We do our best to help writers who submit their stories to our contest. It is very important to us that you realize what kind of adventure you are about to begin.
No one is born a master, I do not know anybody who was a genius just at the
beginning of her/his writing aspirations. That is why you need to stand up after falling down, even if it hurts at first.
The Atlantis Short Story Contest is not only designed for people who have been writing for several years now. It is meant to be a contest for the beginning writer and for the experienced writer.
We value every short story, give it its moment and respect the writer's effort to write her/his thoughts down. Sharing the eternal passion, human beings are supposed to create something bigger than themselves.
It is an urge that motivates generation after generation to build a masterpiece that shall last longer than a life time. Words have this power and may fulfil this purpose. Furthermore, we would like to emphasize that hard work is hardly neglected, especially not by our jurors. Quite often people give up, although they became really good at this craft. It is a real pity, because writing can enrich everyone's life and give you a deeper understanding of philosophical questions. Exhausting, yes, it is sometimes, nevertheless it profoundly rewards the writer and the reader, too.
By participating in the contest, you will not only have a shot at our cash prizes, but you will be provided sophisticated feedback that helps you understand how strong your story actually is. It will not really matter whether your short story has a length of 600 words or you prefer to stretch the limit up to approx. 2,500 words. We can proudly confirm that shorter stories are written with more caution, as the writer seemed to slowly allow the story to build an dramatic effect.
'The winner takes it all' is not our slogan. Everybody is a winner, because even if you do not make it to the Top 15, you will still receive our short feedback for your submitted stories. By the way, the so-called short feedback is altogether 1 1/2 pages long, as it is our goal to not just give you points in certain categories. We explain why we think your story is brilliant or is a project for improvement. The judging criteria are the following: originality, plot, character, theme and a couple more, but we do not want to give away too much. Get your individual feedback for your own short story!
By the end of the contest, you will be able to elevate your story to the next level and make it marketable and maybe you get it published as well.
The Top 40 participants will be posted on the website with their winning story's title. You can refer to our website in your CV, quote sentences from your feedback on your website, show it during meetings with literary agents or at any other occasion that comes up. You may use the feedback you will receive to show publishers and prove that your work is acknowledged in the literary world and that is why it deserves adequate treatment - publishing.
And what we want to achieve is that you keep telling your stories to the world, because without stories where would we be right now? Short stories are the perfect format for the modern world and its fast pace. You just have to write one.
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What do you exactly gain by entering the competition?
Every submitted short story is professionally evaluated. The salient point is that we allow you to see what
we think about your short story. We write for every participant's short story a brief, insightful comment
(approx. one page) and include an evaluation table which gives you a quick overview about the strengths and
weaknesses of your work.
The Top 3 participants are awarded with cash prizes. (see above)
The Top 15 participants will get in-depth feedback.
The Top 15 participants have the option to get their story published on our website.
At the end of the contest the author will be asked, if she/he wants her/his story to
be published on the website.
In the case that the author wants her/his story to be removed from the website later on,
she/he can write us an e-mail to inquiry@atlantis-shortstorycontest.com .
Her/his short story will be promptly removed.
The Top 40 participants will be posted on the website with their story's title, name
(and a concise two-sentence logline, if they want). The author retains all rights to her/his work.
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As a writer you probably do not get the attention you expect and deserve. It is often the case that the family
and friends do not appreciate your dedication to writing at all.
But writers want to be heard, right? Why else should they sit and carefully type each character. Word by Word.
Sentence after sentence. Writing allows you to create entire worlds and therefore it would be a real pity if
nobody got the reading pleasure and the opportunity to proceed your thoughts and ideas.
As an unpublished author of fiction work, it is pretty difficult to actually live long enough to experience your
'lucky break'. You're an unpublished short story writer with the ambition of eventually getting your
work published, or you're an screenwriter, a poet or a playwright, etc. To break in, to get your lucky break
without having contacts in the industry, your work of fiction does need to be excellent, otherwise a
pitching (brief oral presentation: 'What is your work about?') opportunity is a lost shot.
Honest feedback really improves the quality of your work and, consequently, the chances of being heard.
Our goal is to offer a short story competition that provides insightful feedback that the writer can benefit from.
We want to give everybody the chance to hone their writing skills, because it does not rarely happen that writers
are not ready when the job comes by.
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