Metro Times invites you to show off your talent. Every year we hold a summer contest for fiction and poetry, and publish the winners in a special issue of the paper.
Rules: Each submission requires you to fill out a separate entry form, including a $5 check or money order made out to Metro Times. Do not send cash. You should also include a cover letter, with your name, address, phone number and e-mail address. Do not put your name on the work itself. Please keep your original manuscripts and art; they will not be returned. It is wise to save a copy of your entry on a disk or on your home computer so that it can be e-mailed for publication should you win.
First-, second- and third-place winners for each category will be selected. A selection of winners will be published in the July 26 special Summer Lit Issue of Metro Times (both online and in print) and one winner will be awarded the opportunity to attend the eighth annual Walloon Writers’ Retreat on Walloon Lake. The extended weekend event offers new and established poets and writers the opportunity to attend workshops, readings and panel discussions. This year, guest writers include Jane Hamilton, Jacquelyn Mitchard, Mary Jo Salter, Brad Leithauser and Doug Stanton.
Entries that do not follow the rules will be disqualified. Submit three photocopies of each entry.
Categories:
Stolen lines
“I’m so pissed I could shit.” That was a line one of our editors overheard years ago. Tell us a snippet of conversation, the best one-liner or craziest monologue you’ve heard — wherever, on the street, at a bar or in your own home — in 150 words or less. If necessary, give us a few lines setting the scene of the incident. (These words are not included in the word count.) Limit 3 entries per person; each entry will be judged separately.
Short Fiction
Short stories and excerpts from novels, not to exceed 2,500 words. One entry per person.
Poetry
Give us your best, not to exceed 500 words. No more than two entries per person
Sequential Art
... or “comics,” if you prefer. The format is open – draw a single panel or a hundred tiny ones – so long as the work is black-and-white (halftones are fine) and doesn’t exceed a half-page in size (10” wide by 5 3/4” wide horizontally, or 5” wide by 11 1/2” high vertically).
