Writers are invited to create and submit a short story consisting of 20 paragraphs. The contest provides the 1st and 20th paragraphs, and the short story writer crafts the rest. First prize is $1000, 2nd prize is $750, and 3rd prize is $500 with the winning short stories published in a short story anthology, as well as an invitation to give a public reading at Inkberry Books in Niwot, CO. The twenty-four (24) Finalists will also have their short stories included in this anthology.







ABOUT THE CONTEST

Owl Canyon Press provides paragraphs #1 and #20 (see below), and the writer creates the other 18 paragraphs (i.e., paragraphs 2-19) to complete the story.



CONTEST DETAILS

There is no submission fee during the first month of the contest (August 1-31) and a $25 fee for the final month of the contest (September 1-30)

Anyone can submit, including outside the USA, but the stories must be in English

20 Paragraphs total – including the 1st and 20th provided in the submission form

No maximum word count, but each paragraph needs to be at least 50 words but feel free to use as many words as you need to tell the story

Dialog is fine as long as it’s in a paragraph of at least 50 words

Authors retain all rights to their short stories

Winning authors agree to permit Owl Canyon Press to publish their stories in an Anthology

Winners receive up to $1000 in cash awards, publication in a short story anthology, and an invitation to give a public reading at Inkberry Books in Niwot, CO

Winners will be notified in December 2020

Failure to comply with any contest guidelines may result in disqualification

For additional information check the Owl Canyon Press Hackathon FAQ

PROVIDED PARAGRAPHS

Paragraph #1 — Copy and paste this text as the 1st paragraph of your short story

It was an odd sized casket, too small for a man, too big for a child. A flag was draped over it, a smallish one. It was carried by four men in uniform, though it was hard to tell for sure from a distance what uniform it was, or even if they were all men. There wasn't room for the usual six pallbearers due to the small size of the casket since it would have made for a comical service to have all six jammed together, shoulder-to-shoulder, crowding around an under-sized coffin. So the extra pallbearers were in the ranks of many others in uniform standing beside a small open grave. The officiant wore a robe instead of a uniform and must have said something because there was a long silence, then a burst of laughter.



Paragraph #20 — Copy and paste as the 20th paragraph of your short story

The grave wasn’t ready until sunset, so the whole event was rushed and disorganized, except for the very last part. The grave was a massive affair, more of a crater than a grave, and it took until dark to roll the casket down to the bottom. If any prayers were said, they couldn’t be heard over the dull thudding of the clods raining down on the casket far below. It was an odd sized casket, too big for a man, too small for a dream, but just right for a dynasty.







