In our honorable and ongoing quest for new ideas and quality writing, the Arkansas Times will be hosting our first-ever Fiction Contest this year. Spread the word: We’re looking for short stories which, in some significant or minor way, engage the question of what it means to live in Arkansas in 2014. Yes, that’s an intentionally vague prompt — we want you to surprise us. Winners will get a cash prize (not yet determined) and will be published as the centerpiece of our Fiction Issue this December.
Submissions must be previously unpublished (this is important) and should be no longer than 3,000 words. Writers have to have lived in Arkansas for at least one year to submit. (I’m not entirely sure how we’ll enforce that, but trust that we will.) We’ll be announcing our esteemed Guest Judge in coming weeks.
The deadline for all submissions will be Monday, November 10, at 5 p.m. Send your short story (one per applicant, please) to will@arktimes.com, with the subject line “Fiction Contest.”
UPDATE: Writers must currently live in Arkansas.