Time is running out to enter the Blue Mesa Review Fiction Contest. The deadline is a manuscript that arrives in our mail room with a postmark no later than January 31. If you’re a procrastinator, you’d better put that aside for now, and get that manuscript in!
Others have written about what they like to see in submissions, but now that the pieces are starting to fall into place, I can say a few words about what we are actually accepting. While there is no discernable theme that these works have in common, there is a common denominator. Our readers seem to have a taste for works with a strong voice, whether from a narrator or a major character. We would not be surprised if any of these characters were to walk in the door and shake hands with us, that’s how fleshed out they are.
Similarly, the pieces that will soon be heading to press all do an excelent job of putting a reader down in a place. These places are so real we shiver when the wind kicks up, because as long as we are reading it, we are there. (Please note that these places are not necessarily New Mexico. We’d rather see a realistic portrayal of a colony on Mars than a story that’s “set” in the Land of Enchantment but not grounded—throwing a ristra and luminarias in on page 2 of an ungrounded story doesn’t cut it.)
So, don’t forget, a $15 reading fee guarantees your story will be read and considered for the $1,000 prize and publication in issue 23 of Blue Mesa Review.
Happy Writing and Good Luck!
