Dear Diary Coffee

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Four Queens Short Story Contest

A. Litsa

We want to read your short story! The prompt is Four Queens. The idea was originally inspired by a card game, but your four queens can be anything—literal queens, drag queens, queen bees, or even something as loose as four governing principles. The deadline to submit is May 13th. Find submission instructions below.

Win cash prizes

This contest is FREE to enter, and we’ve got some pretty nice prizes:

  • 1st place $100.00 cash, plus a $50.00 Dear Diary gift card

  • 2nd place $50.00 cash, plus a $25.00 Dear Diary gift card

  • 3rd place $25 Dear Diary gift card

All winners and selected runner ups will also be considered for the following:

  • Invitation to read their short story live at Dear Diary Coffee at a special after hours party

  • Get story published to our website and made available to the public through digital download

  • Get story published in future digital or printed anthologies

  • Have story narrated and published to our podcast

  • Have story used in iterations of the Four Queens card game

How to enter

  1. Make up a story that incorporates four queens somehow. You can download the card game for inspiration if you'd like, but this is entirely optional. As long as your story has four queens in it, you're golden.

  2. Email your story to Dear Diary. You may attach artwork if you want to.

  3. You may submit multiple stories

  4. Be sure to get your submission in by midnight, Friday May 13th, 2022. Mark your Google calendar!

That’s it!

Want to read or listen to an example story? Read or listen to ROKA: Why Not Now?

Rules

Stories must be

  • Less than 3500 words

  • Typed and emailed to the address provided above

  • Rated PG. No religion, no politics

  • Ties four queens into the plot. The four queens can be literal, metaphorical… just so long as it's obvious to us that they are in there

Terms

The copyright of your story (and accompanying illustrations, if you provide those)belong to you. By submitting your story, you give Dear Diary LLC license to copy, print, publish, audio-narrate and otherwise distribute your story as described on this page. Dear Diary LLC may earn money through such use. We will always cite your authorship in our publications, whether digital or physical.

Submitting your story does not guarantee its use by Dear Diary LLC. Winners will be announced on Monday, May 16th. Cash prizes promised to winners will be issued no later than May 31st.