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Well, last month on a whim I rolled out a short story contest for Accentuate Writers on my forum. You can see the original thread for it by clicking here. I received a total of 14 entries, not a lot, but for our first contest that we threw together so quickly, I was pleased with this. I hope more enter the next contest, which I will announce here and in our newsletter on Wednesday. There's a special surprise for the new contest - Accentuate Writers will be doing an anthology trade paperback book to highlight all the winners!

Of course, we'll still have the cash prizes or the Amazon gift Certificates and the free editing for the stories - the writers will still retain all but first publication rights - but now we can add their name to the cover of the book, a short bio in the book, and free copies for friends and family too!

Anyway, more on that to come - without further delay, let's name the winners of the first Accentuate Writers Short Story Contest!

:: drum roll ::
Third Place:

Flood of Tears, by M. Lori Motley

This is a fantastic short story written about 'the sins of the father'. The judges really liked the tone, the style and the writing was solid - why did it not score higher? Honestly, they were depressed by the sad ending!

Seriously though, this is a great short with a lot of potential for the right market, and the judges believed, as do I, that it deserved this recognition!

Congratulations!

Second Place:

The Assignment, by Jennifer Walker

If you are a writer, of any type, or a student, or both for that matter, you will understand and empathize with this short story. While it's a little short on actual 'story', the judges found it amusing, very well-written, and hands-down beats all other submissions for grammar, style, punctuation and formatting, as well as adherence to the contest guidelines. All in all, this is worth the read and definitely deserves recognition!

Congratulations!

FIRST PLACE:
Purgatory, by Steven Thor Gunnin
Okay, this is one of those instances where a good story and the right way of telling it can make up for a lot of grammar and style issues, and that's the mark of a good story teller right there.

What I mean is, I've been an editor for quite some time now, as has one of the judges of this contest, and when a writer can push a story past a professional editor who doesn't try to edit as he or she goes, then you've told a good story. In a rare moment of reading, I found myself more interested in the story than editing it in my head.

This story has a nice twist to it at the end, and all of the judges agreed it would make a great short movie. It was a tough decision for the judges, with 14 good entries, and with three top ones that were so close together in quality and style, but the unanimous decision of the judges as well as myself is that this short has the 'story' that readers look for that draws you in and keeps you reading until the end.

With the right professional polish, author Steven Thor Gunnin has potential as a writer and we hope winning this prize and the potential to be published in our upcoming anthology will spur him to continue to seek higher and better markets and use his talents to further a writing career.

I look forward to reading more from Mr. Gunnin!

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And there you have it, the first three winners of the Accentuate Writers first ever short story contest. Congratulations to all the winners and to those who entered! Everyone who entered will get a short assessment of their writing. All those who made it to the finals will get a bit longer assessment, and those who won will win the prizes listed on the forum and this blog, including a cash prize for first place and a free professional edit for all three winners - as well as a contract for publication in the Accentuate Anthology.

Stay tuned to this blog on Wednesday of this week for the next short story contest announcement!

Again, thanks to everyone for your submissions! I'll be contacting the winner before Friday to let them know how to claim their prizes and with more info on the anthology.

Ya'll have a great night!

Love and stuff,
Michy

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