If you click on 2024-01 January - New Year's Resolution Story Contest above, you will see a list of the entries.

Contest Closed for entries.

Please post your choices for top three stories and possibly win $50.

Start the New Year right by participating in Jill, Emma, and Joanne’s writing contest!

BC Staff have been up to their eyeballs keeping the trains running and publishing new eBooks for our community, so Angela (Jill) Rasch and Emma Anne Tate offered to run a little writing contest to kick off the new year, get people’s creative juices flowing, and hopefully bring some new authors and readers as well! Joanne Barberella has pitched in gleefully to supplement the prize amounts. Another author who wishes to remain anonymous has also added to the total prize pool.

Here’s how it will work:

Contest opened on Monday, January 1, 2024 and all story submissions must be posted by Tuesday, February 14, 2024 – Valentine’s Day. Submissions must be new stories that have not been previously published anywhere. For the length of this contest, they must be published solely on BC.

There’s an official tag for contest entries. The fourth drop-down menu under “Add a Story” is labeled “contests.” Scroll down and click on “2024-01 January - New Year’s Resolution Story Contest.”

Also, if you click on that contest tag, you will see every story that’s been tagged for the contest.

Stories must have at least 2,500 words (sorry Bru!) and a maximum of 5,000 words and be posted as a solo (not part of a series or chapter in a longer work). The stories must have a TG element and for legal reasons cannot contain explicit sex or underage (18) abuse of any kind.

Stories must include a plot Element involving a New Year’s Resolution.

Authors may enter as often as they would like, however an author is only eligible to win one prize.

Jill and Emma will judge the contest. Why? Because they are fellow authors who’ve posted lots of stories (and in Jill’s case, published a ton of them). Because they’ve got the time, being ladies of leisure, sort of. Joanne was reticent, so we let her off the hook.

Jill and Emma will send their scores (one to one hundred) to Joanne to be tabulated. She will add them together and announce the winners. If both Emma and Jill award a story their highest score, the winner will receive the extra $200. The winner would then win $500 instead of $300.

But there’s an extra wrinkle we want to throw in. We’d like to use this opportunity to encourage “new” authors and readers to give BC a try. Please invite your friends or authors you may know from other sites to participate. We are offering an additional prize for the top finishing “new” author (whether he, she, or they finish in the top three or not) of $200.

Therefore, if the winner is a “new” author who both Emma and Jill have rated highest, that author will be awarded a total of $700.

In addition, should the “new” author elect to publish a novel, Emma and/or Jill will beta read or edit their manuscript at the “new” author’s discretion. AND – Rasufelle, who has designed over a dozen covers for Jill and Emma, will design a cover for the “new” author’s work – all at no charge.

A “new” author is one who has not published on BC in the past, under any name.

Another Huge offer for BC members who prompt a “new” author to come to BC for this contest.

If the winning “new” author identifies a current BC member (prior to today’s date) who made them aware of the contest, their “sponsor” will also receive a $100 prize.

A Little Side Action

To make things a bit more interesting for our 2024 New Year’s Writing Contest, if you send Emma, Joanne or Angela Rasch a PM with the names of non-BC authors you have invited to participate in the contest, you will be entered into a drawing for an extra $50 prize. We’ll announce the winner at the same time as the rest of the contest winners are announced.

Help us get the word out, and let’s get 2024 off to a great start!

But Wait!!! There’s More!!!

Authors love comments. The more they can relate to their readers the better they write. . .and possibly the more often they write.

Our goals are to inspire and motivate authors. But we're also hoping to engage readers. To that end, we have added an additional contest to be judged by Joanne. She will choose the best comment. The winner will receive $50. To win the comment must be posted on a Writing Contest story by an identifiable member (not Guest Reader). The comment must be posted before 2/25/2024.

What a "Best Comment" is -- is solely up to Joannebarbarella's discretion.

On February 15, after the contest is closed, we'll post a blog for readers to list their own choices for the top three stories, and why you like them. No negative comments allowed! Anyone who posts a response will be entered into a drawing for a $50 prize. Each person may enter this contest only once. If you list more than three stories your entry will be disqualified.

Entries will have to be submitted by February 22, 2024.

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So, come on, everyone! Give us all some fun short stories to start the year and spread the word!