’Tis the season for old sweaters, office parties, overeating . . . and oh yes, for giving, too.

That’s why everyone here at The Piltdown Review is so pleased to announce our 2018 Fall/​Winter Fiction Contest! We’re looking for original stories in any genre that balance scintillating writing with compelling story. Our first prize winner will receive $500 and featured publication on our site in early 2019.

We will open to submissions on Friday, November 2, 2018. Our final entry deadline is end of day Monday, December 31, 2018. The entry fee is $20 per submission, which helps fund our contest prize and judging.

Entries must be 10,000 words or less. Accepted formats are DOC, DOCX, PDF, RTF and WPD. Submissions should be double-spaced in 12-point Times New Roman or Courier font, with your name, your contact information, and a word or line count on the first page. (For more detailed formatting guidelines, refer to William Shunn’s primer on “Proper Manuscript Format.”)

Only electronic submissions sent through our online submissions manager will be eligible for entry. You may submit more than one entry, but each entry must be submitted separately. Simultaneous submissions to other markets are fine, but please withdraw your submission from the contest immediately if it is accepted elsewhere.

Please, original stories only. We cannot accept reprints as contest entries. Also, we cannot accept entries from family members or friends of employees of Sinister Regard Publishers.

We expect to notify and announce our winner by the end of February 2019. Depending on the response to the contest, we may add second- and third-place prizes and/or we may increase the first-place prize.

We look forward to reading your best unpublished work, and we can’t wait to see what you send us. Good luck!  

Thank you for your entries. The Contest is now closed to submissions.