Friends of the Library announce first ever short story contest

Do you dream of becoming the next publishing sensation like James Patterson or Nora Roberts? The Friends of the Maricopa Public Library are offering an opportunity to let your literary voice shine. 

The Friends are sponsoring their first ever Short Story Contest. To help you get started, they are providing a portion of the opening sentence so you can let your imagination take over.

Word count begins when you fill in the blanks of this first sentence:  “As the sun rose above the Sierra Estrella mountains on a chilly winter morning, they rode into Maricopa, five horsemen dressed in black with…………..”

All Maricopa residents ages 16 years or older are welcome to enter the contest. Stories must be 750 words in length and take place in the city of Maricopa. Entries will be judged by the following criteria:  originality, creativity, entertainment value and the “wow” factor.

The winning authors of the top three stories will win gift cards from Barnes and Noble bookstore in the amounts of $50 for first place, $25 for second place and $15 for third place.

The deadline for all entries is Monday, Jan. 25, 2010. Short story submissions must be double-spaced and include contact information. Winning stories will be published by InMaricopa, either online or in print.

Entries can be submitted via email at [email protected] or by mail to Short Story Contest, c/o Friends of Maricopa Public Library, P.O. Box 663, Maricopa, Ariz. 85139. 

Winners will be announced at the Friends of the Maricopa Public Library’s Feb. 8 general meeting. 

Let your imaginations soar – and start writing.

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