Fiction:

“Chocolate Spider Web”— Luke Hawley

“The Pink Pack” — Susan E. Tornga

“Love Letter” — Michael Turner

Honorable Mentions:  “Men and Smokes” by Jennifer Annessi and “The Point Of No Return” by Elizabeth Benton

Poetry:

“Midwife Man” — Ellen LaFleche

“Traveling People Part I — Dissociative Blues” — Robert McMullen

“Terminal Opera” — Finley Ballard Evans

Honorable Mentions: “Plastic Woman”  by Mindy Gars Dolandis and “Greyhound to Nowhere” by Barb McMakin

Judges:

Fiction contest judge Sophie Childs is a married, full-time mother of four who has been writing for as long as she can remember.  She graduated from Oxford in 1995, having studied modern history, and has published various non-fiction articles exploring various aspects of folklore and mythology as well as a book.  She still holds out hope that one day she will be a children’s fiction author. She is the owner and founder of Fey Publishing. 

Poetry contest judge Amy M. Levy rediscovered writing after believing for nearly twenty years the teacher who said her prose lacked passion and emotion. Now, she can’t seem to stop. She maintains a creative blog at amylevy.com, journals her personal life at several sites, and even allows her work to be published. Amy shares her Northern Virginia home with her husband and their dogs.   

Main Contest Page

The September topic was “Back in the Saddle.”

The first entry is flsh fiction, “My Fear Factor,” by Terry McKee:

Here it comes again, that ever so faint fluttering in my stomach. It sits in one little spot at the bottom on my tummy, tickling me like a mother tickles her small child, except this isn’t fun. This is fear, unabashed, full-fledged, tingling FEAR. I know it all too well, and as much as I try, I can’t seem to escape it.

I try to reason it away but it’s no use. It’s as if this emotion has a mind of its own and stubbornly refuses to believe what I know to be true that my young horse Stryker, who I’ve not ridden in four months, isn’t going to hurt me, at least not intentionally.

It doesn’t help that I shipped him to Florida from New Jersey two days ago, so everything is new to him. New sights, sounds, smells, horses, everything, even me, all of which probably scare the you-know-what out of him. A win-win situation, perfect!

In fact, I’m sitting here writing all of this when I should be off to the barn to ride Stryker but I’m so scared I can’t move, save my fingers along this keyboard. My toes are curled so tight, my feet can’t go flat, so I can’t push away from the desk to get out of the chair and walk to the car.

“I’m only making things worse.” I say resolutely, while my head knows it to be undeniably true, my stomach isn’t buying it. Knots begin to form.

Horses are like a self fulfilling prophecy gone bad. Their acuity of their rider’s mood is second to none. It’s sort of like a ‘if you build it, they will come’ thing. If I’m afraid of it, the horse will definitely do it. Although not scientifically proven, it’s a fact every horse person knows to be true. If I’m afraid Stryker is going to buck me off, and not maliciously mind you, either out of youthful exuberance or because he’s afraid and spooks, chances are very good that he’ll do it.

So fear begets fear begets even more fear, and fear is my nemesis.  I can’t run, I can’t hide and I can’t shake this tightening in my belly. The tickling is more like thumping now. The more I tell myself it’s a mistake or try to ignore it; the vice-grip around my stomach tightens so severely it hurts. I feel like the gastric juices are eating a hole through it.

Taking a lesson from Chicken Little, the only way I know how to get rid of fear is to face it head on. So in response to that age old question: what do you do when a horse bucks you off? Let the instructor get back in the saddle.

The second entry is a poem, “The Ballad of The Once Sir Charles,” by Ron Runeborg, which you can read at this link:

http://when-horses-fly.livejournal.com/29945.html

You can vote only once, so please choose carefully! The poll will be open until 6 p.m. on Friday, October 8.

The winner of the June contest will receive a Wild Violet rectangular magnet, publication, and will be eligible to compete as a finalist in the annual short-form contest.

My apologies for not running contests in July and August, but I was busy adjusting to life with my newborn baby. Gradually, I’m getting back on track, so now I’ll announce the topic for our monthly short-form writing contests (500 words for fiction, 20 lines for poetry).

Topic: “Back in the Saddle”
Deadline: midnight, Friday, September 24

To enter, post a link to your entry, which can appear on either a personal site or any blog. If you must, you can e-mail it to wildvioletmagazine@yahoo.com, with the subject line: “September Contest Entry.” Please do not post your entry directly into the comments.

After the deadline, I’ll create a poll, allowing people to vote. The September winner will receive a package of Wild Violet postcards and publication.

Gizmo is missing. I’m
moving on Friday so the search is
frantic. Fliers, phone calls, all without
direction. Gizmo is missing. He left
Tuesday afternoon. I called
up and down empty streets.
The only response from a neighbor
who lost her cat to coyotes.

Up and down the halls, no fat cat
content to sleep in the sun. I’m
moving on Friday so the search is frantic.
Wondering, wandering but
Gizmo is still missing. He left Tuesday to a
neighbors who lost her cat to coyotes.
I stay up all night waiting, hoping he will see
the lights are on at 3 am.

The topic for June 2010 was “Round and Round.”

The June topic was “Round and Round.”

The first entry is a poem, “Gizmo is Missing,” by Lindsey Renuard, which can be read at this link:

http://dishwaterdreams.com/2010/05/gizmo-is-missing/

The second entry is a poem, “Incense,” by Amy M. Levy, which you can read at this link:

http://amylevy.com/wp/2010/06/incense/

The third entry is a flash fiction piece, “Self Repair,” by Elizabeth J. Allen, at this link:

http://elizabetsyallen.blogspot.com/2010/06/self-repair.html

You can vote only once, so please choose carefully! The poll will be open until 11:30 a.m. on Monday, July 5.

The winner of the June contest will receive a Wild Violet rectangular magnet, publication, and will be eligible to compete as a finalist in the annual short-form contest.

Because my due date for my first child is rapidly approaching, I’m posting the June topic early for our monthly short-form writing contests (500 words for fiction, 20 lines for poetry).

Topic: “Round and Round”
Deadline: midnight, Friday, June 18

To enter, post a link to your entry, which can appear on either a personal site or any blog. If you must, you can e-mail it to wildvioletmagazine@yahoo.com, with the subject line: “June Contest Entry.” Please do not post your entry directly into the comments.

After the deadline, I’ll create a poll, allowing people to vote. The June winner will receive a Wild Violet rectangle magnet and publication.

The May topic was “My Favorite Mistake.”

The first entry is this poem by Mary Ellen Walsh, which was received over e-mail:

Impact

I park my car
In a circle
Of wind savaged trees.
Branches

Leap from their mothers.  One babe
Taps my door,
But I stay inside, in uteri.

I harbor my thoughts. They fold within.
Pride
Is a constant tiller.
I will—

Not ask him again.
No, not again.

The second entry is a flash fiction piece by Amy M. Levy, which you can read at this link:

http://amylevy.com/wp/2010/05/upgrade/

You can vote only once, so please choose carefully! The poll will be open until 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 22.

The winner of the May contest will receive a Wild Violet rectangular sticker and will be eligible to compete as a finalist in the annual short-form contest.

Topic: “My Favorite Mistake”
Deadline: midnight, Friday, May 14

To enter, post a link to your entry, which can appear on either a personal site or any blog. If you must, you can e-mail it to wildvioletmagazine@yahoo.com, with the subject line: “May Contest Entry.” Please do not post your entry directly into the comments.

A panel will narrow the entries down to 10 top entries, and then I’ll create a poll, allowing people to vote. The May winner will receive a Wild Violet rectangle sticker and publication.

Good luck!

Each month, a panel will narrow the entries down to 10 top entries, and I’ll create a poll, allowing people to vote. The monthly winner will receive some Wild Violet merchandise  (such as a bumper sticker, button or post cards). At the end of the year, we’ll have a face-off for the monthly winners, and the winner will claim a bigger prize (to be announced later).

The winners of each monthly post will be viewable on Wild Violet in a category called “Winners,” which we will be adding after the first winners are selected.

Watch this space for the first topic to be announced in May!