AUGUSTA, GA – It is time for the third annual Metro Spirit short story contest and our goal is for this year’s entries to be even better than last year’s stories.

This year, the grand prize winner will not only receive $100 in cash, but he or she will also get a free registration to Augusta State University’s Sandhills Writers Conference.

The conference, which first began in 1975, is considered the Southeast’s most prestigious conference for writers of fiction, poetry, non-fiction and children’s literature.

The keynote address at this year’s conference, scheduled to be held March 18-20, will be given by American Book Award winner Kimiko Hahn.

Hahn has authored seven collections of poetry, including “The Unbearable Heart,” which received the American Book Award. Her most recent collection is “The Narrow Road to the Interior,” which was published in 2006.

For those who may not be familiar with the Sandhills Writers Conference, the goal of the conference is for writers to share ideas and inspiration for their work through workshops, private consultations, readings, panels and informal discussions.

There is no better experience for local writers than this annual conference.

The prize of a free registration to the conference, valued at $156, was generously donated by Conference Director and Poetry Evaluator Anthony Kellman.

Kellman, a native of Barbados, is a professor of creative writing at ASU and the author of four poetry books, two novels and three music CDs.

The free conference registration, along with a $100 grand prize, has already attracted several interested writers to submit their work to the Spirit. But we want more.

So send us your best work, on any subject, in 2,000 words or less. Writers can enter by sending their stories to spirit@metrospirit.com.

Last year, we received more than 100 entries and we chose our top five picks.

The deadline for submissions is Tuesday, Dec. 1, and we will publish the winners’ stories by the end of the year.

After reviewing all of the entries, the Spirit staff will pick the grand prize winner.
We only ask that those entering the short story contest this year be residents of the CSRA.

We have also decided that employees, freelance writers and interns at the Spirit are not eligible for the contest. We just want to make sure new voices have a chance to be heard here in Augusta.

And for those of you who might be extra productive, writers can also submit more than one story if they so desire.

For more information about the Spirit’s short story contest, go to our Web site, metrospirit.com. For additional details about the Sandhills Conference, check out www.sandhills.aug.edu.

We look forward to reading your entries.