HE Francis Competition. Deadline: Jan 15th.

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Welcome to One of the Best Short Story Writing Competitions

If you are a writer and fiction is your bag, then you are hereby welcomed to submit your Fiction Writing for the 2015 HE Frances Competition. With over 20 years of running the contest, we have seen some great writers go on to do big things.

We are glad to receive submissions at any time.

We will accept stories up till Jan 15, 2015.

Why Should You Submit Your Work to THIS Competition?

All stories submitted to the Competition receive at least two independent readings by an all-volunteer panel of accomplished and enthusiastic writers and readers. In order that novel, experimental, literary and general fiction are all read with equal interest, our readers include not only established fiction and non-fiction writers and academics, but also an eclectic collection of accomplished professionals, drawn from fields as widely separated as graphic arts, clinical psychology, medicine, accounting and field biology. What our readers have in common is just that: they are readers, inveterate, voracious readers. Working on a strictly volunteer basis, our readers accept no recompense and no recognition for their work. They read for The Competition because they love fiction, all kinds of fiction.

2015 Competition Guidelines:

Sponsored by: The Ruth Hindman Foundation and the UAH English Department

Judged by: A panel of nationally recognized, award-winning authors, directors of creative writing programs, and editors of literary journals.

Award: $2000 prize

Limitations: Original fiction manuscripts must be unpublished and may not exceed 5000 words in length. Multiple submissions are acceptable so long as we are notified immediately in the event that a manuscript is selected by another competition or publication.

Deadline: January 15, 2015 (postmark)

Tax-deductible Entry Fee: Check or money order for $20.00 for each submission, made out to the Ruth Hindman Foundation, a philanthropic institution which awards scholarships nationwide to undergraduate and graduate students.

Format: All manuscripts must be free of any means of author identification. A cover sheet must accompany each submission. This cover sheet must indicate the title of the story, the author's name and address, and the approximate word count.

How Do You Submit Your Story? Electronic submission is encouraged, but hard copy is also acceptable.

A cover page or electronic form must accompany each entry (this will not be seen by the judges). The cover page or form must include the author’s name, address and phone number, email (if available). 

Whether electronic or on paper, any story found to include the author's identity within the body of the submission will be automatically disqualified. 

Electronic payment is made via PayPal. We discourage paper checks because their reception and administration increases the cost of the Competition and reduces the funds available for Ruth Hindman scholarships. By prior electronic communication, checks may be an acceptable form of payment. 

Submission of entries: Mail submissions to Department of English, Morton Hall 222, H.E. Francis Contest, University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, AL 35899. Or upload the file on the Enter link. Provide the submission in a PDF format. Personal information must NOT be included with text of the story.

A submission is complete when it includes all of the following:

Entry fee (check made payable to: Ruth Hindman Foundation)

Cover sheet

Two copies of the manuscript

If desired, SASE for announcement of winner

Author retains all publication rights. Winners requested that  the Status of H.E. Francis Award winner be mentioned in future publications.

Winners, semi-finalists and finalists are encouraged to list the H.E. Francis Competition on their vitae.

Announcement of Winner: March 2015

If a story under consideration for an  H.E. Francis Competition prize is offered and accepts a prize  from another competition before our winner is announced, the story may be withdrawn, in writing or online. 

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

• Void where prohibited by law. Federal, state and local laws and regulations apply.
• The HE Francis Competition is not responsible for any individual's inability to enter this contest, including but not limited to: failed software or hardware transmissions; unavailable network, server, telephone or other connections; errors of any kind, whether human, electronic, or mechanical regarding lost, misdirected, late, incomplete or damaged entries; or for any damage to any computer, network, hardware or software related to or resulting from participation.
• The HE Francis Competition reserves the right to end or modify the contest if fraud or technical failures compromise the integrity of the contest as determined by our sole discretion.
• Entrants agree to the following: The Sponsors, their respective promotional partners, affiliated companies, agencies and their employees are not liable for injury, losses, damages or costs of any kind resulting from participation in this contest, or in results of accepting or using the prize awarded. By entering the Contest, participants agree to be bound by these rules.
• The HE Francis Competition respects the privacy of our members. By entering this contest, entrants opt into the use of their registration information in accordance with the The HE Francis Competition Privacy Policy and consent to receiving correspondence via telephone and/or email by The HE Francis Competition.
• The Contest may be terminated without prior notice at any time after it begins.