Million Writers Award was a short story literary award presented annually by storySouth[1][2] from 2003 to 2016.[3][4] It honored the best online short stories. The award was structured to be egalitarian allowing for anyone to nominate a story including readers, authors, editors and publishers; prize money was donated by readers and writers; and the winners were selected by public vote from a short-list of entries selected by judges.[5][6]

Overview

The Million Writers Award was founded by author Jason Sanford in 2003 at a time when the literary establishment "didn't believe online magazines were legitimate places to publish fiction," seeing it as a fad.[7][8] Sanford set out to honor and highlight online only publications and stories with the award.[8]

Stories eligible for the award include those first published in online literary journals, magazines, and e-zines that have an editorial process.[7] The award had a variable cash prize, in 2011 for example it was $600 for the winner, $200 for the runner-up and $100 for third place.[5] Prize money was raised through donations from writers, editors and readers and thus fluctuates each year.[5] Anyone could nominate up to one story, while editors and publishers can nominate three stories. Stories must be at least 1000 words.[5]

The award became one of the premier online literary awards and was named a Hot Site by USA Today.[9] The award was profiled in a six-page feature interview with editor Jason Sanford in the 2005 Novel and Short Story Writer's Market[10] and mentioned in The 100 Best Trends, 2006: Emerging Developments You Can't Afford to Ignore as an example of the emerging online literary movement.[11]

In 2012 Spotlight Publishing released two anthologies of stories from the Million Writers Award, with one focused on literary stories and the other on science fiction and fantasy stories.[12][13][1]

Winners

Previous winners.[14]

2003

2004

  • Best story: Randa Jarrar, "You Are a 14-Year-Old Arab Chick Who Just Moved to Texas" (Eyeshot)
  • Best online publication: Eclectica
  • Best publisher of novella-length fiction: The King's English
  • Best new online magazine or journal: Narrative Magazine

2005

  • Best story: Alicia Gifford, "Toggling the Switch" (Narrative Magazine)
  • Best story runnerup: Terry Bisson, "Super 8" (Scifiction.com)
  • Best story runnerup: Anjana Basu, "The Black Tongue" (Gowanus)
  • Best online publication: Strange Horizons
  • Best publisher of novella-length fiction: The King's English
  • Best new online magazine or journal: Anderbo

2006

  • Best story: Richard Bowes, "There's a Hole in the City" (Scifiction.com)
  • Best story runnerup: Michael Croley, "Two Lives" (Blackbird)
  • Best online publication: Storyglossia
  • Best publisher of novella-length fiction: Narrative Magazine (co-winner)
  • Best publisher of novella-length fiction: The King's English (co-winner)
  • Best new online magazine or journal: Menda City Review (co-winner)
  • Best new online magazine or journal: Clarkesworld Magazine (co-winner)

2007

2008

2009

  • Winner: Jenny Williams, "The Fisherman's Wife" (LitNImage)
  • Runner-up: Roderic Crooks, "Fuckbuddy" (Eyeshot)
  • Honorable mention: Geronimo Madrid, "No Bullets in the House" (Drunken Boat)
  • Best online publication: Fantasy Magazine
  • Best publisher of novella-length fiction: Subterranean Magazine
  • Best new online magazine or journal: Kill Author

2010

2011

2012

  • Winner: xTx, "The Mill Pond" (StoryGlossia)
  • Runner-up: Kelly Cherry, "On Familiar Terms" (Blackbird)
  • Honorable mention: Micah Dean Hicks, "The Butcher's Chimes" (Menda City Review)

2013

  • First place : Rachel Steiger-Meister, "Chlorine Mermaid" (Carve Magazine)
  • Second place: Lou Gaglia, "Hands" (Waccamaw)
  • Third place : Adrienne Celt, "The Eternal Youth of Everyone Else" (Carve Magazine)

2014

  • First place: Caroline Casper, "Eminence" (Carve Magazine)
  • Second place: Susan Tepper, "Distance" (Thrice Fiction)
  • Third place: Carmen Maria Machado, "Inventory" (Strange Horizons)

2015

  • First place: Wendy Oleson, “The Snow Children” (Carve Magazine)
  • Second place: Chikodili Emelumadu, “Jermyn” (Eclectica)
  • Third place: Allegra Hyde, “Syndication” (Nashville Review)

2016

  • First place: Reza Ghasemi Ataee, "Anatomy of Mr.wakefield" (Time magazine)
  • Second place: Jude Whelchel, "Big Joy Family" (North Carolina Literary Review)
  • Third place: Annie Reid, "Last Song" (Baltimore Review)

References

  1. 1 2 "Starred review of Million Writers Award: The Best Online Science Fiction and Fantasy". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved July 11, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Congratulations to the storySouth Million Writers Award Nominees!" Tor.com, Oct 17, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Million Writers Awards". storySouth. Million Writers. Archived from the original on May 28, 2014. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  4. ↑ Kellogg, Carolyn (April 23, 2009). "Million Writers Award: more than 100 top short stories". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "2012 Million Writers Award Rules". Jason Sanford.com. Archived from the original on February 4, 2014. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Million Writers Award Winners," Locus Magazine, August 17, 2012.
  7. 1 2 "Introduction to the 2012 Million Writers Award". Jason Sanford.com. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  8. 1 2 "Rank and slush pile: Is There a Literary Magazine Hierarchy?" by Timothy Schaffert, Poets & Writers Magazine, May-June 2009, Volume 37, Issue 3.
  9. ↑ "WebGuide: Hot Sites". USA Today. March 9, 2004. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Personal Views: Jason Sanford On the Million Writers Award" by Mary Cox, 2005 Novel and Short Story Writer's Market Writer's Digest Books, 2004, p. 23.
  11. ↑ The 100 Best Trends, 2006: Emerging Developments You Can't Afford to Ignore by George Ochoa and Melinda Corey, Adams Media Corporation, 2005, p. 55.
  12. ↑ "Million Writers Award: The Best Online Science Fiction and Fantasy". Spotlight Publishing. Archived from the original on May 29, 2014. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  13. ↑ "Million Writers Award: The Best New Online Voices". Spotlight Publishing. Archived from the original on May 29, 2014. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  14. ↑ "The storySouth Million Writers Award". storysouth.com. Archived from the original on May 10, 2013. Retrieved May 5, 2013.
  15. ↑ "The Top Ten Online Stories of 2003". storySouth. Retrieved May 5, 2013.
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