Get inspired with The First Line Literary Journal challenge: write a short story starting with the sentence “Edwin spotted them the moment he stepped off the train.”
Before you make a face and click off this page, think about it practically. The chances of a huge number of writers deciding to spend the time thinking up, writing, and editing a short story that is specifically for this single publication and contest is highly unlikely. Therefore, your competition is slimmer and your story has a better chance at winning.
Submitting to The First Line Literary Journal is a smart idea. What have you really got to loose?
Type of literary journal: print
What submissions they want: any genre, word count 300-3,000. Check out further submission guidelines.
How they want the submissions: email sent to submission (@) thefirstline (dot) com
Submission fee? No. Never!
Accept international submissions? Yes.
When they want the submissions: August 1st, 2011
Official Submission Response Time: usually 2-3 weeks after the submission close date.
My personal submission response time: none, sorry! I haven’t submitted here before. But let me know when you hear back!
Contest winnings: Technically this isn’t really a contest, more like a submissions call, but you do get paid! $20 for fiction and $10 for non-fiction along with a copy of the journal you’re published in.
While you’re waiting, listen to the audio of this one story published in the journal. Hope you feel inspired and enjoy!!
Good luck!