Mystery Times 2014 DEADLINE EXTENDED!!

DEADLINE EXTENDED!

** New deadline for submissions : Midnight EST Friday Dec 5th, 2014 **

OPEN SUBMISSIONS CALL Mystery Times 2014

Yes, we're extending the submissions deadline! Last year, we received over 200 entries from new and established authors alike. Never before published, they were gathered together in our third annual Mystery Times collection. Each story was read and rated by our judges using a single set of parameters, but each judge brought his or her own unique talents and tastes to the task at hand.

The quality of the stories was outstanding—so strong that we added two additional stories to the book—and the 2013 book hit the Top 10 on Amazon's BestSeller's lists for both paperback and kindle editions.

So we're doing it again!

Our Mystery Times 2014 seeks new mystery short stories.

Submission Guidelines:

Genre: Mystery—you choose the subgenre; from murder, cozy, soft-boiled, hard-boiled, paranormal. police procedural, suspense, thriller, to amateur detective.

What is a mystery? In a mystery, the main character must track down the truth about an event, often a murder. If the protagonist is in any danger, it usually becomes a problem only as the detective or protagonist approaches the truth. That's your base, how it plays out is up to you!

• No gratuitous sex, violence, or foul language.  

• The competition is open to all writers in English except current employees of Buddhapuss Ink LLC.

• Submissions will be accepted from July 15th, 2014 to December 5th, 2014.

• You must be 18 or older to enter unless you have written permission from your parent or guardian.

• No previously published work(s) or simultaneous submissions please.

• Word count should be between 3000-7000.

• Send your submissions via email with the subject line “Submission for MYSTERY TIMES 2014” from with your story as an attached file in .doc (Word) format.

PLEASE INCLUDE in the body of the email:

Your name and contact information.
A brief author bio (2-5 sentences).
Entry should be single-spaced in a 12 pt. readable font. We suggest Times New Roman, Courier, or Arial.
Send: Submissions@Buddhapussink.com

NOTE: You will receive an email acknowledging our receipt of your entry within 1 business day. If you don't receive this email, first check your junk/bulk/spam folder, then if necessary please re-submit your entry and change the subject line to: "RESUBMISSION for MYSTERY TIMES 2014".

Submissions that do not follow these guidelines will not be considered.

Notifications will be sent to finalists via email in late December 2014.

There is no limit on the number of entries you may submit. There is no fee to enter.

Buddhapuss Ink LLC reserves the right to close or extend the competition if not enough suitable entries are received. 

Winning Selections:

The Ten (10) Winning entries will be published in a showcase titled Mystery Times 2014 to be published by Buddhapuss Ink LLC.

First Place winner will receive a Brand New Kindle, featured placement in the book, and Buddhapuss Ink swag.

Second and Third Place winners will receive featured placement in the book, and a Buddhapuss Ink t-shirt.

ALL WINNERS will receive: two (2) copies of the finished book.

Some winning entries will also be featured on our website, blog, and/or Facebook page.

JUDGES

All entries that meet submission guidelines will be read by and rated by judges. The top twenty (20) entries—based on points accrued—will then go on to our Editorial Review Panel.
The decisions of the judges will be final.
No manuscripts will be returned.
Winners will be notified in late December 2014.
Publication is scheduled for January-February 2015.

Send your best words our way!

Key dates: Contest ends: December 5, 2014

Winners announced: Late December 2014

Publication: January-February 2015

Send to: Submissions@buddhapussink.com

And the Winners Are . . .

We want to thank everyone who participated in this year's competition. We had over 200 entries and the competition was tough. Hats off to our Judges who did a fantastic job again this year--you're all terrific in our book!

And now, without further ado:

The winners in the Mystery Times 2013 Writing Competition are:

Cyndy E. Lively for Negotiate in Good Faith

Selaine Henriksen for My Grandmother's Attic

John Jasper Owens for Man's Best Friend

Tom Irish for Martin Lenk

Wendy Sparrow for When Your Thieving Days are Over

Megan Green  for Imprisoned

Georgia Ruth for Dear Courtney

And in Third Place: Faye Rapoport DesPres for Who Let the Cats Out

THIRD PLACE winner will receive a $25 Gift Card, featured placement in the book, and Buddhapuss Ink swag.

Second Place goes to: John Jasper Owens for Femme Fatale

And our First Place winner is:  

                                       

Linda S. Browning for No Wake

FIRST and SECOND PLACE winners will receive a new Kindle, featured placement in the book, and Buddhapuss Ink swag.

ALL WINNERS will receive: two (2) copies of the finished book and the opportunity to “fast track” their next manuscript with our Editorial staff.

Honorable Mentions:

go to KC Sprayberry for An Ordinary House

and

Paula Gail Benson for Confidence in the Family

Honorable Mentions will appear as bonus stories in the Kindle edition of Mystery Times Ten 2013!

Submissions Call for Mystery Times 2013!

Will your story be part of this year's edition of Mystery Times?

Calling all Mystery short story writers: We have posted the hows and whys on our website.

Sharpen those pencils, and wax those keyboards, because the competition starts on April 1, 2013!

And the Winners are . . .

We had over 200 entries in our competition and we'd like to thank all of them for participating. It was a tough job for our judges, but they persevered and have chosen what they feel are the ten best submissions. The lucky ten authors will have their stories included in the upcoming Mystery Times Ten.

All winners of our 2011 Mystery Times Ten YA Short Story Competition will
receive:

Two (2) copies of the finished book and the opportunity to “fast track” their next Young Adult or Middle Grade manuscript with our Editorial staff

And they are:

Johanna Harness for her story Cherry Bomb

Jessica Souders for her story Toothless

Kirsty Logan for her story Sea of Trees 

Elyse Dinh-McCrillis for her story Submerged

Kathleen Sprayberry for her story Falsely Accused

Barb Goffman for her story Truth and Consequences

Melanie Cummins for her story Frost 


AND the Top Three Winners are:

• The THIRD PLACE winner who will also receive a $75 Gift Card, featured placement in the book, and a Buddhapuss Ink tote filled with swag is Addie King for her story Poltergeist on Aisle Fourteen.

• The SECOND PLACE winner who will also receive a $100 Gift Card, featured placement in the book, and a Buddhapuss Ink tote filled with swag is Wendy Sparrow for her story Passing Notes.

AND a drum roll please!

• The FIRST PLACE winner who will also receive a NEW Kindle, featured placement in the book, and a Buddhapuss Ink tote filled with swag is Cecilia Dominic for her story The Coral Temple.

Congratulations to all our winners and a huge thanks to our Judges:

YA Book Blogger Panel:

• Danielle Smith, aka The1stdaughter from the children's book review site There's A Book, is a reader, reviewer and writer of books of all varieties.

• Gina Reba - Gina is the "insatiable reader" behind the site, Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.  Gina is an avid book reader, reviewer, and general lover of the written word.

• Kristina Guidroz - Kris also known as the Cajun Book Lady where she reviews her favorite genres young adult, paranormal/fantasy, romance, and horror.

YA Teen Panel

• Caleb G 
• Connor M
• Katy H
• Jessica G
• Madison M 

 And our fantastic Editorial Review Panel

• Erica Sommer Karcher - Erica works for Baker & Taylor's Children's and Teens Services and writes reviews for Visual Bookshelf. 

• Joan Apgar - Joan worked for a major book wholesaler for 26 years, 15 of those as a Children's and YA Book Buyer.

• Ellen Myrick - Ellen has over two decades experience in the Children's and YA book field and runs Myrick Marketing & Media LLC.  

 We will have much more about our Judges and our winners in the book and on our website soon. Let's have a round of applause for them all!

LAST CALL! Write a Story, Win a Kindle!

Enter our YA Mystery Short Story competition - Mystery Times Ten - and get a chance to win a brand new Kindle! Competition closes at Midnight PST TODAY January 31st, 2011!

We seek new mystery short stories that are targeted for the YA audience.

Winning Selections:

• The Ten (10) Winning entries will be published in the Spring 2011 Young Adult Showcase titled Mystery Times Ten to be published by Buddhapuss Ink LLC.
• FIRST PLACE winner will receive a NEW Kindle, Featured placement in the book, and a Buddhapuss Ink tote filled with swag.
• SECOND PLACE winner will receive a $100 Gift Card, Featured placement in the book, and a Buddhapuss Ink tote filled with swag.
• THIRD PLACE winner will receive a $75 Gift Card, Featured placement in the book, and a Buddhapuss Ink tote filled with swag.
• ALL TEN (10) WINNERS will receive: two (2) copies of the finished book and the opportunity to “fast track” their next Young Adult or Middle Grade manuscript with our Editorial staff. “Fast track” does not mean you will receive a publishing contract, but we will guarantee that your manuscript is given a priority reading and response.
• Some winning entries will also be featured on our website, blog, and/or Facebook page.

JUDGES:

Buddhapuss Ink was founded with a mission to put our readers first and that’s just what we aim to do in Buddhapuss Ink’s first competition. All entries that meet submission guidelines will be read by and rated by judges from our YA Book Blogger Panel and our YA Teen Panel. The top twenty (20) entries—based on total points accrued—will then go on to our Editorial Review Panel.
Our YA Book Blogger Panel is made up of some of the best Book Bloggers on the web. These are people who are passionate about the YA market, who spend untold hours reading, reviewing and promoting books for this audience.
Our YA Teen Panel is exactly that—a group of teens aged 13-18 from across the USA who have been nominated by teachers, librarians, and book industry professionals. All of them are avid readers.
Our Editorial Review Panel is made up of  3 publishing professionals who have a combined total of over 50 years in the industry. The decisions of the Competition's judges will be final

• Deadline January 31, 2011 Midnight PST
• No manuscripts will be returned.
• Winners will be notified and announced in April 2011.
• Publication is scheduled for May/June 2011. 

Send your best words our way! We publish newcomers and established writers alike.
For all the RULES and Submission Guidelines please check our website!

Word is getting out! Read about our YA Mystery Competition at these fine sites!

Connecting: The Poetry and The Prose

Women of Mystery

Creative Writing Contests

Arts Grants Finder

Of course you can find all the info you need on our website.  Remember the contest closes on January 31, 2011! Don't miss out on the fun - "Butt in chair. Write like mad!"


We would like to thank these sites for helping us in our search for the next great YA Mystery Writer!