

6.    Entrants must be over 18 years of age.

7.    Entrants must be either Australian citizens (living anywhere), or permanent residents of Australia.

8.    Entry fee is $7.00. Multiple entries are acceptable.

9.    Entries can only be made electronically, via the Submissions Manager on the Spineless Wonders website www.shortaustralianstories.com.au

10. The closing date is 16 December 2011. Late entries will not be accepted. Entries will be accepted up until midnight.

11. Results will be announced in March, 2012.

12. Spineless Wonders will publish shortlisted and winning stories in small wonder anthology. All published entries, including the winner, may be edited.

Please note: the entry form has a default cover note section. Simply enter Not Applicable in order to proceed.

THE CARMEL BIRD

SHORT FICTION AWARD 2011 is now closed.

Judged by Sophie Cunningham

First prize: $500

Two runners-up to receive $100 each.

Winning and shortlisted stories will be published in the Spineless Wonders annual anthology along with stories by invited authors.

Closing date: 31 July 2011

Sophie Cunningham is a Melbourne-based writer and editor. She has worked as a publisher at McPhee Gribble/Penguin  Allen & Unwin and was editor of Meanjin between 2008 and 2010. She blogs at http://sophiecunningham.com/blog

Read our interview with Carmel Bird on The Column. For the results of the 2011 Carmel Bird Short Fiction Award click here.

Terms and Conditions of Entry

1.    Maximum length 3000 words.

2.    Entries must be typed using 1.5 line spacing and 12 pt font size. The pages of stories must be numbered.

3.    Stories under consideration by another competition or publication or previously published or awarded, at a national level, will not be accepted.

4.    Entries will be judged anonymously. The author’s name must not appear on the manuscript.

5.    The judges’ decision will be final. No correspondence will be entered into.

6.    Entrants must be over 18 years of age.

7.    Entrants must be either Australian citizens (living anywhere), or permanent residents of Australia.

8.    Entry fee is $7.00. Multiple entries are acceptable.

9.    Entries can only be made electronically, via the Submissions Manager on the Spineless Wonders website www.shortaustralianstories.com.au

10. The closing date is 31 July 2011. Late entries will not be accepted. Entries will be accepted up until midnight.

11. Results will be announced in November.

12. Spineless Wonders will publish shortlisted and winning stories in its annual anthology. All published stories, including the winner, may be edited.

To enter, go to Spineless Wonders Submissions Manager

https://spinelesswonders.submishmash.com/Submit