| 100% of the reading fees will be donated to the Children's Literacy Initiative |
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| Each year, Bards and Sages sponsors a writing contest to benefit charity. For our 5th annual contest, we left it up to our readers to select both the theme and charity. This year's theme is Blood, Fangs, and Fire: Short Stories about Vampires and Dragons! |
| Prizes Prize List subject to change, however all bonds and comp copies will be awarded. First Prize *$200 U.S. Series EE Savings Bond $50 Cash Prize (courtesy Creative Mountain Games) Bards and Sages Prize Pack: Print and digital copies of Bardic Tales and Sage Advice, The Grandmaster, Foot Ways, and Of Angelic Blood! Gryphonwood Prize Pack: Winner's choice of any three paperback books by Gryphonwood Press. *Original "Magician" Vampire Tarot 8" x 10" Art Print by artist/writer T. M. Moore (courtesy Ikthalion Press) *Publication in upcoming anthology *Two copies of the finished anthology Second Prize *$100 U.S. Series EE Savings Bond Print & digital copies of any two Bards and Sages fiction titles. $30 in digital products from Creative Mountain Games *Publication in upcoming anthology *Two copies of the finished anthology Third Prize *$50 U.S. Series EE Savings Bond Print & digital copy of any Bards and Sages fiction title. $20 in digital products from Creative Mountain Games *Publication in upcoming anthology *Two copies of the finished anthology |
| Contest Rules All entries must be received by October 31, 2008 Winners will be announced December 1, 2008 Stories can be in any speculative genre (fantasy, horror, science fiction) and must involve vampires and dragons in some fashion. The main character need not be a vampire or a dragon, but both creatures, or a hybrid thereof, must have prominent roles in the story. Note that our longstanding policy against vampire erotica still stands. While we don't mind some adult themes, they should not be the bulk of your story, nor should they be superfluous. Also, while our charity of choice this year promotes children's literacy, we are not looking for children's stories. Stories can be anywhere from 1,000-30,000 words. Stories must be your original work, and previously unpublished. Please note that this INCLUDES stories published online or in self-published books. Stories may not use the product identity or intellectual property of others (i.e. no fan fiction). Submissions should be submitted electronically in Word format or RTF format only. Submit as attachments. Do not attempt to submit stories in the body of the e-mail. Reading fee: $10. We prefer that you pay your reading fee via PayPal. If you do not have a PayPal account, use the contact button to request a mail address to send a check or money order. We cannot accept cash or international checks for payment. You may enter more than one story, but you will need to pay the reading fee for each entry. Winners will be required to supply a valid social security number in order to receive Series EE Savings Bonds*. Winners will also be required to sign an agreement granting Bards and Sages First Time Worldwide print and electronic rights to publish the winning story. All other rights revert to the author upon publication. Winner's under the age of 18 may be required to provide a parental consent form. |
| *International Participants: If the winner lives outside of the U.S. and does not have a social security number, winner may opt to receive a cash payment of half the bond value via PayPal. All other prizes remain the same. **Reading fees and additional donations are not tax-deductable. |
| Special Thanks to Our Co-Sponsors! |
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| Use the following buttons to submit your story, request more information and pay your reading fee. |
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| If you make an additional donation** of $10, you will get a free PDF copy of Destiny's Forge courtesy Ikthalion Press! To make an additional donation via PayPal, simply change the order quantity to "2" and in the optional information field write "donation." We will then send you a coupon code that will let you download your free copy from either RPGNOW.com or Drivethrurpg.com. |
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| Over $600 in cash and prizes will be awarded! |
| Dog Soul Publishing is donating a total of $75 in digital products to be given away just for entering! All entrants in the writing contest will be automatically entered in one of three drawings to win $25 in digital products from Dog Soul Publishing. Drawing dates are: April 30th, August 30th, and October 31st. One random winner will be selected from all entries received before the drawing date. |
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| All entrants will receive a free PDF copy of The Best of Gryphonwood, a fantasy anthology by Gryphonwood Press. |
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| 2002 winners were published online only. Their works, and many others, can be found in our online library. |