Our Esoteric Awards have been redubbed the Esoteric Short Story Contest. Rather than dedicating an entire issue to the Esoteric stories, the winners will be published as part of a larger spring issue, meaning more stories overall for our fans and readers.
THEME: UK INSPIRED
With such a rich history of talented and inspiring authors coming from “across the pond,” it’s no wonder that here at Carve, we’ve been drawn to authors, characters, and locales influenced by or directly from the UK. Our love and fascination with the UK is reaching fever pitch with our 2014 Esoteric Short Story Contest.
We seek stories that are “UK inspired,” meaning stories that meet one of the following criteria: A) writer is UK-based or has spent time in the UK or B) a story with elements of the UK through locations or characters.
We’ll award up to three writers $1000 each along with publication in the spring 2014 issue. We’ve invited several of our past UK contributors to serve as guest judges and choose our winners. We can’t wait to begin, so send us your story. Cheers!
See past examples of UK inspired stories.
GUIDELINES
Dates, Fees, and Prizes
Submission Dates: October 1 – November 30, 2013.
Winners announced no later than January 15, 2014.
Entry Fees: $23 online / $20 mailed, per entry.
Prizes: Up to three prizes of $1000 each and publication in the Spring 2014 issue in mid-March.
Eligibility
Open to U.S. and international, but stories must be in English.
No genre fiction; literary fiction only. Examples of genre fiction include but not limited to: romance, sci-fi, horror, thriller, noir.
There is no limit to the number of entries one may submit.
Stories must be previously unpublished. Simultaneous submissions accepted if notified promptly that story is accepted elsewhere.
We ask that winners of the previous year’s Esoteric Awards do not enter.
Formatting
Word count limit: no minimum, max 8000.
Please do your best to format submissions as follows:
-double spaced
-at least 1” margins
-ONLY story title and page numbers (no author info) in header; readings are blind from start to finish.
Cover Page
If submitting online: no cover page in the uploaded document; Submittable provides a place for cover letters/bios in a form that is blind to readers and editors until the completion of readings.
If submitting by mail: cover page with ONLY story title, name, address, phone number, email, and word count. This will be removed and catalogued before stories are given to readers and editors.
SUBMIT NOW
Submit via mail: enclose cover page and story with $20 check or money order payable to Carve Magazine in at least 9×12” envelope addressed to:
Carve Magazine
Esoteric Contest
PO Box 701510
Dallas, TX 75370
For additional questions about the contest, please email the editor at contest@carvezine.com.