SHORT STORY FINALISTS ANNOUNCED

Well Fed Head Books is pleased to announce the five short story finalists for the Well Fed Head Books Fiction Prize. The finalist authors are (in random order):

Brigitte Koenig – (Marilu)
Matthew Stowe – (The Angel)
Paul Johns – (A Flood of Memories)
Jordan Shiveley – (Without Fanfare)
Chad Woody – (Gram vs. the Groundhog)

On Friday, March 7th at 6:30 PM we will hold an award ceremony to announce the grand prize winner. There will be readings from each story and general merriment. We hope you can join us.

We would like to thank all the authors who submitted work for the inaugural Well Fed Head Books Fiction Prize.

Judges for the Well Fed Head Short Fiction Prize Announced

The story submission deadline for the first Well Fed Head Short Fiction Prize is just a month away – December 15, 2007 – and a print publication of the winners is in the works. So get cracking on your story, and you just might find yourself a published author.

We are pleased to announce our contest judges who represent an incredible mix of great readers and great writers:

Julie Bloodworth
Julie Bloodworth is the Director of the Missouri Fine Arts Academy (mfaa.missouristate.edu), a state-supported summer Academy for artistically gifted high school students. She’s a former English teacher; a sometimes writer; a member of the board of Directors of Writers Hall of Fame, Ozarks chapter; an avid reader, and a great lover of short stories.

Nicole Chilton
Nicole Chilton is co-owner of Moxie Cinema (www.moxiecinema.com), Springfield’s finest independent movie theater. As a film promoter and book lover, she naturally has a hard time reading a novel (or short story) without wanting to immediately cast the characters for the film adaptation. Nicole is proud of the fact that she has attended 17 of the last 21 Book Club gatherings held by Well Fed Head Books, and knows this because of her extensive book-related record keeping.

Katie Estill
Katie Estill (www.katieestill.com) is the author of two novels, Evening Would Find Me (2000) published by Joyce Carol Oates’s Ontario Review Press and Dahlia’s Gone (2007) released by the St. Martin’s Press. Her new short story, The Drinking Gourd, was just published in the SURREAL SOUTH anthology. Katie is a graduate of Kenyon College and has an M.F.A. from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop.

Kelly Knauer
Kelly Knauer is the Managing Editor of TIME Books in New York City. An employee of TIME since 1981, Mr. Knauer assumed his present position in 1992. He has written and edited more than 50 books under the TIME imprint, on subjects ranging from photography, architecture, history and current events to science, weather and health. Mr. Knauer worked with the longtime White House Correspondent, Hugh Sidey, on the book Hugh Sidey’s Portraits of the Presidents. Among his recent books are Hurricane Katrina; The Middle East; Global Warming; and a 256-page large-format photographic history of the U.S., America: An Illustrated History.

Jerry Lentz
Jerry Lentz (www.jerrylentz.com) has a radio show heard coast to coast, runs a traveling acting workshop, has directed a Pearl Jam concert film, had a TV series on IFC, has been written about in the New York Times, LA Weekly, CityBeat LA, Dallas Observer, Details, Guardian UK, reads about 5 books a week, and accepts almost all friend requests to his myspace page.

Elise Winn
Elise Winn is an Honors graduate in English and Writing from Drury University. In 2005 and 2006, she was the instigator/editor of the nearly notorious journal, Things That Are True (truethings.pitas.com). Elise is currently in the M.A. Creative Writing program at the University of California, Davis. She enjoys short and flash fiction (the kind that sticks to your ribs), cooking (the kind that you get to eat), and Missouri trees (the kind that change color).

Daniel Woodrell
Daniel Woodrell (HachetteBookGroupUSA.com) left school and enlisted in the Marines the week he turned seventeen, received his bachelor’s degree at age twenty-seven, graduated from the Iowa Writer’s Workshop, and spent a year on a Michener Fellowship. His last five novels were selected as New York Times Notable Books of the Year, and Tomato Red won the PEN West award for the novel in 1999. His most recent book, Winter’s Bone, was a shortlist finalist for the 2006 Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Woodrell’s second novel, Woe to Live On (1987), was adapted for the film Ride with the Devil (1999), directed by Ang Lee. Daniel currently lives in the Missouri Ozarks.

Beth Buczynski and Michael Sowers
Beth and Mike opened Well Fed Head Books (www.wellfedhead.com) in 2002. Since they rarely get to read for pleasure while at the bookstore, they are thrilled that this inaugural Short Fiction Contest gives them a chance to read on the clock. Beth received her undergraduate degree in English from Truman State University and her M.A. in English from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. Mike received a B.A. in History from Truman State University and his M.A. from Alaska Pacific University.

Well Fed Head Short Fiction Prize

During a recent road trip, Mike and I were talking about all the things that have happened in the five years since we opened Well Fed Head Books, and as we talked, we found that we wanted to do something different to kick off the next five years. We already know what fantastic readers we have in our community, and we also know from our slams the extent of poetic creativity around, but what do we know of our regional fiction writers? Not nearly enough.

So, we hereby establish our first-ever short fiction contest, The Well Fed Head Short Fiction Prize. The fictional short story is a compelling literary format that really should enjoy greater popularity. And now is your chance to do something about it.

We want this to be a regional award, and given that the term “Ozarks” is somewhat nebulous, Mike suggested that we make our geographic boundary one hour from Springfield if you were driving 100 mph (not that he recommends that you drive that fast). So if you live within a hundred miles of our bookstore, you are eligible.

Unlike most short story contests, we are not going to pack our panel of judges with other writers (though there may be some) or creative writing faculty (though there may be one or two of those, too). We’re going to select judges from among the great READERS we know. Some may have been English majors, but most will not. What they will have in common is a good critical eye and a desire to be entertained, enlightened, and enraptured.

So there you have it. Sharpen your pencils, craft a ripping-good story of no more than 2,500 words, and get it to us by the deadline of December 15, 2007, and you might just find yourself the first recipient of this soon-to-be estimable award.

RULES

1. Each story must be no longer than 2,500 words.

2. Each story must be the unpublished (and not under consideration of being published), original work of the entrant.

3. Entrants must reside within 100 miles of Springfield, Missouri.

4. All entries must be accompanied by an official entrance form (Download Application), which contains the name, address, e-mail address, and phone number of the author, as well as the title of the story. Each entry must be typed, double-spaced on one side of 8+1/2 x 11 paper and no longer than 2,500 words.

5. Names and copyright markings must be omitted from the manuscript, which will go to judges anonymously. Include the title and page number at the head or foot of each page.

6. Only one entry per person. A $15 fee in advance is required for each story submission. This fee goes toward prizes and contest expenses.

7. Do not send originals – no entries will be returned.

8. Entries must be received by 9:00 PM, December 15, 2007. Mail or hand deliver a hard copy of your story to Well Fed Head Books, 331 S. Campbell, Springfield, MO 65806. Also provide a digital copy by email to info@wellfedhead.com or on a CD.

9. Copyrights of winning manuscripts remain in the name of the authors, but Well Fed Head Books, LLC reserves the right to publish the winning entries and any honorable mentions and to reproduce them electronically on our website.

10. Prizes – $250 to be split among the winning stories. Winning stories will be published on wellfedhead.com.