Tennesse Williams Literary Festival: Fiction entries sought

The 30th annual Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival is accepting entries for its eighth annual Fiction Contest. The festival will take place March 30 to April 3, 2016.
This year’s contest will be judged by Claire Vaye Watkins, author of Battleborn, an acclaimed collection of short stories.
Winners and participants of our Fiction and One-Act Play Contests have gone on to further publications, book deals, and even a Pulitzer Prize, the Tennessee Williams Literary Festival news release states.
The grand prize includes $1,500, domestic airfare (up to $500) and French Quarter accommodations to attend the next festival in New Orleans, VIP all-access festival pass ($500 value) and publication in Louisiana Literature.
The winner will also give a reading of their short story at the festival, and the top nine finalists in the competition will each receive panel passes at a $75 value.
Submissions by mail or online are accepted. Deadline to enter is Nov. 30. Entry fee is $25.
The contest is only open to writers who have not yet published a book of fiction. Published books include self-published books with ISBN numbers. Those who have published books in other genres besides fiction remain eligible.
Only previously unpublished stories will be accepted. Stories submitted to this contest in previous years that did not place are eligible. Stories that have won and/or placed in any other writing contest are ineligible.
Submission is one original short story, written in English, up to 7,000 words. The author’s name should not appear on the manuscript. Submissions must be typed; pages must be numbered and double-spaced.
Entries should be in standard fonts such as Times New Roman, Arial or Georgia in 12 point font size.
Unlimited entries per person. Simultaneous submissions accepted; notify the festival if your story is accepted elsewhere.
Take the judge of the contest into consideration. If you know the judges personally, or have ever attended classes or workshops they instructed, use manuscripts that the judges would not have seen before.
The winner and finalists will be announced by late February 2016.
Online submissions are preferred and must be in .doc, .docx, .rtf, or PDF formats.
Mail entry manuscript should be sent with check or money order for $25 (made out to: Tennessee Williams Literary Festival) and mailed to: Fiction Contest, Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival, 938 Lafayette St., Suite 514, New Orleans, LA 70113.
Do not send submissions by certified mail or signature required delivery.
Manuscripts will not be returned.