Blank Spaces and Alanna Rusnak Publishing presents
THE 50/50 BLANK SPACES FICTION ANTHOLOGY CONTEST
Deadline to enter is August 31, 2021 | This contest is now closed to new entries
OUR FIRST CASH PRIZE CONTEST!
The contest will pay 50% of entry fee proceeds* to the top story as well as publication within the short story anthology** (including three complimentary copies), automatic Pushcart prize nomination, and an offer for a manuscript critique with potential to publish a personal full length work/collection***. If entries exceed our expectations, cash prizes may also be awarded to second and third place. Watch this page for updates.
Each entry is subject to the $10 entrance fee - learn why below.
THEME: THE THINGS WE LEAVE BEHIND
We want your best ‘left behind’ story. Interpret that any way you like. We are looking for a wide variety of approaches and are open to stories that are light or dark, humorous or sad. Ideally, we’d love to see you pull us in every direction possible! Are you up for the challenge?
These numbers will be updated as entries and funds are processed.
Final cover art will be determined by the mood of the winning stories.
YOU ARE THE JUDGE!
Our longlist will be determined by you and your community! The opening 300-500 words of every story will be posted as an anonymous entry to a dedicated contest page that will go live on September 1, 2021. Readers will be invited to vote for their favourites based on those opening paragraphs. The top TWENTY full stories will then go to our jury panel who will narrow the field down to EIGHT finalists.
A longlist (20) will be released in October. A shortlist (8) will be announced in November.
Winner will be announced in December, 2021.
All shortlisted authors will be anthologized in (and receive a free copy of) the publication which will release in April 2022.
We are looking for exceptional fiction by Canadians!
You must be Canadian
Your story cannot be published anywhere else and must be between 1000 and 3000 words
Multiple entries are accepted, but each is subject to an individual submission form and fee
THE SHORTLIST JURY
Haley Down
Blank Spaces Assistant Editor since 2018
Heidi Eastman
Blank Spaces Creative Consultant since 2016
Michelle McLaughlin
Blank Spaces Assistant Editor since 2016
Alanna Rusnak
Blank Spaces Editor in Chief, Owner/Operator Alanna Rusnak Publishing
AND INTRODUCING OUR GRAND PRIZE JUDGE, RACHEL LAVERDIERE
Rachel Laverdiere is a writer, potter, and language instructor based in Saskatoon. She is creator of Hone & Polish Your Writing creative writing program, CNF editor at Barren Magazine and a regular contributor at Entropy Magazine. Rachel's writing is widely published in North American journals such as The New Quarterly, Lunch Ticket, Bending Genres, and Atlas & Alice. In 2020, her CNF was short-listed for CutBank’s Big Sky, Small Prose Contest, made Wigleaf’s 50 Shorts and was nominated for Best of the Net and her flash fiction was shortlisted for Geist’s 2015 Short-Long Distance Writing Contest. Rachel’s collection of essays, Scraps: A Life in Piecework is forthcoming. For more about Rachel's writing or her courses, visit www.rachellaverdiere.com.
All entrants must be Canadian - by birth or by legal citizenship proceedings.
All entrants are subject to the contest entry fee.
A person may enter more than one story but each will be subject to a submission fee and separate form.
Contest entries must be original, non-published works, and the submitter must be the sole author. Previously published works are not eligible - including publication on a personal website or blog. Three months following the end of the contest (November 2021), authors are welcome to publish their story online or submit to other publications with no obligation to Blank Spaces.
Entries found to be plagiarized will be immediately withdrawn from the contest. Submission fee will not be returned.
Upon submission you are giving non-exclusive rights to publish your story. Stories may appear on our website and in possible future printed or digital collections either by Blank Spaces or by Alanna Rusnak Publishing.
Work must be suitable for a general audience and in line with Blank Spaces’ values: no gratuitous sex, violence, hate, or explicit language.
Abide by the word count limit and keep your submission between 1000 and 3000 words.
Blank Spaces and Alanna Rusnak Publishing employees, volunteers, and their immediate family members are not eligible to enter this contest.
Submit your story file through the contest submission portal. You will be asked to copy and paste it into the form. Do your best to ensure formatting copies over. If we feel it’s necessary we will reach out and ask you to email a PDF version.
If you would like to withdraw your piece from the contest you may do so by contacting us at info@blankspaces.ca. Your fee will not be refunded.
Your fee of $10 will help us award the winner, honour our judge’s time with a small honorarium, and fund the publication of the winning collection. If we haven’t gained sufficient entries to fund the publication by the posted deadline, we reserve the right to extend the deadline to encourage more entries.
ARE YOU READY?
Would you like to be a sponsor? Sponsorship will be recognized with a logo placement and direct link below, a listing within the publication, and mentions in posts and press releases related to this contest. Available in Gold, Silver, and Bronze levels. Sponsorship totals will be split between the prize pool and the publication expenses.
Click the ‘Become a Sponsor’ button and complete the form, then go to your cart to complete your donation payment.
*Proceeds are entrance fees minus transaction fees - (50% is approximately $4.70 per entry that gets added to the prize pool)
**Anthology publication will split royalties between publisher (50%) and contributors (50%) once publishing costs are covered in accordance with Alanna Rusnak Publishing policy.
***Potential publishing offer from Alanna Rusnak Publishing which will entail a discount on the publishing service of your choice or a full length work/collection published with a 50/50 royalty share.
Our Contest Partners
Gold Sponsors
ALANNA RUSNAK PUBLISHING
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Silver Sponsors
TRISTAN MARAJH