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You know you’ve got the talent.
Now, put your way with words to the test. . . .
Welcome to the Yaoi-Con 2008 Fiction Contest!
Each year, this contest is held to find some of the best fiction out there, pushing creative minds to their limits as authors vie for the coveted top position (as well as the obligatory bragging rights), and this year is no different: we want the best. Will your story be the best?
Please read all the rules for the contest before submitting a story. Stories that do not comply with the rules will be disqualified and returned to the author.
Questions about the rules, the contest in general, or becoming a judge for the contest should be emailed to the [ Coordinator ].
Note: Yaoi-Con reserves the right to modify or change these rules at any time with no warning.
Basic Rules/Guidelines
- All stories should be new, meaning not previously published anywhere, either traditionally or online.
- All stories must feature a m/m pairing, be it platonic, romantic or sexual, between primary characters. No stories without a m/m pairing will be considered.
- Stories may feature original characters/setting or characters/setting from anime/manga/video games. Note: Should you choose to write a story based on a previously existing anime/manga/video game, please keep in mind that the judges may have not seen or read the series you choose, so it's not a good idea to enter a story that relies on the judges having prior knowledge of a certain event or character. They probably won’t understand the story, and that could damage your chances for winning.
- Each story must have a single author. Collaborations will not be accepted.
- Authors may submit up to two (2) stories. Stories must be submitted by their authors only. Stories may not be submitted on someone's behalf.
- Each story must make use of one of the prompts below.
- Each story must be at least 5,000 words but must not exceed 20,000 words.
- All stories must be short stories, also known as stand-alones and/or one-shots. Single chapters from stories with multiple parts will not be considered.
- Stories may be as lemony (racy, strong sexual content) or vanilla (little or no sex) as you like; you will be asked to indicate the level of sexual content when you submit your story, but the sexual content will not be used as a judging criterion.
Prompts
Before you settle on a story, you must pick at least one prompt from below. You can even pick more than one if you’re so inclined. Let your imagination run wild with your interpretation of the prompts!
Note: Genre is not a deciding factor, so any genre would be acceptable for any and all of the prompts.
When you submit your story, you’ll be asked to list the prompt(s) you selected, and the judges will use this information to rate how well you adhered to your choice. See below for Submission Guidelines and Judging.
List of Prompts
A) Absolution
B) Bad timing
C) Countdown
D) Declarations
E) Elephant in the room
Submission Guidelines & Deadline
Deadline for submissions will be July 31, 2008. Any stories received after the deadline will be rejected unread, with no exceptions. NOTE: There will be no contest extension.
All authors attending the convention may enter the contest free of charge. If you will not be able to attend the convention, but wish to enter a story in the contest, there will be an entry fee of five U.S. dollars ($5.00). Payment may be submitted via money order only, made out to Biseinen-ya.
Mail money orders to:
Yaoi-Con Fanfiction Contest
c/o Yaoi-Con 2007 Registration
P.O. Box 26095
San Francisco, CA 94126-6095
USA
Email submissions as attachments (.txt or .doc extensions only) to fanfic @ yaoicon.com (remove the spaces).
In your email, include the following: - Your Real Name
- Your Badge Name (both names will be used to verify if you are a paid member)
- Handle / Pseudonym (if you do not wish for your real name to be released)
- Email address
- Web site (Yaoi-Con will link to winning authors’ sites, if permission is granted.
- Story title
- Series (on which the story is based) / Original
- Word count
- Prompt(s) chosen
- Sexual content rating
Judging
Each story will be judged on the following criteria on a scale of 1-5, with the highest possible score a story may achieve being 5 points.
Criteria:
Adherence to Chosen Prompt: 10%
Characterization: 20%
Grammar and Spelling: 10%
Originality: 20%
Overall Reaction: 10%
Plot (or PWP): 30%
Final scores will be determined by highest average scores. If two stories have the same score, a tie will be declared. Scoring will be anonymous — names will be stripped from each submission before they are passed to the judges. Individual judge's scores will not be released, though final scores of winning stories will be. Final scores of non-winning stories will be released to the author only upon request.
If you have any questions or are interested in becoming a judge for the contest, please feel free to contact the [ Coordinator ].
So what are you waiting for? Get writing and submit those stories! |
