Rules & Regulations
SHORT STORY CONTEST
RULES AND REGULATIONS
Any unoriginal and published works will be disqualified from the contest.
All personal information, such as address, telephone number, email address, and date of birth, is collected solely for the purposes of administering this competition and shall not be used for any other purpose without consent. By providing this information, you consent to it being used for the stated purposes.
All personal information, such as address, telephone number, email address, and date of birth, is collected solely for the purposes of administering this competition and shall not be used for any other purpose without consent. By providing this information, you consent to it being used for the stated purposes.
Rights
Each author pledges that their submission is an original work and that they own sole and complete rights to it, and acknowledges that Rotary cannot be held responsible for their breach of this pledge.
In submitting their original work, each author grants Rotary the following, free of charge:
- the right to edit, abridge, or excerpt the work for promotional purposes,
- the right to record a reading of their story, solely for the purpose of posting on this website,
without the involvement of the author.
- and the use of names and/or pictures of the finalists and winners for promotional purposes related to the Short Story Contest.
Judging
Works are judged anonymously on the basis of the author’s use of language, originality of subject, and writing style. Submissions are processed by a two-tiered system of readers and judges. The submissions are first read and graded by a group of volunteer readers. A short list of the top 10 scoring submissions then will be forwarded to a panel of judges, the requisite qualifications for which are professional experience in writing, teaching, critiquing, and/or distribution of literature.
The contest is divided into two sections. For adults (19+), the judges will select 3 winners to receive cash prizes: 1st - $500 2nd - $250 3rd - $100, and two Honourable Mentions. For the youth category, the judges will select 3 winners to receive cash prizes: 1st - $250 2nd - $100 3rd - $50, and two Honourable Mentions. Readers and judges are selected by the Anthology Publisher.
All decisions by the readers and the panel are final. Readers’ and judges’ names are confidential until the end of the competition to ensure the judging process remains blind.
All decisions by the readers and the panel are final. Readers’ and judges’ names are confidential until the end of the competition to ensure the judging process remains blind.
Submission Checklist
All submissions must be:
- submitted with the entry form in PDF format.
- maximum of 2,500 typed words in English
- double spaced
- in letter format (8½ by 11)
- submitted anonymously to ensure the contest remains blind
- submitted with the entry form in PDF format.
- maximum of 2,500 typed words in English
- double spaced
- in letter format (8½ by 11)
- submitted anonymously to ensure the contest remains blind
- a maximum of three submissions per contestant
- the submission page uses a Google Form. A Google account is required to upload a document
- we welcome stories from residents of Ontario and Michigan
Note: The author’s name must not be included anywhere within the PDF of the short story.
Submissions will be accepted from April 1st to June 30th 2022 and winners will be posted on the contest web site, below, in October 2022.
Restrictions
All submissions are final; changes or substitutions are not permitted.
Works will not be returned and editorial comments will not be given.
Works will not be returned and editorial comments will not be given.