storySouth Million Writers Award now open

The storySouth Million Writers Award is now open. I will be running the reader and editor nominations from this blog; the main award page on storySouth will be where the notable stories and top ten stories are posted.

For background information on the award, please see my introduction to the award and the award rules. In short, the award is for any fictional short story of at least a 1,000 words first published in an online publication during 2009. By "publication," I mean an online magazine or journal with an editorial process (so self-published stories are not eligible).

• Reader nominations can be made here.
• Editor nominations can be made here.

The deadline for nominations is February 28, 2010. The list of notable stories of the year will be released by April 1, 2010, with the top ten stories released by the first of May. Voting on the top stories of the year will last for one month after the top ten stories are released.

Donations Needed for Prize Money!

Here's the big thing: We need donations to fund this year's prize money. Last year there were three cash prizes: $500 for the overall winner, $200 for the runner-up, and $100 for the honorable mention/third place. The majority of this prize money was raised through donations from writers, editors and readers. I hope we can reach these amounts again.

Myself and storySouth, together with a few minor donations left over from last year, have already put forth over $100 for this year's prize money. If no additional donations come in, that will be the prize money for the 1st place winner. But I'm optimistic we can quickly raise much more than that.

Please note that since these donations do not go through Spring Garden Press (storySouth's publisher), donations are not tax deductible. However, your entire donated amount will be used for the prize money, minus the small fee PayPal deducts for transmitting the money. All donors will have the option of having their name and donation listed on the Million Writers Award page. Donors may also remain anonymous.

To donate, go here.

Thanks to everyone who has taken part in the award in previous years, and I hope you enjoy it again this year. I will be posting updates on this blog throughout the award process. For more frequent updates, be sure to check out my Twitter account.