Million Writers Award

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Million Writers Award was a short story literary award presented annually by storySouth.[1][2] It honored the best online short stories. The award was structured to be egalitarian allowing for anyone to nominate a story including readers, authors, editors and publishers; prize money was donated by readers and writers; and the winners were selected by public vote from a short-list of entries selected by judges.[3]

Overview[]

The Million Writers Award was founded by author Jason Sanford in 2003 at a time when the literary establishment "didn't believe online magazines were legitimate places to publish fiction," seeing it as a fad.[4] Sanford set out to honor and highlight online only publications and stories with the award.

Stories eligible for the award include those first published in online literary journals, magazines, and e-zines that have an editorial process.[4] The award has a variable cash prize, in 2011 for example it was $600 for the winner, $200 for the runner-up and $100 for third place.[3] Prize money is raised through donations from writers, editors and readers and thus fluctuates each year.[3] Anyone can nominate up to one story, while editors and publishers can nominate three stories. Stories must be at least 1000 words.[3]

The award has become one of the premier online literary awards and was named a Hot Site by USA Today.[5] The award was profiled in a six-page feature interview with editor Jason Sanford in the 2005 Novel and Short Story Writer's Market[6] and mentioned in The 100 Best Trends, 2006: Emerging Developments You Can't Afford to Ignore as an example of the emerging online literary movement.[7]

In 2012 Spotlight Publishing released two anthologies of stories from the Million Writers Award, with one focused on literary stories and the other on science fiction and fantasy stories.[8][9][10]

Winners[]

Previous winners.[11]

2003

2004

  • Best story: Randa Jarrar, "You Are a 14-Year-Old Arab Chick Who Just Moved to Texas" ()
  • Best online publication:
  • Best publisher of novella-length fiction:
  • Best new online magazine or journal: Narrative Magazine

2005

  • Best story: , "Toggling the Switch" (Narrative Magazine)
  • Best story runnerup: Terry Bisson, "Super 8" (Scifiction.com)
  • Best story runnerup: Anjana Basu, "The Black Tongue" ()
  • Best online publication: Strange Horizons
  • Best publisher of novella-length fiction:
  • Best new online magazine or journal:

2006

  • Best story: Richard Bowes, "There's a Hole in the City" (Scifiction.com)
  • Best story runnerup: , "Two Lives" (Blackbird)
  • Best online publication:
  • Best publisher of novella-length fiction: Narrative Magazine (co-winner)
  • Best publisher of novella-length fiction: (co-winner)
  • Best new online magazine or journal: (co-winner)
  • Best new online magazine or journal: Clarkesworld Magazine (co-winner)

2007

2008

2009

  • Winner: , "The Fisherman's Wife" ()
  • Runner-up: , "Fuckbuddy" ()
  • Honorable mention: , "No Bullets in the House" (Drunken Boat)
  • Best online publication: Fantasy Magazine
  • Best publisher of novella-length fiction: Subterranean Magazine
  • Best new online magazine or journal:

2010

2011

2012

  • Winner: , "The Mill Pond" ()
  • Runner-up: Kelly Cherry, "On Familiar Terms" (Blackbird)
  • Honorable mention: , "The Butcher's Chimes" ()

2013

  • First place : , "Chlorine Mermaid" (Carve Magazine)
  • Second place: , "Hands" (Waccamaw)
  • Third place : , "The Eternal Youth of Everyone Else" (Carve Magazine)

2014

  • First place: , "Eminence" (Carve Magazine)
  • Second place: Susan Tepper, "Distance" (Thrice Fiction)
  • Third place: Carmen Maria Machado, "Inventory" (Strange Horizons)

2015

  • First place: Wendy Oleson, “The Snow Children” (Carve Magazine)
  • Second place: Chikodili Emelumadu, “Jermyn” (Eclectica)
  • Third place: Allegra Hyde, “Syndication” (Nashville Review)

2016

  • First place: Reza Ghasemi Ataee, "Anatomy of Mr.wakefield" (Time magazine)
  • Second place: Jude Whelchel, "Big Joy Family" (North Carolina Literary Review)
  • Third place: Annie Reid, "Last Song" (Baltimore Review)

References[]

  1. ^ "Million Writers Awards". storySouth. Million Writers. Archived from the original on May 28, 2014. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  2. ^ Kellogg, Carolyn (April 23, 2009). "Million Writers Award: more than 100 top short stories". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d "2012 Million Writers Award Rules". Jason Sanford.com. Archived from the original on February 4, 2014. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  4. ^ a b "Introduction to the 2012 Million Writers Award". Jason Sanford.com. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  5. ^ "WebGuide: Hot Sites". USA Today. March 9, 2004. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  6. ^ "Personal Views: Jason Sanford On the Million Writers Award" by Mary Cox, 2005 Novel and Short Story Writer's Market Writer's Digest Books, 2004, p. 23.
  7. ^ The 100 Best Trends, 2006: Emerging Developments You Can't Afford to Ignore by George Ochoa and Melinda Corey, Adams Media Corporation, 2005, p. 55.
  8. ^ "Million Writers Award: The Best Online Science Fiction and Fantasy". Spotlight Publishing. Archived from the original on May 29, 2014. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  9. ^ "Million Writers Award: The Best New Online Voices". Spotlight Publishing. Archived from the original on May 29, 2014. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  10. ^ "Starred review of Million Writers Award: The Best Online Science Fiction and Fantasy". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved July 11, 2012.
  11. ^ "The storySouth Million Writers Award". The storySouth Million Writers Award. storysouth.com. Archived from the original on May 10, 2013. Retrieved May 5, 2013.
  12. ^ "The Top Ten Online Stories of 2003". storySouth. Retrieved May 5, 2013.

External links[]

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