At last – a writing contest open to adults and teens! It is fun, challenging, and designed to spark your imagination. And, since there’s a fun new contest every couple of months, you can stretch those writing muscles as many times as you wish.

Current Contest

May 11 is National “Twilight Zone” Day. Tell us a story inspired by this day. Stories can be funny, sad, scary, or anything in between.

Deadline for submission: Monday, April 18, 2011 by midnight (Pacific Time). Winners will be posted on May 11, 2011 in honor of the day.

Good luck and may the muse of imagination smile upon you.

Prizes

Teen Category
First Prize — $75 and publication
Second Prize — $25 and publication
Top Two Honorable Mentions — Publication

Adult Category
First Prize — $100 and publication
Second Prize — $50 and publication
Top Two Honorable Mentions — Publication

Door Prizes (Awarded in a random drawing; all contestants entered automatically)

Autographed copy of The Eleventh Sense by KR Johnson

San Diego theater tickets

Submission Guidelines and Contest Rules

  1. Read the prompt for this month’s contest.
  2. You will have until the posted deadline to get your story to us. For example, if the deadline is August 11, you will have until midnight (Pacific Time) to get your story in. We are serious about this. Do not send your story late and expect it to get read.
  3. The genre is totally up to you as the author. (Please note that we do not accept “erotica” or any kind of blatant sexual material.)
  4. Very Important: Send only one version of the story. We will not accept re-writes after the first submission.
  5. Late stories are disqualified, so allow yourself plenty of time for it to arrive in our inbox.
  6. Fill out the on-line registration form on the www.TheEleventhSense.com.com website and pay the $10 fee via PayPal.
  7. Entries must be Times New Roman, 12 pt or 14 pt, double-spaced.
  8. At the top of your document, put the title, the word count, and the category (teen or adult). Titles count!
  9. Type your name, email address, mailing address, and phone number at the END of the story. Breaking this rule is grounds for disqualification. We never use phone numbers unless there is an emergency regarding your entry, and we never share any information with any other person or company.
  10. Teen contestants must have parental permission to enter if under age 18.
  11. Copy and paste your manuscript into the body of the email. Do not send your entry as an attachment to the email. Attachments will not be opened or read.
  12. Sometimes writers submit their stories and find they are missing ends of paragraphs because they have cut and pasted to their mail program from their word processor. Please make sure your entire story appears in your email before clicking "send." We can't be held responsible for partial entries.
  13. Send your entry to submissions@theeleventhsense.com.com with the title of the contest in the subject heading. (eg: Twilight Zone contest). We accept only on-line entries as we are trying to be green, and save both trees and postage!
  14. Entries must be no more than 500 words.
  15. Only previously unpublished stories will be accepted.
  16. Copyrights to the manuscripts remain with the authors. Living Creativity and Words Are Not Enough require only one-time publishing rights for winning entries to allow us to publish them on the websites.
  17. Winners will be posted on www.LivingCreativity.com and www.WordsAreNotEnough.info. First place winners and honorable mentions will also be notified via email.
  18. Entrants may be located anywhere on the globe, but stories must be submitted in English. Only single-author stories permitted. No co-authored stories or teams, please. Reprints are not permitted.
  19. All entries must be composed within the contest time frame. By entering the contest, you certify that you have read these guidelines in their entirety and that you agree, on winning the contest, to allow us to publish your winning entry on the www.LivingCreativity.com and www.WordsAreNotEnough.info websites for an unlimited period of time on a non-exclusive basis. Winning authors retain reprint rights to their work. All other authors retain all rights to their work.
  20. www.LivingCreativity.com and www.WordsAreNotEnough.info, and their employees, officers, volunteers, and directors cannot be held responsible for any electronic transmission problems.
  21. The company's liability will never exceed the cost of the entry fee. Refunds will not be issued.
  22. Decisions of the judges are final.
  23. And, finally...please, give us a good ending! The ending can make or break a story.