Ready to Turn Santa Claus into a Monster? Here are the Details for the Christmas Short Story Contest!

A few days back I asked you, the community, if you’d be interested in participating in a Christmas writing contest. Between the site, my personal email and my Facebook page, the responses were overwhelmingly positive.

You spoke, I heard.

We’ll be conducting yet another contest, with another $50 (and a prize pack) up for grabs to the winner. Those who submit an awesome story – even if it isn’t the winning entry – will also be included in our second ebook exclusive, a Christmas themed collection that at this point still remains untitled.

Once again Danny Melby will step up to provide new exclusive artwork, and you can bet he’ll bring something refreshing and rather unique to the table.

I wanted to get this contest moving quickly. I put myself in a tough position (time wise) for the Halloween anthology and subsequently got it out a few days late. I’m going to right the ship this time around. Check out all the rules/details below.

The story must include Christmas as a theme: I don’t care how you spin your tale, just so long as it’s directly related to, or incorporates heavy yuletide influence.

Word count: Rather than limiting authors to 1,000 word flash pieces, we’re going to up the ante a bit and give authors a chance to tell a more complex tale. I understand that 1,000 word limits are extremely restricting. Every word has to hold value, and sometimes it’s tough to create a beauty of a tale when you’re stuck in a tiny box. So, this time around, you’ve got a 3,000 word limit. Do not exceed 3,000 words (if your submission does exceed 3,000 words, and it’s a result of titles and author credits – that’s not a problem).

Submission details: Submit your story to hnrcontests@live.com. Format the subject line like this: ‘Christmas Contest – STORY NAME – AUTHOR NAME’. Please send .doc or .docx files only. Do not simply copy and paste your story in the email and avoid sending pdf files.

I would also like to see some graphics for your story submitted as well. If you’re unable to create a cool image to accompany your story, that won’t eliminate you from contention, but if you include a pic it will relieve a bit of pressure on me – and make the article look a little cooler – when the winner is announced.

The deadline: December 3^rd. If I receive a submission on December 4^th, it will not be considered. Last minute submissions tend to leave me a little tangled up as it is, I don’t need any late submissions throwing additional monkey wrenches in the mix.

The prize(s): The winner of this contest will bank $50 (you must have an active paypal account, as that’s how we pay our contributors) and take home a prize pack consisting of some cool books and a few DVDs.

The stories that are impressive, but come up short of the grand prize will be featured in our first Christmas themed horror collection. This will be our second ebook exclusive release, and if you just missed positioning in the Halloween anthology, this will give you a good chance to see your work published in the near future.

That should about do it for the guidelines and rules you need to know. I was really pleased with the Halloween anthology, and while not every story was flawless, I saw (in general) a massive, massive improvement over our previous contest entries. It seems you’re all growing right along with HNR, and that puts a beefy smile on my face.

One Hellacious Halloween Volume 1 is actually selling some fair units. And with the ever growing talent pool, and the steady growth of that pool, I strongly suspect that our Christmas collection will surpass the exposure of our Halloween collection. That’s a good thing for everyone involved. You win, I win, HNR’s publishing credentials continue to grow, and the beast lives on.

Good luck everyone, let’s knock ‘em dead for Xmas!