Events

Tue 6/29  8pm-9pm Blotter Magazine Fiction Contest Awards Party: Laine Cunningham Novel Award contest A unique kind of contest has selected the winners of the first annual contest. The awards are given for unpublished novels in any genre. The prizes include cash and signed books donated by various authors. The award offers support, recognition and financial assistance to authors on the long road to publication. The ceremony will take place June 29th at Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, NC. This first year, the contest received manuscripts from California and Alaska to North Carolina . Since the contest accepts any kind of book-length fiction, the manuscripts ranged from crime thrillers to prosaic literary works. “The breadth of the submissions was fantastic,” says Laine Cunningham, the contest’s sponsor and namesake. The first-place winner, E.G. Willy of Walnut Creek, California, will receive a $500 cash prized and a “library” of books signed by different authors. Willy submitted a story about a man who sets off across South Dakota on horseback in the mid-1960s. The manuscript, Wakan, immediately rose to the top of the entries for its spare style and realistic descriptions. Second place goes to Steve Swatt of Sacramento , California . Swatt will receive $125 and a library for Fair, Balanced…and Dead. The work is a compelling piece of political fiction that maintains a wry sense of humor. The third place prize, a library, is being awarded to Ruth Moose of Pittsboro , North Carolina . Her entry, titled Going to Graceland , is a collection of linked stories that brings magical realism to America ’s highways and byways. The thought-provoking work was called “truly original” by Cunningham, who was the final judge. All winners will also receive certificates of achievement from the magazine. The awards ceremony is scheduled for June 29th at 8 p.m. Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill (www.f.lyleafbooks.com) bookstore is hosting the event. The winners who decide to travel to North Carolina to receive their awards will be able to read a short excerpt from their winning entries. Smith will also receive the funds for the 2011 contest that evening. Authors who have had their work published in The Blotter will also be on hand to read from their work. Cunningham is dedicated to providing more money for these prizes in coming years and will add cash prizes for third place and honorable mention. “It’s important that novelists are encouraged to continue along what is a very difficult path,” she says. Entries to the next Laine Cunningham Novel Award contest will be accepted between October, 2010 and January, 2011. Any book-length work of fiction is eligible, including novellas. Submission details will be available in October at The Blotter’s website. Entry fees are used by The Blotter to offset administrative costs of the contest and to support the nonprofit magazine.