The Gumshoe Harrison Writing Prize & Two Other Fiction Competitions

The 2018 Gumshoe Harrison Writing Prize 

is now open for submissions.

Gumshoe Harrison

Gumshoe Harrison was a famous Welsh detective created by suspense writer Blake Bradley, a.k.a. Liam O'Toole. When O'Toole died in 2004 half his estate was put in trust for the purpose of carrying on his name with a $5000 annual writing prize that includes a month-long residency on a small island off the coast of New England, accessible only by boat.

When the boat returns at the end of a month, the winner -- a widow from Marietta, Ohio -- has disappeared. Foul play? Or something else? An advertisement is placed inviting professional detectives to solve the riddle. Three throw their hats into the ring. Has there been a crime? If so, who dunnit? If no, where did she go? And why?

Smiley Wilcox is first to arrive on the island. He's already determined that the suspects are two in number, the person who has created the contest and the boat captain.

Detective Lawrence Donovan decides that he might be able to obtain clues by interviewing the previous winners of this contest. He does, in fact, learn something. None of the former winners can be found.

Minnie Minosa, herself an author of crime fiction, poses as a detective in order to study the workings of a real investigation. She finds it a curiosity that the actual police have not yet been called.

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YOUR TASK, SHOULD YOU CHOOSE TO ACCEPT IT,

IS TO WRITE A 500 WORD SYNOPSIS OF THE REST OF THE STORY

Submission Guidelines
Original work only.
500 word count, maximum
International submissions allowed, English only.
Multiple submissions are allowed, but each story must be accompanied by a $50 reading fee.
Just kidding. NO READING FEE. (This year.)
Submit by email to ennyman3 AT gmail DOT com. (If you can't figure out the emil address, then you should not be writing detective fiction.)
No simultaneous submissions.
All entries will also be considered for publication of Ennyman's Territory.
Deadline for 2018: May 15, 2018
Winners will be announced by the end of June, if not sooner.
EdNote: If you are able to work Bob Dylan into the story you will create warm feelings in the judges' hearts, though it will probably increase your chances of winning.
In the event of a tie, I will call for assistance from an authority from Down Under.
All judges' decisions final, even if the rules change.

PRIZES
Grand Prize: Publication at Ennyman's Territory.
1st Prize: Shout out on Ennyman's Territory.
2nd Prize: ditto
3rd Prize: ditto
4th-10th place winners will be placed in a lottery. Loser will be sent to an island for a month and disappear. All expenses to be paid by next of kin.

RELATED LINKS
OK, you stuck with me this long. Here are links to a pair of real contests. If you enter and win, I want to hear about it. Thanks!
The $2000 Desert Writing Prize
The Lascaux Prize in Flash Fiction

Call For Art: 2018 Duluth Dylan Fest

CALL FOR ART

DULUTH DYLAN FEST 2018

The theme for this year's Duluth Dylan Fest Art Show is VISIONS OF DULUTH. Even though Bob Dylan left the Northland as a youth, the Northland never left Bob Dylan. Echoes of our North Country have appeared in his songs for more than five decades. Here are but a few examples:

Chilly wind sharp as a razor blade...
So many roads, so much at stake
So many dead ends, I’m at the edge of the lake
--Dignity

In the hills of mystery
In the foggy web of destiny
--Born in Time

Rainy days on the Great Lakes
Walkin’ the hills of old Duluth
--Something There Is About You

The rocks are bleak, the trees are bare
Iron clouds go floating by
Snowflakes fall in’ in my hair
Beneath the gray and stormy sky
--Tell Old Bill

They walked along by the old canal...
He felt the heat of the night hit him like a freight train...
Hunts her down by the waterfront docks where the sailors all come in
--Simple Twist of Fate

Submission Requirements
1. Artist's statement
2. Brief bio (2-3 sentences)
3. One to four pieces (must send sample PDF or JPG format less than 1 MB each) to ennyman3 (AT) gmail.com
4. Description of piece (Title, medium, dimensions, price)
5. SUBJECT LINE: DYLAN ART
EdNote: All mediums of wall art will be considered.

Pieces MUST BE READY TO HANG. Digital submissions must be received for review via email by April 30th. Artwork will be selected by members of the Bob Dylan Way Committee and the work will be hung in the Zeitgeist Atrium between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Sunday May 20. Artwork will need to be picked up on from the Zeitgeist Atrium on Sunday May 27. The Dylan Fest Artist Reception will be on Monday May 21 from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.

If you are outside of the Duluth area, please plan accordingly to make sure your art can be brought in within the given time frame. Contact: ennyman3 (AT) gmail.com.

To reiterate… Deadlines: Submission deadline for consideration: April 30. Art will need to be retrieved May 27. Out-of-town artwork is welcome. Shipping and handling matters must be arranged in advance. Contact the Committee for recommendations on shipping.

FOR MOR INFORMATION ON DULUTH DYLAN FEST VISIT BOBDYLANWAY.COM

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RHINO TRIVIA
I was looking to see what events occurred on this day in history and learned that Eugene Ionesco's absurd play Rhinoceros opened on Broadway in 1961. I'd always assumed it was much earlier. Ten years later I saw the play performed in Athens (Ohio) while I was in college.

* * * *
Art Credits -- Top: "Don't Look Back" and lower right: "Dylan III by Ed Newman
Middle picture, detail from collage portrait by Kristi Abbott