Million Writers Award

Million Writers Award was a short story literary award presented annually by storySouth[1][2] from 2003 to 2016.[3][4] It honored the best online short stories. The award was structured to be egalitarian allowing for anyone to nominate a story including readers, authors, editors and publishers; prize money was donated by readers and writers; and the winners were selected by public vote from a short-list of entries selected by judges.[5][6]

## Overview

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The Million Writers Award was founded by author Jason Sanford in 2003 at a time when the literary establishment "didn't believe online magazines were legitimate places to publish fiction," seeing it as a fad.[7][8] Sanford set out to honor and highlight online only publications and stories with the award.[8]

Stories eligible for the award include those first published in online literary journals, magazines, and e-zines that have an editorial process.[7] The award had a variable cash prize, in 2011 for example it was $600 for the winner, $200 for the runner-up and $100 for third place.[5] Prize money was raised through donations from writers, editors and readers and thus fluctuates each year.[5] Anyone could nominate up to one story, while editors and publishers can nominate three stories. Stories must be at least 1000 words.[5]

The award became one of the premier online literary awards and was named a Hot Site by USA Today.[9] The award was profiled in a six-page feature interview with editor Jason Sanford in the 2005 Novel and Short Story Writer's Market[10] and mentioned in The 100 Best Trends, 2006: Emerging Developments You Can't Afford to Ignore as an example of the emerging online literary movement.[11]

In 2012 Spotlight Publishing released two anthologies of stories from the Million Writers Award, with one focused on literary stories and the other on science fiction and fantasy stories.[12][13][1]

## Winners

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Previous winners.[14]

2003

* Top 10 stories:[15]

2004

* Best story: Randa Jarrar, "You Are a 14-Year-Old Arab Chick Who Just Moved to Texas" (Eyeshot)
* Best online publication: Eclectica
* Best publisher of novella-length fiction: The King's English
* Best new online magazine or journal: Narrative Magazine

2005

* Best story: Alicia Gifford, "Toggling the Switch" (Narrative Magazine)
* Best story runner-up: Terry Bisson, "Super 8" (Scifiction.com)
* Best story runner-up: Anjana Basu, "The Black Tongue" (Gowanus)
* Best online publication: Strange Horizons
* Best publisher of novella-length fiction: The King's English
* Best new online magazine or journal: Anderbo

2006

* Best story: Richard Bowes, "There's a Hole in the City" (Scifiction.com)
* Best story runner-up: Michael Croley, "Two Lives" (Blackbird)
* Best online publication: Storyglossia
* Best publisher of novella-length fiction: Narrative Magazine (co-winner)
* Best publisher of novella-length fiction: The King's English (co-winner)
* Best new online magazine or journal: Menda City Review (co-winner)
* Best new online magazine or journal: Clarkesworld Magazine (co-winner)

2007

* Best story: Catherynne M. Valente, "Urchins, While Swimming" (Clarkesword Magazine)
* Best story runner-up: A. Ray Norsworthy, "All the Way to Grangeville" (Eclectica Magazine)
* Best story runner-up: Marshall Moore, "The Infinite Monkey Theorem" (Word Riot)
* Best online publication: Blackbird
* Best publisher of novella-length fiction: Jim Baen's Universe
* Best new online magazine or journal: Farrago's Wainscot

2008

* Best story: Matt Bell, "Alex Trebek Never Eats Fried Chicken" (Storyglossia)
* Best story runner-up: Sruthi Thekkiam, "Friday Afternoons on Bus 51" (Blackbird)
* Best online publication: Narrative Magazine
* Best publisher of novella-length fiction: (no award)
* Best new online magazine or journal: Cha: An Asian Literary Journal

2009

* Winner: Jenny Williams, "The Fisherman's Wife" (LitNImage)
* Runner-up: Roderic Crooks, "Fuckbuddy" (Eyeshot)
* Honorable mention: Geronimo Madrid, "No Bullets in the House" (Drunken Boat)
* Best online publication: Fantasy Magazine
* Best publisher of novella-length fiction: Subterranean Magazine
* Best new online magazine or journal: Kill Author

2010

* Winner: Summer Block, "Hospitality" (Wheelhouse Magazine)
* Runner-up: Rachel Swirsky, "Eros, Philia, Agape" (Tor.com)
* Honorable mention: Eric Beetner, "Ditch" (Thuglit)
* Best online publication: Words Without Borders
* Best new online magazine or journal: Lightspeed Magazine

2011

* Winner: Adam-Troy Castro, "Arvies" (Lightspeed Magazine)
* Runner-up: Eric Maroney, "The Incorrupt Body of Carlo Busso" (Eclectica)
* Honorable mention: Amal El-Mohtar, "The Green Book" (Apex Magazine)

2012

* Winner: xTx, "The Mill Pond" (StoryGlossia)
* Runner-up: Kelly Cherry, "On Familiar Terms" (Blackbird)
* Honorable mention: Micah Dean Hicks, "The Butcher's Chimes" (Menda City Review)

2013

* First place : Rachel Steiger-Meister, "Chlorine Mermaid" (Carve Magazine)
* Second place: Lou Gaglia, "Hands" (Waccamaw)
* Third place : Adrienne Celt, "The Eternal Youth of Everyone Else" (Carve Magazine)

2014

* First place: Caroline Casper, "Eminence" (Carve Magazine)
* Second place: Susan Tepper, "Distance" (Thrice Fiction)
* Third place: Carmen Maria Machado, "Inventory" (Strange Horizons)

2015

* First place: Wendy Oleson, “The Snow Children” (Carve Magazine)
* Second place: Chikodili Emelumadu, “Jermyn” (Eclectica)
* Third place: Allegra Hyde, “Syndication” (Nashville Review)

2016

* First place: Reza Ghasemi Ataee, "Anatomy of Mr.wakefield" (Time magazine)
* Second place: Jude Whelchel, "Big Joy Family" (North Carolina Literary Review)
* Third place: Annie Reid, "Last Song" (Baltimore Review)

## References

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1. ^ a b "Starred review of Million Writers Award: The Best Online Science Fiction and Fantasy". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved July 11, 2012.
2. ^ "Congratulations to the storySouth Million Writers Award Nominees!" Tor.com, Oct 17, 2014.
3. ^ "Million Writers Awards". storySouth. Million Writers. Archived from the original on May 28, 2014. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
4. ^ Kellogg, Carolyn (April 23, 2009). "Million Writers Award: more than 100 top short stories". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
5. ^ a b c d "2012 Million Writers Award Rules". Jason Sanford.com. Archived from the original on February 4, 2014. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
6. ^ "Million Writers Award Winners," Locus Magazine, August 17, 2012.
7. ^ a b "Introduction to the 2012 Million Writers Award". Jason Sanford.com. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
8. ^ a b "Rank and slush pile: Is There a Literary Magazine Hierarchy?" by Timothy Schaffert, Poets & Writers Magazine, May-June 2009, Volume 37, Issue 3.
9. ^ "WebGuide: Hot Sites". USA Today. March 9, 2004. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
10. ^ "Personal Views: Jason Sanford On the Million Writers Award" by Mary Cox, 2005 Novel and Short Story Writer's Market Writer's Digest Books, 2004, p. 23.
11. ^ The 100 Best Trends, 2006: Emerging Developments You Can't Afford to Ignore by George Ochoa and Melinda Corey, Adams Media Corporation, 2005, p. 55.
12. ^ "Million Writers Award: The Best Online Science Fiction and Fantasy". Spotlight Publishing. Archived from the original on May 29, 2014. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
13. ^ "Million Writers Award: The Best New Online Voices". Spotlight Publishing. Archived from the original on May 29, 2014. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
14. ^ "The storySouth Million Writers Award". storysouth.com. Archived from the original on May 10, 2013. Retrieved May 5, 2013.
15. ^ "The Top Ten Online Stories of 2003". storySouth. Retrieved May 5, 2013.

## External links

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* Million Writers Awards, storySouth, official website.