Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Two Big Announcements of 2015

The First Big Announcement: The IWSG Short Story Contest 2015

After the success of last year’s IWSG Guide to Publishing and Beyond, we decided to create another book. This time it’s a short story competition with the top ten stories getting published in the anthology.

Eligibility: Any member of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group is encouraged to enter – blogging or Facebook member. The story must be previously unpublished. Entry is free.

Word count: 5000-6000

Theme: Alternate History/Parallel Universe. That’s right, we’ve decided to go the speculative route. This theme has plenty of scope and we’re open to pretty much anything along these lines, except erotica or graphic violence.

Story deadline: November 1st 2015

How to enter: Send your polished, formatted, previously unpublished story to TheIWSG at gmail dot com before the deadline passes. Make sure to include your contact details.

Judging: We have some top industry editors, agents and authors to judge for us. We are super excited!  For more information, please check here.


Prizes: The winning stories will be edited then published by Freedom Fox Press in the IWSG anthology next year. Authors will receive royalties on books sold, both print and eBook. The top story will have the honor of giving the anthology its title. The winners will also receive an exclusive badge to display on their blog.

We’re excited to see the creativity and enthusiasm that’s such a part of this group put into action. So don your creative caps and start writing. And spread the word!
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The Second Big Announcement: The Body Institute by Carol Riggs 
The Body Institute
When 17-year-old Morgan Dey joins up as a Reducer at The Body Institute, her job is to take over another girl’s body, get her in shape, and then return to her own body. It’s innovative weight loss at its finest. Only there are a few catches…it’s not long before Morgan must decide if being a Reducer is worth the cost of her body and soul.

Congrats to Carol! I'm certain it's going to be a huge success. It's a great read with lots of thought-provoking concepts and plenty of page-turning twists.

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Next mini announcement: A quick look behind character creation.
If you want to know a little more about what I've been up to lately, I've written an article about character creation for games. You can check it out here.

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Final announcement: Since today is IWSG Day where we post about our insecurities or encourage others, I am happy to share that this is a very rare occasion: Little-to-no insecurities are currently plaguing me. Woo! How about you?

Have you read The Body Institute yet? Do you already have ideas for our writing contest? What have you been up to lately?