It is time, once more, for the return of the

AWKWARD AUTHOR PHOTO CONTEST.

*drum roll*

*crash of thunder*

*ravens descend*

We’ve done a few iterations so far, and some of my favorites and past winners are riiiight here —

(You get the idea.)

Way this works is easy:

You take a photo of yourself. Or someone takes a photo of you. And this photo is meant to imitate a really bad, really weird, really awkward author photo. Some real authors have terrible, terrible photos on their book jackets, and your job is to outdo those at every turn. Funny is good. Weird is wonderful. Clever is excellent. (More examples here.)

And yes, there be prizes.

The rules are these:

EDIT:

The contest runs from today till Weds, July 11th, 2018, noon EST.

You get one entry. Just one. Multiple entries disqualifies you.

Email that entry — a photo of medium or greater size, at least 700px wide — to me at terribleminds at gmail dot com, and when you do…

Use the subject (and this is a must): AWKWARD AUTHOR PHOTO CONTEST SUBMISSION 2018.

I will search for that subject, and if it ain’t exact, I might miss your entry.

Your photo will be uploaded to a public Flickr page so that it can be seen and judged, and it may also end up here on the blog or other social media if it’s one of the winners. I don’t own the photo, though, and I claim no rights to it. If you want to share credit for who took the photo, please do! I’ll try to include any credit I get with the photo page.

Open to international (non-US) participants, but international winners pay their own shipping.

I will get the photos up and judged in the week following the contest deadline, which means the books will likely be out to you around or just after Christmas, but before New Years.

Photoshop is acceptable, provided you’re ‘shopping a real photo.

You do not need to be an actual writer/author to enter this contest. Though, actual writers and authors are obviously welcome and encouraged to join.

There will be two winners.

The first winner is chosen by ME, ME, ME — *raises fists to the sky as lightning is summoned to them* — because damnit this is my site and I get to pick the Grand Prize Winner.

The second winner is chosen by YOU, YOU, YOU — *the camera whirls about you in a dizzying pirouette* — because surely nothing can go wrong with crowdsourcing.

I will pick my winner by Friday, July 13th.

And then I will open up the contest to a 7-day-voting period, which means the You-Chosen Winner will be picked by Friday the 20th. That said, I will be gone that following week, so I’ll announce winners on Friday, the 27th!

This is open only to those in the continental United States — international folks will have to pay their own shipping and handling.

The prizes be these:

The Me-Picked winner will win the following —

A full hardcover set of Star Wars: Aftermath, defaced with my signature.

A copy of Damn Fine Story, paperback, also ruined with my autograph.

A copy of The Raptor & The Wren, hardcover, also cursed with my inky name.

And a 3-book prize pack curated by Del Rey Books based on the winner’s tastes.

And a postcard where I inscribe for you a unique, and probably nonsense, piece of writing and/or life advice.

The You-Picked winner will win —

A 3-book prize pack curated by Del Rey Books based on the winner’s tastes.

And a postcard where I inscribe for you a unique, and probably nonsense, piece of writing and/or life advice.

And that’s it.

If you have questions, pop them in the comments below.

Otherwise:

BRING YOUR MOST AWKWARD AWKWARDNESS TO THE TABLE.