2012 Story Quest Short Story Contest

We are pleased to announce that the Story Quest Short Story Contest for speculative fiction has opened for submissions for 2012, and will close on 31 October 2012. This is our fourth contest, and the second in collaboration with SQ Mag.

The format is pretty much the same as last year - a finalist list will be compiled and announced in mid-November 2012 (usually from 6 to 8 stories) and the winner, second place and third place will be determined. These three winners will be given cash prizes, and the entire finalist list of stories will be published in SQ Mag issues 1 January 2013 and 1 March 2013. This also means that the stories will be eligible for the 'best of' anthology for 2013, published in 2014.

This year we have added a little spice, which is something we always anticipated we would eventually include - a theme. The following is taken straight from the contest web page:

"This year's theme is 'disaster'- a natural or man-made disaster that is integral to the story. It could have happened in the past, happening 'now', or is unambiguously going to happen. It can be the backdrop to a story, or indelibly connected to a character's actions or the plot - but it must be integral to the story. As per usual, this story can be written in any speculative fiction genre or sub-genre, and must also comply with all other contest rules."

We have been fortunate indeed to have excellent guest judges on our judging panels. This year we have Daniel I Russell, horror and dark fiction writer, based in Western Australia, originally from the UK. He has published a number of novels and shorter fiction, and is the vice-president of the Australian Horror Writers' Association. In other words, he is skilled and well respected in the dark fiction community, and the wider speculative fiction domain.

We invite you, writers, to visit our web page and consider entering the contest. It is free and provides you with the chance of a cash prize, and certainly a great deal of exposure. If you do wish to submit, read our rules carefully.

Gerry Huntman
Chief Editor, IFWG Publishing
Convener, Story Quest Short Story Contest