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Fiction
Fiction is the term used to describe works of information created from the imagination. This is in contrast to non-fiction, which makes factual claims about reality. Fictional works -- books, pictures, stories, fairy tales, fables, films, comics, interactive fiction -- may be partly based on factual occurrences but always contain some imaginary content.
Fiction is largely perceived as a form of art or entertainment, although not all fiction is necessarily artistic. Fiction may be created for the purpose of educating, such as fictional examples used in school textbooks. Fiction is also frequently instrumentalized by propaganda and advertising. Fiction may be propagated by parents to their children out of tradition (e.g. Santa Claus) or as a form of control (cf. fairy tales). Frequently fiction is deliberately created with a moral goal in mind; such fables are not necessarily targeted at children.
Fiction may over time blend with factual accounts and develop into mythology; atheists typically perceive religion as no different from any fictional tale, whereas members of religious groups typically explain their beliefs with faith and claim they are fundamentally different from fictional tales (although they may call other religious views fictional). The sociological school of constructivism argues that every view of reality is fundamentally a construction of the self and that a safe distinction between fact and fiction is impossible, whereas the philosophy of naturalism holds that reality can be approximated and truth can be demonstrated through usefulness, allowing the distinction from fiction.
Fiction has often been the target of censorship or boycotts, escalating into book burnings or bans. Extremist regimes like the Taliban have been even more prohibitive, restricting all reading to religious texts. There is an ongoing debate regarding sexual content in fiction and whether or not juveniles can be safely exposed to it; opponents of fiction with sexual content typically label it pornography.
The Internet has had a massive impact on the distribution of fiction, calling into question the feasibility of copyright as a means to ensure the income of creators. Together with cheap and powerful home computers, it has also led to new forms of fiction, such as interactive computer games or computer-generated comics. Countless forums for fan fiction can be found online, where loyal followers of specific fictional realms create and distribute derivative stories. Through open writing systems like wikis, collaboratively written fiction is also becoming possible. For example, see the Wikifiction initiative.
Fiction may be perceived as funny, serious, sad, fast, tense, confusing, surprising, twisted, provocative, boring, unrealistic, enlightening, addictive, manipulative, generic, beautiful, life-changing, depressing, or inspiring.
Whatever one's view of specific forms of fiction may be, it cannot be denied that fiction is a fundamental part of human culture, and the ability to create fiction, or in fact any art, is frequently cited as one of the defining characteristics of humanity.
Categories of fiction
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The elements of fiction:
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Writer's Digest Writing Competitions
Offers $25,000 in prize money for original, unpublished work in ten categories including poetry, short stories, plays, television scripts, articles, and children's fiction. Deadline: mid-May. Also provides separate annual awards for short short stories, screenplays and self-published books.
http://www.writersdigest.com/contests/
Flyway
6th Annual Flyway Sweet Corn Prize. $150 and a book bag of Iowa sweet corn for top entries in each category: fiction, nonfiction (maximum: 4,000 words) and poetry. Reading fee: $18. Deadline March 1st.
http://www.engl.iastate.edu/publications/flyway/homepage.html
Richard J. Margolis Award
A $4,000 prize, awarded annually to a promising non-fiction writer whose work combines "wisdom, humor, warmth, and concern, combined with social justice." Deadline: July 1.
http://www.margolis.com/award/index.html
Boston Review Annual Short Story and Poetry Contests
Contests for original, unpublished short stories (up to 4,000 words) and poems (no more than 10 pages) in any genre. Closing dates: September 1, and June 1, respectively. Entry fees: $20, and $15, respectively.
http://bostonreview.mit.edu/contests.html
The New Writer Magazine Annual Prose and Poetry Prizes
Offers prize money totalling 2,500 pounds for essays (maximum 2,000 words), short stories (maximum 4,000 words), serials or novellas (up to 20,000 words), and poetry (maximum 100 lines). Closes November 30. Modest entry fees.
http://www.thenewwriter.com
Arizona Authors Association Awards
AAA requires entries for unpublished poetry, short stories, essays/articles, and novels. Cash prizes of $100 in each category, plus publication, are offered. Deadline: July 1, annually. Entry fees vary from $10 (poetry) to $30 (novels).
http://azauthors.com
Sarabande Books - Poetry & Short Fiction Contests
Open to U.S. citizens only, Sarabande offers an annual $2,000 prize for both poetry (minimum 48 pages) and short fiction (minimum 150 pages).
http://www.sarabandebooks.org
ByLine Magazine Contests
Writers magazine offers a large number of contests throughout the year, including poetry, fiction, non-fiction. Open to all. Modest cash prizes.
http://www.bylinemag.com/contests.asp
River City Writing Awards in Fiction and Poetry
A journal based at the University of Memphis, offers annual cash awards for both original, unpublished short stories (maximum 7,500 words) and poetry (maximum 2 pages). Closes March 1. Entry fees: $12 and $5, respectively.
http://www.people.memphis.edu/~rivercity/contests.html
William Saroyan International Prize for Writing
An annual prize of $12,500, this award is intended to encourage new writers who have recently published a work of fiction or memoirs.
http://saroyanprize.stanford.edu
Santa Fe Writers Project
SFWP provides resources for authors and features online fiction as well as an annual writing contest for prose, both fiction and non-fiction, including short stories, essays and sample chapters of novels. $6,000 in cash prizes. Deadline: mid-January.
http://www.sfwp.com/
Mid-List Press First Series Awards
Offers annual awards for novels, short fiction, poetry and creative non-fiction. Reading fee: $30. Deadlines vary. Open to unpublished writers only. The award includes publication and an advance against royalties.
http://www.midlist.org/firstseriesguidelines.cfm
Word Smitten Annual Literary Fiction Contest
Offers a prize of $1,010 for the best on-line submission of literary (no genre) fiction totaling exactly 1,010 words. Reading fee: $15. Deadline: July 1.
http://www.wordsmitten.com/fiction.html
The University of Michigan Press
Annual awards, worth $1,000 each and publication, for literary fiction in the form of both a novel and a short story collection. Entrants must have at least one publication credit in the realm of literature. No entry fee. Deadline: July 1.
http://www.press.umich.edu/fiction
Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest
San Jose State University sponsors this yearly challenge "to compose the opening sentence to the worst of all possible novels". No entry fee. Official deadline: April 15.
http://www.bulwer-lytton.com/
Southeastern Writers Association Contests
These contests and awards are restricted to writers attending the annual week-long Southeastern Writers Conference, held in June at St. Simons Island, Georgia. .
http://www.southeasternwriters.com/contests.htm
Tundra Memorial Poetry and Short Fiction Contest
Offers a contest for short stories (500 to 2,000 words) and rhyming poetry (up to 100 lines), inspired by and using similar themes to the works of Emily Chesley. Prize: $100 (US). Entry fee: $5. Deadline: mid-September.
http://emilychesley.com/contest/
Painted Bride Fiction and Poetry Contests
Literary short stories (maximum 5,000 words) and poetry are sought in contests sponsored by Rutgers University. Reading fees: $10 and $5 respectively. Deadline: September 30. $1000 prize in each category, plus publication in PBQ.
http://pbq.rutgers.edu
The Parable Award for Literary Christian Fiction
Seeks unpublished, original novels of Christian fiction, suitable either for children or adults. Deadline: December 1. Reading fee: $1. Cash prize: $100.
http://parableaward.tripod.com
Paraclete Press Fiction Contest
Paraclete Press, a Christian multi-media company, seeks an original, unpublished novel. Minimum length: 40,000 words. Prize: $2,000 in advance royalties. Entry fee: $25. Deadline: February 1, 2004.
http://www.paracletepress.com/fictionaward
We Love Writers Writing Contests
Conducts regular contests on-line for poetry, short stories and essays. No entry fees. Modest cash prizes. Deadlines: June 1 and December 1.
http://www.betterkarma.com/welovewriters
National Writing Contest
Original, unpublished novels are sought in this annual contest. Manuscripts must be at least 90 pages in length.
http://www.fountainheadpub.com/
Mona Schreiber Prize for Humorous Fiction and Non-Fiction
Humorous stories and essays up to 750 words are required. Reading fee: $5. Deadline: December 1. Cash prizes total $850.
http://www.brashcyber.com/mona.html
A Woman's Write
Writing contest for women seeks a story, memoir or book chapter on a given theme. Deadline; December 31, thence monthly. Entry fee: $7. First prize: $70.
http://www.awomanswrite.com
Peralta Press Writing Awards
Annual contest seeks poetry (maximum: 30 lines), short stories and non-fiction (both maximum: 2,000 words). Minimum entry fee: $10. Cash prizes total: $750. All entries considered for publication. Deadline: August 15.
http://www.peraltapress.homestead.com
Annual APEX Awards for Publication Excellence
An annual competition for writers, editors, publications staff, and both business and non-profit communicators.
http://www.apexawards.com
Page One Contests
A writing contest, in which readers are urged to write 100 words on a given theme, in order to win a copy of a current book.
http://www.pageonelit.com/contests.html
Park Publications U.K.
Publishers of the magazines, "Scribble" and "Countryside Tales", holding quarterly competitions for original, unpublished short stories and poems, some open, some limited to specific themes.
http://www.parkpublications.co.uk
Pronghorn Press Publishing
Promotes annual prose (up to 5,000 words) and poetry (no more than 60 lines) contests relating to contemporary life in three specific regions, namely, the Rockies, the Desert Southwest, and the Northwest Coast.
http://www.pronghornpress.org
Communicator Awards, The
Annual competitions honoring excellence in all areas of communication, with separate categories for print (177 sub-categories), video (216 sub-categories) and audio (140 sub-categories).
http://www.communicator-awards.com/
Associated Writing Programs Awards
Annual awards of $2,000 (plus publication) are offered for original, unpublished, book-length work in each of three categories: novels, poetry, and creative non-fiction. Reading fee: $20. Deadline: February 28. Open to U.S. residents only.
http://www.awpwriter.org
Playwriting Contest
Annual contest seeks original, unproduced plays, open in theme, but suitable in both subject, and language, for family-oriented amateur groups. The winner receives a $1,000 royalty advance, and publication.
http://www.pioneerdrama.com/stuff/contest.html
Koret Young Writer on Jewish Themes Award
Provides a $25,000 award, plus a 3-month residency at Stanford University. Applicants must be 35 years of age or younger and have published no more than one book at the time of application. This award is for fiction, non-fiction, or poetry. Deadline: December 1.
http://www.koretfoundation.org/initiatives/young_writer.shtml
Pomegranate Words Writing Contests
Offers free monthly contests for poetry and fiction. Open worldwide, but to teenagers only.
http://www.pomegranatewords.com
Writers Notes Annual Writing Award
Annual writing awards for fiction and nonfiction by the free resource tool and Writers Notes Magazine
http://hopepubs.home.comcast.net/wawards.html
Writer Online
Offers short story and poetry contests with modest prizes.
http://writeronline.us/main/index.htm
National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo.org)
Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30.
http://www.nanowrimo.org/
SAY Writing Contests
Writing contests open to all types of entries including essays, short stories, and poetry. Maximum length: 700 words. Entries are published in a book and readers determine the winners.
http://say.com.au/index.htm
Tickled by Thunder fiction magazine
Sponsors quarterly poetry contests (closing February 15, et seq) and an annual fiction contest (closing February 15). A $10 subscription to the quarterly magazine offers one free entry to both contests.
http://www.tickledbythunder.com/TbT/Magazine/02_Contest_Info.html
Foster City International Writer's Contest
Seeks entries in four categories: short stories (limit: 3,000 words); poetry (limit: 2 pages); children's stories (limit: 2,000 words); humor or personal essay (2,000 words). Entry fee: $12. Total prize money: $1,500. Deadline: December 31.
http://www.geocities.com/fostercity_writers
Blackberry Hill Creative Arts Awards
Seeking 3,500 word-limit short stories and 40 line-limit poems. Cash prizes total $750 and $300, respectively. Entry fees: $15 and $10. Deadlines: May 31 and June 30.
http://www.blackberryhillcreativeartsawards.com
Writers Notes Book Awards
Annual awards are granted to qualifying small-press and self-published books in eleven categories. $100 cash prize in each category. Entry fee: $40 per book. Deadline: January 15, 2005.
http://hopepubs.home.comcast.net/awards.html
International STC Technical Communications Competition
The Society for Technical Communication sponsors annual competitions to recognise achievements in the technical communications field.
http://www.stc.org/internationalCompetitions.asp
Milkweed Editions
Milkweed Editions is a non-profit publisher of literature for adults and young adults based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Milkweed National Fiction Prize is awarded annually for the best fiction manuscript submitted by an author not previously published by Milkweed.
http://www.milkweed.org
AwardWeb
Information on major literary awards throughout the USA and other countries, particularly focusing on (though not limited to) science fiction and fantasy.
http://www.dpsinfo.com/awardweb/
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