WRITNG CONTESTS ARE ON HOLD UNTIL THE EDITOR RECOVERS FROM VIRUS.

Humdinger Literary E-zine’s  AUGUST WRITING CONTESTS FOR THE SEPTEMBER ZINE GENETIC FICTION: WHAT WILL THE FUTURE BRING? SCRAPBOOK STORY CONTEST MUSICAL POETRY CONTEST     GENETIC FICTION: WHAT WILL THE FUTURE BRING?   The first successfully cloned lamb is supposedly aging quickly I learned this week. I read an essay about a deaf couple who determined to intentionally try to have their child born deaf: it worked. Several groups are competing for the first successfully cloned human (and some claim they’ve already done so). How far can this go? How far will it go? No place like fiction to take us there, show us the results and have us determine if it’s the future we want. Time period? Sometime in the future. Length of story? Somewhere under 3,000 words. Due: August 20, 2006   Prize: Publication and a $10 Gift Certificate to Barnes & Noble.   SCRAPBOOK STORY   Scrapbooking tells stories. Don’t believe me; check out this Mark Twain site at:   Your task: Write a story using pictures and snippets of information, language, etc. that tell a tale. We suggest you create this using PowerPoint, but not necessarily so.  Use your creativity, photography, writing skills—even musical skills to create a multimedia story (or introduction to a story) that makes us want more! Remember to make it user friendly, techs.   Subject? Open. Length? Way less than 2,000 words. Must be a multimedia story.   Prize: Publication and a $10 Gift Certificate to Barnes & Noble. Due: August 20, 2006   MUSICAL POETRY   When Chris Goebel chances to perform poetry, it’s with music in the background. Of course, lyrics interfere with this. Write a song and have original music or less than 30 seconds of someone else’s music (that’s all copyright allows) accompanying your music. Yes, PowerPoint can do this.   Subject: Produce lyrics with music, though not a musical performance. Length: Less than 50 lines.   Prize: Publication and a $5 Gift Certificate to Barnes & Noble. Due: August 20, 2006         JULY WRITING CONTESTS 2006 (TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE AUGUST EDITION OF HUMDINGER LITERARY E-ZINE)   The Great Gatsby Short Story Contest   Many of you may know that The Great Gatsby is considered one of the greatest American novels. Well, what can you say with such a materialistic theme? But Fitzgerald’s prose is lyrical and Nick Caraway’s outlook on life unique (if somewhat jaded, other times dare we say, deceptive?). If you’re up to the challenge, write a story relating to Jay Gatsby. You may continue where the novel left off, or you may wish to create new characters and have them interact with Gatsby. Creativity’s open, just write something worthy of F. Scott Fitzgerald.    DUE: by July 20, 2006             LENGTH: 3,000 words or less             PRIZE: 1st place receives a $10 Gift Certificate from Barnes and Noble. Best entries will be published in the August 2006 edition of Humdinger Literary E-zine in the Mainstream Fiction section. Entries will be judged by Tim Bruderek and winners announced in August of 2006.                 Submit the story as an attachment with a brief and hilariously weird bio about yourself and your mailing address (in case you win!) to Editor@humdingerzine.com      Jack London Short Story Contest   Oh boy! Who can stand all this greatness on one page? Jack London (Call of the Wild, White Fang, The Seawolf) caught a part of the American spirit not seen often. He explored the Yukon and delved into the hearts of animals and men. His characters were brave, his understanding of dangerous places was learned by experience. Whether you’d like to explore the high seas, a desert, or a frozen wasteland, do your research, because Jack London lived what he wrote about and so should you. Your story should explore a man or animal’s conflict with nature.   DUE: by July 20, 2006             LENGTH: 3,000 words or less             PRIZE: 1st place receives a $10 Gift Certificate from Barnes and Noble Best entries will be published in the August 2006 edition of Humdinger Literary E-zine in the Fantasy Fiction section. Entries will be judged by Tim Bruderek and winners announced in August of 2006.                 Submit the story as an attachment with a brief and hilariously weird bio about yourself and your mailing address (in case you win!) to Editor@humdingerzine.com     Dr. Seuss Poetry Contest   Dr. Seuss was the man! He could write about Green Eggs and Ham and turn around and tell us about the evil Grinch Who Stole Christmas. His poetry was magical, largely because he created fantastic inventions and words we never knew, plus his creativity helped us hear a Who! Illustrations with your story are a plus, but they should be your own, since Dr. Seuss was his own illustrator (much to his chagrin—he said little kids he visited could draw better than he).   DUE: by July 20, 2006             LENGTH: 1,500 words or less             PRIZE: 1st place receives a $5 Gift Certificate from Barnes and Noble Best entries will be published in the August 2006 edition of Humdinger Literary E-zine in the POETRY section. Entries will be judged by Tim Bruderek and winners announced in August of  2006.                                                                                                         Submit the story as an attachment with a brief and hilariously weird bio about yourself and your mailing address (in case you win!) to Editor@humdingerzine.com     JUNE 2006 (TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE JULY EDITION OF HUMDINGER LITERARY E-ZINE)   AMERICAN DREAM SHORT STORY WRITING CONTEST   Two classics that have long competed for best American novel are Huckleberry Finn and The Great Gatsby. Compact your idea of the American experience into a short story. Since these stories will celebrate July 4th, the focus should be positive.    WRITING SUGGESTION: Before writing, determine which themes of American life you’d like to explore. Huckleberry Finn not only attacked slavery, but also used the Mississippi River as a metaphor for life. The Great Gatsby revealed America’s love affair with materialism.   DUE: by June 20, 2006             LENGTH: 3,000 words or less             PRIZE: 1st place receives a $10 Gift Certificate from Barnes and Noble. Best entries will be published in the June 2006 edition of Humdinger Literary E-zine in the Mainstream Fiction section. Entries will be judged by Tim Bruderek and winners announced in June of 2006.                 Submit the story as an attachment with a brief and hilariously weird bio about yourself and your mailing address (in case you win!) to Editor@humdingerzine.com      THE IMPOSSIBLE short story WRITING CONTEST   Most writers will tell you this assignment is impossible, so if that convinces you … stop right here. However, if you possess guts galore, you might try this. Write a comic story that uses slapstick comedy (pie in the face, etc.) as its main comic device. This should make us laugh as much as Ace Ventura’s box smashing escapades and talking butt, while amusing us to the point where we’re reminded of Sprint’s theft deterrent cell phones (hope you’ve seen the commercial!).   WRITING SUGGESTION: Watch some hilarious slapstick-type movies! Ace Ventura, Pet Detective is one, while you may also enjoy this oldie: Steve Martin in The Jerk.   DUE: by June 20, 2006             LENGTH: 3,000 words or less             PRIZE: 1st place receives a $10 Gift Certificate from Barnes and Noble Best entries will be published in the June 2006 edition of Humdinger Literary E-zine in the Fantasy Fiction section. Entries will be judged by Tim Bruderek and winners announced in June of 2006.                 Submit the story as an attachment with a brief and hilariously weird bio about yourself and your mailing address (in case you win!) to Editor@humdingerzine.com   POETRY CONTEST: AMERICA, A LA GINSBERG   So many poets have explored the American experience it’s difficult to pick a few names, but for sure, Allen Ginsberg plucks a rich chord. Your poetry should explore the current American scene, representing in its few lines books and movies about what makes America what it is.   WRITING HINT: Read Ginsberg’s “Howl” at: https://notes.utk.edu/bio/greenberg.nsf/0/6f7dd8b9270db5c585256d0d001e0a93?OpenDocument Oh, it will get you going!   DUE: by June 20, 2006             LENGTH: 1,500 words or less             PRIZE: 1st place receives a $5 Gift Certificate from Barnes and Noble Best entries will be published in the June 2006 edition of Humdinger Literary E-zine in the POETRY section. Entries will be judged by Tim Bruderek and winners announced in June of  2006.                                                                                                         Submit the story as an attachment with a brief and hilariously weird bio about yourself and your mailing address (in case you win!) to Editor@humdingerzine.com   MAY WRITING CONTESTS 2006 (TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE JUNE EDITION OF HUMDINGER LITERARY E-ZINE)     MUSICAL NOSTALGIA   This is such an exciting writing contest! Travel back to your high school years and—using quotes from lines of your generation’s favorite songs, tell a story about a group of teens from your era having an adventure. Example: If you grew up during the 1980’s, your story should have teens in the 1980’s on an adventure. Maybe they’ll listen to songs such as “She Blinded Me with Science,” while they’re driving.   WRITING SUGGESTION: To get the reader’s interest right away, start in the middle of the adventure. Don’t forget to use music lyrics as part of the story, as this is a required part of the rubric!   DUE: by May 20, 2006             LENGTH: 3,000 words or less             PRIZE: 1st place receives a $10 Gift Certificate from Barnes and Noble. Best entries will be published in the June 2006 edition of Humdinger Literary E-zine in the Mainstream Fiction section. Entries will be judged by Tim Bruderek and winners announced in June of 2006.                 Submit the story as an attachment with a brief and hilariously weird bio about yourself and your mailing address (in case you win!) to Editor@humdingerzine.com      OPEN FICTION CATEGORY: WHAT IN THE?   How would we live without the humble word the? Let’s find out! This may be too difficult, but if you’re brave, write a story, any PG-rated or less story about anything (any appropriate genre)—just don’t use the in any sentence you write!   DUE: by May 20, 2006             LENGTH: 3,000 words or less             PRIZE: 1st place receives a $10 Gift Certificate from Barnes and Noble Best entries will be published in the June 2006 edition of Humdinger Literary E-zine in the Fantasy Fiction section. Entries will be judged by Tim Bruderek and winners announced in June of 2006.                 Submit the story as an attachment with a brief and hilariously weird bio about yourself and your mailing address (in case you win!) to Editor@humdingerzine.com   POETRY: LOOKING BACK AT YOUTH   Keeping up with this month’s theme on youth, write a 50-line or less RHYMING poem that looks back on youth and its value to us.    DUE: by May 20, 2006             LENGTH: 1,500 words or less             PRIZE: 1st place receives a $5 Gift Certificate from Barnes and Noble Best entries will be published in the June 2006 edition of Humdinger Literary E-zine in the POETRY section. Entries will be judged by Tim Bruderek and winners announced in June of  2006.                                                                                                         Submit the story as an attachment with a brief and hilariously weird bio about yourself and your mailing address (in case you win!) to Editor@humdingerzine.com MAY WRITING CONTESTS 2006 (TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE MAY EDITION OF HUMDINGER LITERARY E-ZINE)     THE TALL, TALL TALE CONTEST   Many writers use our monthly contests as inspiration to write and we couldn’t be happier! In this tall, tall tale contest, you’re going to stretch the truth (shouldn’t be hard to do…). A tall tale is a story told using hyperbole (exaggeration—like so-and-so’s huge fishing stories). The humor in a tall tale’s often dependent on the narrator telling the story as if nothing’s amiss, as if, for example, we encounter 50-foot bears in the woods anyday. Since you’ll be evaluated using a rubric and creativity counts, consider using various dialects in your dialogue and creating a unique way of telling this horribly exaggerated tale!   DUE: by April 20, 2006             LENGTH: 3,000 words or less             PRIZE: 1st place receives a $10 Gift Certificate from Barnes and Noble Best entries will be published in the May 2006 edition of Humdinger Literary E-zine in the Comic Fiction section. Entries will be judged by Tim Bruderek and winners announced in May of 2006.                 Submit the story as an attachment with a brief and hilariously weird bio about yourself to Editor@humdingerzine.com       BETTER THAN POTTER WRITING CONTEST: SHORT STORY CHALLENGE   The Harry Potter books are young fantasy fiction, though I’ve seen many adults reading them! In fact, I’ve witnessed adults I didn’t know bought books with the latest Potter in hand. The market’s broad, particularly for something new in the fantasy field. Typically, fantasy fiction involves the realm of impossibility and the characters have a journey or quest to complete. This includes new places (sometimes in the past, present, or in another universe) and types of characters (you’ve probably noted some of the Potter characters don’t exist—to our knowledge—in reality). Names in fantasy fiction are also original. I love writing fantasy fiction because it allows the writer to create a new/different world, much like Tolkien did with Lord of the Rings. But this IS a short story contest, so nothing heavy’s necessary. Your less than 3,000 word story must be based on something that couldn’t happen, but does. As usual, our rubric will rate creativity highly, so you might wish to create your own species. Also consider some new vocabulary words. Remember, this contest is based on fiction appropriate for teen audiences, though fantastic enough for adults!   Hint: When I write fantasy adventure fiction, my characters are going somewhere special to do something significant.     DUE: by April 20, 2006             LENGTH: 3,000 words or less             PRIZE: 1st place receives a $10 Gift Certificate from Barnes and Noble Best entries will be published in the May 2006 edition of Humdinger Literary E-zine in the Fantasy Fiction section. Entries will be judged by Tim Bruderek and winners announced in May of  2006.                 Submit the story as an attachment with a brief and hilariously weird bio about yourself to Editor@humdingerzine.com     AT XANADU’S GATE POETRY CONTEST: WRITE A VISION IN A DREAM   Before I was born, Samuel Taylor Coleridge broke my heart when he wrote: In Xanadu did Kubla Khan/ A stately pleasure dome decree …   Yes, “Kubla Khan,” one of the greatest poems ever written, was inspired by a dream (Coleridge had taken medicine, probably an opium-based drug) and wrote of Kubla Khan’s great palace and feeding on honeydew and drinking the milk of Paradise.   Your job, Brave Poet (you must be brave to consider this task!) is to create a dream-inspired/type poem of 1,500 words or less. In it’s own gorgeous way, your poem will make sense, while retaining mystery. As per ALWAYS, creativity counts, and for poets, that means seek out specific vocabulary, use imagery, and play with punctuation, rhyme and free verse, and language in ways not done before! The ultimate challenge for the mightiest poets—let the challenge begin! Don’t forget to read the spectacular links below to get those creative juices flowing.   HINT: To create a euphoric-type writing state, I suggest writing with music in the background.   BEFORE YOU BEGIN, GET INSPIRED BY READING“KUBLA KHAN”: Read the poem and view some breathtaking art with it at this link: http://www.temayscribe.com/webpg51.html You can hear FOUR DIFFERENT READERS! read “Kubla Khan” at: http://www.tau.ac.il/~tsurxx/KublaEmpirical_folder/Kubla1Empirical.html   DUE: by April 20, 2006             LENGTH: 1,500 words or less             PRIZE: 1st place receives a $5 Gift Certificate from Barnes and Noble Best entries will be published in the May 2006 edition of Humdinger Literary E-zine in the POETRY section. Entries will be judged by Tim Bruderek and winners announced in May of  2006.                 Submit the story as an attachment with a brief and hilariously weird bio about yourself to Editor@humdingerzine.com MARCH 2006 WRITING CONTESTS   SHAKESPEARE’S OWN SHORT STORY CONTEST   When spring arrives, woo readers with words newly minted, romances torn asunder, kingdoms betrayed and betwixt. Make the Bard proud with a tale twining ‘round the realm of Shakespeare. Creativity wins over crowns, so put the pen to paper and dust off your dictionary. Lose the limacine, start writing today!   Question: Is this contest really as vague as indicated? In a way, yes. We’d hate to limit your creativity. Examples of possibilities could be: Richard III’s ghost in America, Hamlet’s twin sister, Othello and Iago in Manhattan, or a new story with a Shakespearean sound.   DUE: by March 21, 2006                 LENGTH: 3,000 words or less             PRIZE: 1st place receives a $10 Gift Certificate from Barnes and Noble Best entries will be published in the April 2006 edition of Humdinger Literary E-zine in the Shakespeare’s Own section. Entries will be judged by Tim Bruderek and winners announced in May 2006.             Submit as an attachment to Editor@humdingerzine.com   SPACE EXPLORATION SHORT STORY CONTEST   How will space exploration be in the future? Will it resemble Star Trek or be far different? Write your own short story depicting space exploration in the future. Rather than explain everything to the readers (which is impossible to do in 3,000 words or less), place us in the middle of a scene in space. Create personable characters and don’t forget to add the elements of surprise or danger. Will they face a deadly disease or new nemesis?   DUE: by March 21, 2006                 LENGTH: 3,000 words or less             PRIZE: 1st place receives a $10 Gift Certificate from Barnes and Noble Best entries will be published in the April 2006 edition of Humdinger Literary E-zine in the Space Exploration section. Entries will be judged by Tim Bruderek and winners announced in May 2006.             Submit as an attachment to Editor@humdingerzine.com   POETRY WRITING CONTEST: 15’S PLENTY   For our 15’s Plenty poetry contest, you have the rare opportunity to create a new 15-line poetry form and demonstrate your poetic prowess at the same time. Indicate the stanza lengths, rhyme pattern or any other essentials and demonstrate your 15-line poem with an original example. Don’t forget to name this new type of poem. A brief explanation of how to write your new poem-type is appreciated, though not necessary.   DUE: by March 21, 2006                 LENGTH: 3,000 words or less             PRIZE: 1st place receives a $5 Gift Certificate from Barnes and Noble Best entries will be published in the April 2006 edition of Humdinger Literary E-zine in the 15’s Plenty section. Entries will be judged by Tim Bruderek and winners announced in May 2006.             Submit as an attachment to Editor@humdingerzine.com

Send your submission with the title category and your mailing address to: Editor@humdingerzine.com

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