SoonerCon 2008 is now accepting submissions for its first annual science fiction and fantasy short story/poetry contest.  The stories and poetry of select winners will be included in this year’s program book.  All entries must include a submission form and comply with the contest rules and submission guidelines outlined below.  Entries must be received no later than April 4th, 2007.

• Entries must fall into the science fiction or fantasy genre (or relate to the 2008 Sooner Con “Pieces of ’08” pirate theme as a general fiction), be less than 5,000 words long (short story) or a maximum of 20 lines (poetry), and the original work of the person submitting them.
• Entries must conform to the Contest Submission Guidelines and General Manuscript Submission Guidelines detailed below. 
• Any entry that does not conform to these rules may not be entered into the contest, may not be returned, and may not be acknowledged. 
• Sooner Con members and Guests may submit one story at no charge. The entry fee for non-members is $10 per submission. Additional stories may be submitted for an additional $10 per submission. 
• The maximum number of stories any one person may submit is three. 
• No person may win more than one prize in this contest, regardless of the number of entries.

All submissions must be sent to:
SoonerCon Writing Contest
c/o Atomic Comics
6006 S. Western
Oklahoma City, OK 73134

• Entries must be received no later than April 4th, 2008. 
• SoonerCon may, at its own discretion, keep archival copies of contest manuscripts, but all other copies may be destroyed. For your own protection, keep a copy of your manuscript. No manuscripts will be returned. All rights will remain with the authors. . 
• Complete contest results will be available during the convention. 
• All contest rulings final.

Contest Submission Guidelines:

• Each story must be submitted with its own completed official Entry Form.
  
  The official Entry Form (available here) serves as a cover sheet for your story. It must contain your STORY TITLE, NAME, and CONTACT INFORMATION (including phone number, e-mail address, and mailing address).
• On each page of your story, include only the PAGE NUMBER and your STORY TITLE
  These special contest procedures allow the contest administrators to anonymously circulate your story without the cover page to the judges, to avoid any appearance of bias (in case your name is known to them). Only the contest administrator will have the entry forms with your name and contact information until judging is completed.
• Submissions not meeting proper manuscript format as described below may not be included in the contest.
• In addition to the paper copy of your story, please email a Rich Text copy (following the same format listed above) to:
  info@soonercon.com
  Attn: Aislinn Burrows
• No "fanfic" or shared-worlds fiction. All work submitted must be the original work of the submitting author. 
• E-mail any questions or comments to info@soonercon.com.

General Manuscript Submission Guidelines:

This is a typical proper manuscript format that you, as a writer, should use to submit your work to a publisher and must follow to submit to this contest:

• Use plain white paper. (Copy paper is fine, linen/bond is not required.) 
• Print on only one side of the paper. 
• Typewritten or computer-printed submissions only. No handwritten entries will be accepted, no matter how nice your penmanship.
• Begin your submission, and all subsequent chapters, approximately 1/3 down the page. 
• In the top left corner of every page, put only the title of your story. (In a normal professional submission, you would include your title and last name, as in "DOOMSDAY BOOK/Willis", but for the purposes of this contest, you must use only your story title to comply with the submission guidelines for contest judging.) 
• Put the page number in the top right hand corner of every page. 
• Double space your text. Indent paragraphs by .5". 
• Margins should be at least 1" all around. 
• You can italicize and/or bold text, when applicable, or underline it. Both styles of indicating emphasis are acceptable. 
• Use plain fonts. Preferred are Courier and Times (or Times New Roman). 
• Use 10 point type for Courier, 12 point type for Times. 
• Plain black text. No colored inks. 
• Please, no illustrations.