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Short Month, Short Stories!
February is the shortest month, and we’re making it a short-short month! Let’s make these 28 days count! Write a short short story (500 words or less). Send us your entries (no more than 3 entries per person) by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, February 17th. We’ll read them, pick our favorites, and, at the end of the month, we’ll print them in a book, using our very own in-store print-on-demand machine, Paige M. Gutenborg! For those unfamiliar with the form, short shorts—flash fiction, micro fiction, sudden fiction, etc.—are extremely short stories (almost never more than 1,000 words). Author Steve Almond has described them as “little bursts of empathy” characterized by an “emotional urgency [and] immediacy.” For examples, check out Micro Fiction, Rumble, or Word Riot. All stories must be original, previously unpublished, and written between February 1st and February 17th, 2010 (We’ll hold you to the honor system). Contributors will receive a copy of the as-yet-untitled book and be invited to read their work at Harvard Book Store at our March Winedown on Wednesday, March 3rd. One grand-prize winner will receive a $50 gift card to Harvard Book Store, a contributor’s copy of the book, and have his or her short short appear in Harvard Book Store’s weekly newsletter. Harvard Book Store will acquire first, non-exclusive print rights. To submit, email no more than three stories (500 words or less each) to shortshorts@harvard.com. Include your submissions in the body of the email; do not send stories as attachments. Include your name, street address, and phone number with your submissions. All submissions must be received by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, February 17th, 2010. Get writing!
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