Writers of short fiction are encouraged to enter the 2011 Canadian Tales of the Mysterious Short Story Competition. To be considered, a story must have two things. First, it must contain an element of Mystery; second, it must be identifiably Canadian. An element of Mystery is self-explanatory, but what is ‘Identifiably Canadian’? If the story is written by a Canadian, or written about Canadians, or takes place in Canada, then it meets the ‘Identifiably Canadian’ condition.

Prizes and Publication:
First place pays $500. Second place pays $150 and the third pays $100. Ten Honourable mention prizes of $25.00 will also be awarded. All winning entries will be published by Red Tuque Books in the upcoming anthology, ‘Canadian Tales Of The Mysterious’. Winners will receive a complementary copy of the anthology in addition to the prize money. Winners will be contacted by February 28th, 2012. Results will posted on the Red Tuque Books website in March, 2012. The Finalist judges for this competition are Robin Matchett, winner of the Toronto Arts Protege Award, and Adam Lewis Schroeder, recently short listed for a Commonwealth Writer’s Prize.

Submission Requirements:
The contest closes December 31st, 2011. Entries post marked later than December 31st will not be considered. All entries will be read. The entry fee is $15 for one manuscript, $25 for two, or $30 for three. Three is the maximum number of manuscripts that can be submitted by any one author. The judging is blind, so it is possible for one author to have up to three winning entries. All manuscripts must be original, unpublished fiction, typed and double-spaced, between 1,500 and 5,000 words. The word count is strict and stories that have been published online are considered previously
published. The authors retain their copyright, but first-print rights are granted to Red Tuque Books for the anthology. All submissions must be sent via regular mail. Email submissions will not be accepted. Simultaneous submissions are acceptable, but Red Tuque Books must be notified in writing, prior to the February announcement, if a manuscript has been accepted for publication elsewhere. Entries will be judged anonymously. The author’s name should not appear anywhere in themanuscript. Each entry must be accompanied by a separate cover sheet with the author’s name, complete mailing address, email
address, phone number, the title of the piece, and the word count. Manuscripts will not be returned and no entry confirmation will be given unless requested. Please provide a SASE or e-mail address when requesting confirmation.

Entry fees must be submitted by mail with their accompanying manuscripts. Payment is in Canadian funds. Personal cheques, bank drafts, andmoney orders, should be drawn on a Canadian Bank. Pleasemake payable to Red Tuque Books Inc.

Send manuscript(s), along with the appropriate entry fee, to: Short Story Competition
Red Tuque Books
Unit #6, 477 Martin Street
Penticton, BC
V2A 5L2 – Canada

Visit the website: http://www.redtuquebooks.ca/