BILL CRIDER PRIZE FOR SHORT FICTION: Bouchercon 2019

Bouchercon 2019 Denim, Diamonds, and Death 

Bill Crider Prize for Short Fiction 

The 2019 Bouchercon Dallas committee has launched the Bill Crider Prize for Short Fiction to celebrate this treasured literary form, both the short story and the widely-admired mystery author and reviewer, Bill Crider. Designed to encourage writers from all over the world, these distinguished prizes award stories with fascinating characters and twisty plots, all in the mystery genre. This award is debuting at the 2019 Bouchercon.

Prizes

First Prize: $1000
Second Prize: $750
Third Prize: $500
Bill Crider Memorial Scholarship: Registration to Bouchercon 2020

Judging Longlist Finalists An anonymous judging panel of published authors will select an initial round of finalists (no public announcements will be made).

Shortlist Finalists A second anonymous judging panel of published authors will select the shortlist finalists (no public announcements will be made).

Winners 

Janet Hutchings, editor of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, and Linda Landrigan, editor of Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, will choose the winners from the shortlisted writers.

Please note that no automatic publication in either EQMM or AHMM is attached to winning or being a finalist in this contest. All contestants (whether they make judges cuts or not) are welcome to submit to either magazine—but not both at the same time.

Once the final four writers have been chosen, all shortlisted authors will be notified on or near October 1.

Bouchercon Dallas Guest of Honor Hank Phillippi Ryan will recognize the shortlisted authors and award the top prizes during Bouchercon 2019 in Dallas, Texas.

All decisions are final and may not be contested.

Submissions 

Deadline: Mar 1, 2019 Open to all writers regardless of Bouchercon registration or residency

Stories must be an original work, not previously published, submitted anonymously (as provided in these rules), and without identifiable series characters

Theme: Deep in the Heart (relating to Texas, whether locale, characters, history, etc.) with an element of mystery or crime 

One submission per person  

Manuscript Guidelines: 

Word count: 3,500 - 5000 words

Format: Standard font Times New Roman at 12 pt size; no fancy fonts

Denote scene breaks with asterisks: ***

Double-space with one-inch margins on all sides

Email as an attached Word doc to: subs.deepintheheart@gmail.com 

Subject line: CRIDER CONTEST SUBMISSION
Contact info (body of email only, not in Word doc):
Name: Actual
Pen Name: If applicable
Mailing address
Phone number
Email address
Story Name
Word Count
No identifying information anywhere in the story or document
Entrants retain full copyright of her/his work with the stipulation it cannot be published until Bouchercon Dallas ends on Nov 3, 2019.
No automatic publication in either EQMM or AHMM is attached to winning or being a finalist in this contest. All contestants (whether they make judges cuts or not) are welcome to submit to either magazine—but not both at the same time.
There is no entry fee, nor will any monies be paid for stories other than the four prizes stated.

Questions 
Direct all questions to: subs.deepintheheart@gmail.com
Question subject line: QUESTION on Crider Contest