Posts Tagged: 2014 1/2 K Prize

Announcing Our 2014 1/2k Prize Winner!

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Judge Carol Guess has selected “The Girl Next Door to the Girl Next Door,” by Amy Woolard, as the winner of Indiana Review‘s 2014 1/2K Prize! Woolard’s poem will appear in a forthcoming issue of Indiana Review. We received more than 500 submissions, a record number of excellent quality and variety. All work was read anonymously and closely by our editors. Thanks to all who submitted their work for consideration and made this year’s Prize possible.

2014 Indiana Review 1/2K Prize Winner:

“The Girl Next Door to the Girl Next Door”

Amy Woolard

Guess has this to say about the winning piece: “The sounds in this poem lured me into the story–repetition and rhyme in service to character and scene. I love the juxtaposition between sweet and staccato, and the way the tone shifts from delicate details to harsh colloquialisms. The narrator’s a mystery to me, which I like, but the girl isn’t a mystery at all– she’s true to this town and time. It’s nice to start with a girl who’s alive, for a change, and to let the girl’s escape be the truth of the story.”

Runners-Up:

“Weekend” by Shane Kowalski

“The Alexandria Story” by Corinne Schneider

“The Golden Rule” by Lo Kwa Mei-en

“How to Walk Backwards Into a Black & White House” by Amy Woolard

Finalists:

“The Fable” by Gary Leising

“Untitled” by Don Judson

“Killing Time” by A.B. Francis

“Instructions for Womanhood” & “Conspiracy to Commit Larceny” by Jennifer Militello

“The Stone Cold Rule” by Lo Kwa Mei-en

Thirteen Word Story Twitter Contest Results

Thank you to everyone who submitted to our Twitter contest with your 13 word stories!

We know it isn’t easy to write a story in such a small space, something submitters to our 1/2 K Prize are currently experiencing firsthand. Plus, we threw in the monkey wrench of associating the image to some frankly eyebrow-raising images. All of our wonderful followers rose to the challenge, and we are here to announce the winners of our awesome prizes.

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A Picture is Worth Thirteen Words: Twitter Challenge

We just hit 13,000 followers on Twitter!

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Since the 2014 1/2 K prize has compression on our minds, we’re going to celebrate with a little contest featuring our lucky number 13. Below, there are 13 images. Select one and tweet us @IndianaReview with your chosen image and a story of exactly 13 words by 5pm Monday, August 4. Be sure to use the hashtag #13wordstory so we will see it. Also, feel free to use other hashtags such as #IRrocks or #IRURmyfavorite. It won’t necessarily help your chances, but it can’t hurt.

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Interview with 2014 1/2 K Prize Judge: Carol Guess

The August 15 deadline for submissions to the 2014 1/2 K Prize is fast approaching. We know this is equal parts exciting and terrifying, so please try to remember to breathe.

In the meantime, check out this interview with our current 1/2 K Prize judge Carol Guess.

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Carol is a professor of Creative Writing and Literature at Western Washington University, but as novelist and poet herself, she understands the plight of the struggling author in a fiercely competitive publishing world. You can find her excellent piece, co-written with Kelly Magee, “With Fox,” in our Winter 2014 issue. She graciously answered a few questions here about what she looks for as a judge and what advice she has for aspiring writers. Read more…

Interview with 1/2K Prize Winner: Diane Seuss

DianeHeadshotThere’s no question: Writing short can be difficult.  And short is what our annual 1/2K Prize is all about. There’s the limited word count (500 words) and the unlimited genre constraints (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, short-shorts, prose poetry–a welcome collapse of genre). We asked Seuss to tell us more about her excellent piece, “Wal-Mart Parking Lot,” which won our 1/2K Prize in 2013 and appears in our Summer 2014 issue. Here she divulges which Wal-Mart inspired her, her approach to writing the piece, and the challenges and triumphs of the compressed form.

We hope this helps all you current and prospective Half-K authors. Submissions for this year’s contest are now open through August 15th. Click here for a full list of guidelines.

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