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5th Annual Samurai Fiction Contest - 2009



Fifth Annual Samurai Fiction Contest, 2009

The parameters for the Fifth annual Samurai Fiction contest are covered on this page. The stories must involve Japan or the Samurai, and the story may take place any time up to, but no later than the end of the 19th century, and may take place at any point in Japanese history before this.

 


Requirements:

This is to be a piece of fiction writing taking place within an unspecified period in Japanese history up to the late 19th century. The available genres are listed below, or along the window on the left of this page - the stories must be written in the style of one of the genres listed.


Parameters:

The story is required to be more than 1,000 words, with a 5,000 word targeted limit - overages are acceptable if necessary, but please don't overdo it. It can be done in the first person, or the third person, and must be a complete short story, not an excerpt from a larger story. The genre(s) must be listed at the top of the story above the title - one genre or a combination of two genres are acceptable. Although the particular genre will not affect judging, all entrants must make sure that their story follows the requirements of their chosen genre(s) - see details below.

Sequels: Sequels to previous stories entered in the contest are acceptable - however, the story must be a stand-alone short story, not a continuation of the previous story.

Disqualifications: Stories with numerous blatant misspellings or poor grammar will be immediately disqualified at the judges discretion. Please spellcheck and proofread your stories. You have until November 2009, plenty of time to correct spelling mistakes and grammar issues.


This year there is no fee to enter the samurai fiction contest. The contest is completely free and open to all. The entries will be published on Samurai Archives.com, with the winner featured. Writers will retain all rights to their stories. A maximum of two stories per entrant are allowed.

Please note that any stories that are disqualified for bad grammar or spelling will not be published on the website.



Submission Information:

Submissions are to be sent via email to webmaster |at| samurai-archives.com in a WORD .Doc format OR HTML. At the top of the first page, please include your full name, your Yahoo ID, and Samurai Archives Citadel ID (whichever is applicable) your email address, as well as the genre(s) the story falls under, and the title of your story. You will receive a confirmation email that your submission has been received. A maximum of two stories per author are acceptable.


Judging and Winning the contest:

Submissions will be judged by a panel of Yahoo Group and Samurai Citadel community members who are not submitting stories. The judges will not be told who the authors of each respective submision are until after the judging has closed, to avoid any swaying of the judges. The recipient of the submissions (The Samurai Archives webmaster) will not be a judge, and will only moderate the proceedings, to keep entries anonymous. The winning story will be featured on the Samurai Archives site as the winner of the 2009 Samurai Fiction contest. All stories will be placed in the 'Fan Fiction' section of the Samurai Archives as well. The winner will be announced at the Yahoo Group and the Samurai Archives Citadel at the end of judging in November.


Genres:


Horror

Description: Monsters, zombies, serial killers, and ghouls, anything goes - broken bones, dismemberment, Hideyoshi the werewolf, Nobunaga the vampire. The classic horror story.


SciFi

Description: Anything scifi goes, the more creative the better - alien invasion, visitors from another dimension, time travelers, a mad Samurai scientist.


Ghost Story

Description: Ghosts, spirits, and demons from beyond the grave. Haunted forests and castles, ghostly revenge stories.


Comedy

Description: Slapstick, wit, black comedy, irony.


Crossover Fiction

Description: Send your favorite fictional characters from any genre to Japan. Oops, transporter accident!


What If?

Description: Take a historical situation and character and say 'what if..?' What if Hideyoshi was allergic to peanuts? What if Nobunaga had converted to the Church of Scientology?


Pulp Fiction

Description: Violent, gritty stories with hokey dialogue, mystery, action, revenge, and betrayal.


Historical Fiction

Description: Take a real historical person or situation and fictionalize it.


 

Timeline:
Deadline for fiction submission: 11/15/2009

Winner to be announced after judging.

Timelines are subject to change.

Participants agree to have thier stories diplayed on that Samurai Archives after the contest has finished. Participants will retain all rights to thier work, and will be credited for thier work on the site.

Please email questions to webmaster |at| samurai-archives.com