Our new weekly contests will start when we fill our inventory with stories submitted under the new contest rules. We currently have an inventory of stories submitted under the former rules, and we will be contacting writers to ask if they agree to publish their stories under the new rules.
While our contest judging format is changing, the guidelines for submissions remain the same. We are always accepting submissions. The submission guidelines are as follows:
1. Written in English by a U.S. citizen or U.S resident who is at least 40 years of age.
2. Must be your own true, nonfiction short story occurring during your midlife. We define “midlife” as ages 40 – 65.
3. There is no word minimum. We suggest a length of 250 to 500 words. We will accept submissions of fewer words and up to 1,500 words.
4. Well-written.
5. Entertaining, enlightening, insightful, humorous, or a combination of two or more characteristics.
6. Must not be offensive or include strong religious references, political statements or touch other topics deemed inappropriate by the Editor.
We accept stories about anything, generally. We are always looking for submissions and are interested in all types of true stories occurring in your midlife. In addition, throughout the year, we have special interests. See our Calendar Page for ideas.
Multiple entries are allowed. There is currently no limit on the number of weekly contests that you may enter. To enter, complete the Online Submission Form on our Submissions Page. For details see the Vignette Contest Rules.
If you have any questions, please leave them in the comment boxes below, and we will answer them in a reply comment.
Are pieces from one’s own blog permitted in the contest? If not, are revised blog pieces permitted?
From the Editor: We prefer first-published stories, but we have allowed one story from a writer’s blog, and a revised story is fine. For the $100 contest, however, the stories must be first-published.