Thursday, July 8, 2010

PARSEC Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Story Contest

I received word yesterday from Ann Cecil, the contest coordinator, that I won the Fifteenth Annual PARSEC Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Story Contest! I'm still shaking my head and grinning like a fool. If I tell my wife one more time, she's going to...well, it might not be pleasant.

What an honor!

My thanks go out to all the folks at PARSEC and authors John Scalzi, Paul Melko, and Karina Sumner-Smith for judging the contest. Special shout-outs to my beta reader, the lovely and talented Christine Wood, and my writing group buddies, Jeff Narucki and Janette Lusty. Thanks, guys!

And here's what I had to go on:

Theme:
"The Color of Silence"
Use this as a metaphor, literally, or anything in between for your genre story. As this is a themed contest, your interpretation of the theme element must be integral to the story. Only an incidental mention of the theme will count against you. Please remember, though, that Confluence attracts many families, and the story will be printed in the program book. A certain restraint and subtlety is called for.

Check out PARSEC. I'm sure glad I did!

3 comments:

  1. It was that comma that I recommended that pushed you over the finish line right? ;)

    Congrats! "Color in a Box" is an intriguing multi-dimensional piece that was a lot of fun!!! I'm sure you'll be hearing from a lot of folks about this one.

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  2. Well earned! Something about the kid-speak grated on my nerves (maybe just because I'm never around kids and consider them alien creatures at times) but the story is first rate, thought provoking, and nerve wrackingly great!

    My own entry was last-minute fluff since I had a really hard time with the theme. I also usually do novel length pieces, so I'd appreciate any tips you might have on how to make it a better short story. I'm at a loss to know how to fix it, or if it's one of those where you just have to start over with a better premise...

    http://enexplorations.blogspot.com/2010/07/doorway-to-dreams.html

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  3. Thanks, Emmalyn! I'm just honored my story was chosen.

    I'll check out your link and send any comments along to you. :-)

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