Cash Prizes total $325 -- Winner guaranteed Publication
Entry Deadline: March 15, 2012

Judge's score sheet, possibly with comments, may be available for your entry.

Entry Rules

1. Entries must be short stories between 1,000 and 2,500 words to be considered.
2. Entries must be typed, double spaced, one side only on 8 ½” by 11” white paper, 1” margins. Please use either Courier or Times Roman type fonts, 12 point.
3. Each story should have a cover sheet containing only:
   • the name of the story
   • the author’s name
   • complete address
   • telephone number
   • e-mail address
   • and word count
   • Student entries should also include age, school attending and grade.
4. The author’s name should not appear anywhere except on the cover sheet. Each story page should have a header line with the story’s title and the page number.
5. Entries must be previously unpublished short stories written in English by the person whose name is on the cover sheet. Published on-line is published.
6. Failure to follow all the contest rules will result in disqualification; entry fees for disqualified entries will not be returned.
7. Three (3) judges will review stories and select the winners.
8. Judges do not see the author's name, or any other information about the author. No entrant knows the identity of any judges.
9. Decisions of the judges are final.
10. Entries postmarked after the deadline, whether by U.S. mail or e-mail, will not be considered.
11. Neither NETWO, any of its members or any judge is responsible for late delivery of entries, or lost entries.

Awards

1. First Place Award is $150; Second Place is $100; Third Place is $50 and Fourth Place is $25. Winners, and Honorable Mentions, will receive certificates suitable for framing.
2. No more than one (1) CASH prize will be awarded to a single author. However, this does not preclude an author from receiving additional certificates for honored stories. Please note: all cash prizes will be awarded. (4 different authors will receive prize money.)
3. Winners will be announced at the Awards Banquet of the 2012 NETWO Writer’s Conference, April 27 & 28. Winners unable to attend will have awards mailed to the address on the cover sheet.
4. Winners names will be printed in the May issue of the NETWO newsletter, With Pen in Hand. Winner's names and story titles will also be posted on this web site by May 5, 2012.
5. First Place winner will be offered publication (the story must meet the publisher's guidelines) in The Storyteller, a magazine dedicated to helping writers. The Storyteller has a word limit is 2,500 words. The Storyteller was one of the 101 Best Magazine Markets for 2006. It is also listed in "The Best of the Magazine Markets for Writers 2009." Click here to visit its website.
   Please note: The Storyteller has this statement in its guidelines: "We DO NOT accept pornography, erotica, horror, graphic language, graphic violence, children's stories, or anything deemed racial or biased toward any religion, race or moral preference."
6. NETWO may request permission to print some of the winning entries in future issues of the newsletter, With Pen in Hand. This is NOT a requirement to enter or win.
7. If the number of high quality stories is appropriate, NETWO may request permission to publish stories in an anthology. This is NOT a requirement to enter or win. Any author may opt out.
8. The author relinquishes none of his or her rights by entering the contest.

Entry Fees

1. Entry fee for the first story submitted per author is: $8 for NETWO members, $10 for non-NETWO members. Entry fee for each story after the first per author is: $7 for NETWO members, and $8 for non-NETWO members. (Examples are given below.) Entry fee for students 18 and under is $5 per story. Note, there is only 1 division. There is NOT a separate student division. Students may request a waiver of the entry fee by writing to: netwomail@netwo.org
2. Please note, if insufficient entry fees are paid by an author for the number of stories entered, the fees will be applied to stories in the order the stories were registered into the NETWO records. Stories without entry fees will not be considered.

Method of Entering

1. Enter by U.S. Mail
   1. Send three (3) paper copies by U.S. mail, formatted as described above.
   2. Multiple entries sent by U.S. mail may be submitted in a single envelop and with a single check to cover all fees. Make checks payable to "NETWO."
   3. Entries must be postmarked between January 1 and March 15, 2012.
   4. Mail entries to: NETWO, P.O. Box 411, Winfield, TX 75493.
   5. If you wish confirmation of receipt of your entry, include a SASP. On the message side of the post card, write the name of the short story.
   6. Please include a SASE (with sufficient postage) if you wish your entry returned. Otherwise, entries will not be returned and will be shredded. The judge's score sheet (and possible comments) will accompany your entry in most cases. If you wish to receive only the score sheets (if available) please send a #10 SASE.

2. Enter on-line
   1. Attach a copy of your entry (formatted, etc. as described above and saved in Microsoft Word or Microsoft Works or Adobe PDF) to an e-mail addressed to: netwomail@netwo.org. (Adobe PDF is preferred.) Put “2012 SS Contest Entry” in the subject line of the e-mail.
   2. Multiple entries are permitted, but each entry must be submitted in a separate e-mail.
   3. Entries by e-mail must pay on-line at the NETWO website: www.netwo.org. On the home page, select “Short Story Entry Fee”. Multiple entry fees may be paid with a single payment to cover all stories submitted.
   4. E-mail entries, and entry fees, must be sent between January 1, 2012 and midnight of March 15, 2012.
   5. Confirmation can be requested in the body of the e-mail for e-mail entries.
   6. To receive any judge’s score sheets (if available), please mail a #10 SASE to: NETWO, P.O. Box 411, Winfield, TX 75493. Stories submitted on-line will not be returned.

Questions

If you have any questions regarding the 2012 NETWO Short Story Contest, please address them in an e-mail to: netwomail@netwo.org with “2012 SS Contest Director” in the subject line.

Entry Fee Examples

NETWO member: Jack enters one story; his fee is $8. Jill enters two stories; her fee is $8 + $7 = $15. Ronda enters three stories; her fee is $8 + $7 + $7 = $22.
Non-NETWO peson: Jackson enters one story; his fee is $10. Jillian enters two stories; her fee is $10 + $8 = $18. Rowina enters three stories; her fee is $10 + $8 + $8 = $26.