The AWC Writing School is hosting a Web-Conference: The Art of Writing Microfiction with Author Thomas Cooper. The event is planned for 12:15pm- 1 pm, Thursday, September 15, 2011 at LA107 to help kick off this year's AWC 100-word short story competition.
Thomas Cooper is the author of the flash-fiction collection Phantasmagoria (Keyhole Press 2009). His fiction currently appears or is forthcoming in Oxford American, Boulevard, Willow Springs, New Orleans Review, Sonora Review, Quick Fiction, Blackbird, and Memorious. He has recently completed a full-length story collection and is at work on a novel and several screenplays.
The conference is free and open to the public, but space is limited so an RSVP is requested by contacting Ric Jahna at 928-314-9558 or at creativewriting@azwestern.edu
The contest is open to all current AWC and NAU-Yuma students, faculty and staff. The deadline for contest entries is Thursday, October 18th by 5 p.m.
Winning Submissions:
- Two first-place winners (one from both the Student and Faculty/Staff categories) will receive a prize of $50.00 and publication in AWC's student newspaper, Western Voice.
- Two second-place selections will receive gift packages and publication in Western Voice.
- Honorable mention stories may also be selected and will appear in Western Voice.
Submission Guidelines:
- Story submissions must total no more than 100 words , not including the author's name and the story's title.
- Stories must be original, unpublished works of fiction.
- Each author is limited to two submissions.
- Hardcopy submissions can be turned in at the front desk of the Humanities Office (LR-068) or through email at creativewriting@azwestern.edu. Attach your submission as a word file. Manuscripts will not be returned. Authors should keep a copy for themselves.
- Entries must be written primarily in English, although brief passages in another language are acceptable.
Format:
- Stories must be typed and double-spaced. Use 12-point Times New Roman font.
- Manuscripts must include the following:
- The writer's name, email, and telephone number.
- The writer's designation (student or faculty/staff)
- An original title.
Judging: Submissions will be considered blindly, with the author's name removed. The judges for the 2011 competition are English Professors Ellen Riek, Michael Miller, and former professor and director of the Writing School of AWC, David Coy.
Sample 100-Word Stories
Back
by John Crick
We woke that last morning, broke, in the Amsterdam train station, warm under our small blanket, our backpacks as pillows. We sat up and smoked cigarettes, watching the trains and the people
"It'll be different," she said. "Once we get back."
"Yes," I said. "Different."
"We'll eat slower. No more fast food."
"Yes. Fresh baguettes. No more Wonder Bread."
"And long walks, every day. Don't you think?"
"Every day."
She smiled, her eyes still swollen from sleep, and I remembered us walking along the Seine together, holding hands, past the sunbathers and artists, happy, an ocean between us and home.
The Defining Bus Ride
by Grace Gregory (2010 second-place student)
I realized I was twenty cents short when the bus came to the stop: my first dilemma at the age of 5. The doors on the bus whooshed open and the driver gave me a weird look.
"Kid, you're holding up the line!"
No one stood behind me. I stuttered, "I-I-I'm 20 cents short sir."
"Guess I'll drop you off 2 miles short."
I shrugged and got on. When I got off, the bullies were there; I ran...I ran so far away...I ran...I ran all night and day. This is why I joined A Flock of Seagulls.
Beauty I See
by Adriana Hernandez (2010 first-place student)
I stand by the door, waiting. Her body's slightly angled from the large squared light-lined mirror.
Shiny fabric enhances her curves. Another pink-smudged tissue litters the dresser.
"This time," she says. "Promise."
Holding a small magnifying mirror, she tips her chin up, outlines her lips pink. Light falls on her neck trailing to the hollow of her throat.
Sighs. "I'm ready."
She looks herself over once more. Satisfied, she leans towards the switch. Her dress flares to life. Blinding. Click. The room goes dark. Hardly visible, she approaches. The hallway's light gets caught in her eyes. Two dazzling sparks.
Respect
by Lindette Lent (2010 first-place faculty/staff)
Three generations spread ever northward: East and west to the oceans, covering America in giant pyramidic steps. A fourth is born, eats, and flutters its little three inches all the way from Canada to Mexico.
No brain to speak of. Prismatic scales though. Pretty cool.
Caterpillars build pupae, liquefy themselves, reorganize their genes, and emerge WITH WINGS, tasters on their feet, AND an ability to get from here to there without getting lost (all of which I seem to be completely lacking).
So, if you see me weaving down the Imperial Valley highway I'm not drunk. I am butterfly dodging.
