All Bucks County authors, 18 years or older, have a chance at winning a cash prize in Bucks County Community College’s short fiction contest. Entries are required to be unpublished short stories and the winners of the contest will receive $200. More than that though, the contest is about fostering the creative spirit within the community.
Elizabeth Luciano, a professor in the college’s Department of Language and Literature, started the short fiction contest to complement the college’s Bucks County Poet Laureate contest and used her sabbatical project to build a plan for the contest. Luciano said she feels the contest has found its footing and it can encourage the community to start, restart, or continue writing.
“This is a way of getting a toe-hold and if you win that’s certainly a nice response, but even coming to the reading and meeting the community and getting to know other people who care about words and who care about stories can be very exciting,” Luciano said.
The contest rewards the top three stories but also makes sure to encourage writers who are showing sparks of talent. Luciano said sometimes a final judge may make honorable mentions for those writers.
“There’s some work that comes in that you just think, wow, we really want to tell this person to keep going because they really have something here,” she said.
Entrants can meet the final judge and the other writers at the final event on Nov. 9 where they can get to know the authors behind the stories and build community.
“I think my favorite part is meeting the people and I know that sounds very pollyannaish, but I really mean it,” Luciano said. “They’re excited to be there or maybe they’re a little nervous to be there, but we all really connect with one another.”
Luciano said she looks for authors local to Philadelphia or the Philadelphia suburbs, who are publishing or have published a book.
“So, it’s exciting for people to meet the final judge and talk with them and to see that success is possible because here’s somebody who did it,” Luciano said.
C.J. Spataro, an award-winning short fiction writer, is local to Philadelphia and recently debuted her first novel “More Strange Than True” in June. Luciano said she believes Spataro’s additional experience running the MFA program at Rosemont College will be helpful to some entrants who may be wondering about what it takes.
Before the stories reach the final judge, Luciano reads each entry and narrows the list down to five or six finalists. Luciano said she looks for what any reasonable reader is looking for like clarity and balance.
“Do you draw the reader in right away? Am I interested to see how the story unfolds? Is it clear where I am and what’s happening in the story,” she said.
Each year the stories can be reflective of the events and feelings of the community. Luciano said during the pandemic a lot of Armageddon stories were submitted.
“I think danger and worry were just on people’s minds,” she said.
While the topics and storylines of each entry may vary, all work must be the author’s unique ideas and words as the contest prohibits fan-fiction and AI. All entries are due by Thursday, Oct. 10, via the college’s entry form. High school students will have their chance to showcase writing in spring.
