Fiction Competition: An Ocean of Possibility

The Writer is sponsoring a competition on the theme of: "An Ocean of Possibility"
Entry link.

Words offer us an ocean of possibility for storytelling. The ebb and flow, calm and storm, comfort and threat. How can you use the ocean as an important element in a story? What role can it play in your narrative? How can your characters reflect the currents of the ocean, or how can the ocean affect the choices they make? Is the ocean a dangerous element, or an avenue to freedom? What will happen, who will be instrumental and what takes place because of the ocean in your story?

Drawing from the strength, whimsicality and mystery of the ocean, we challenge you to treat readers to an original story this summer. Submit a 1,000-word fictional short story using one of these ocean-themed quotes for inspiration: 

• "Because there’s nothing more beautiful than the way the ocean refuses to stop kissing the shoreline, no matter how many times it’s sent away." -Sarah Kay

• "Doesn’t it seem to you,” asked Madame Bovary, “that the mind moves more freely in the presence of that boundless expanse, that the sight of it elevates the soul and gives rise to thoughts of the infinite and the ideal?" -Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary

• "The voice of the sea is seductive; never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander for a spell in abysses of solitude; to lose itself in mazes of inward contemplation. The voice of the sea speaks to the soul. The touch of the sea is sensuous, enfolding the body in its soft, close embrace." –Kate Chopin, The Awakening

1st place: $1,000 and publication in the August issue of The Writer.

2nd place: $500 and publication on The Writer’s website 3rd place: $250 and publication on The Writer’s website

Guidelines:

The submission deadline is midnight eastern time on April 30, 2015.
The entry fee is $25 (including processing fees).
You may submit additional entries on the same transaction for an additional $15 per submission (up to 5 per transaction).
$1,000 and publication in the August 2015 issue will be awarded to the winner. The runner-up will receive $500 and publication on writermag.com. Third place winner will receive $250 and publication on writermag.com.
A blind reading of all entries will be conducted by a staff editor of The Writer, who will narrow down the pool of finalists. Those entries will then be read for our full editorial panel, who will select a winner. 

Close friends and colleagues (current & former) of the The Writer staff and Madavor Media are not eligible to compete.
All submissions must be submitted via our online submission form manager. We will not accept mail or email submissions. We do not accept previously published entries.
All submissions must be previously unpublished.
You may enter simultaneously submitted work.
Winners will be announced in the August 2015 issue of The Writer.
Please remove your name, bio, and any contact info from the file that you submit.

Entry fees are non-refundable.