Writing Contest Announcement

Dave Long, acquisitions editor at Bethany House, has sponsored his second contest at his blog (don't know if this'll be an annual thing or not, but it's number two in as many years). Last December he held a Christmas short story contest. This time around it's for stories featuring a literal "come to Jesus" moment, conversion/salvation.

More details may be found on his website, but here are the most pertinent ones:

Rules (to this point, more may be added)

1. 3000 words or less.
2. I have no definition for what a conversion story is, but we're talking about some Christian salvific experience. It also needs to be fiction, no autobiography or memoir.
3. Deadline will be Friday, September 30, 5:00pm central time. Earlier is appreciated. You can email your entry. One story per writer.
4. I haven't talked with anybody about partnering on this one, but I'll try to track somebody down. Let me know if you have suggestions or contacts at online journals.
5. There will be prizes for the chosen finalists. They will be more symbolic than impressive. Unless someone wants to give me a grant.
6. But remember, these things get read and a book contract emerged out of the last group.

If you're still reading this (as far as I know, most all the people who read this blog also hang out on Dave's site and already know about the contest and may have stopped reading), here's a special bonus. If you submit a story to the contest and include the word "cheese" (cheeses, cheesy, cheeseshop and other variants okay, too; cheesecloth, for some reason though, is not) and your story hits the top five, I'll send you a pound of Oregon's Tillamook cheese for every spot five or above your story lands (5th place=1 pound; 2nd place=4 pounds). Top place holder only (if 4th and 1st both qualify for the side bet, only 1st pays off). You must comment below before Dave's deadline that you're playing the cheese game to be eligible.

Have fun!