Have you been bitten by the urge to write? Great news: after the groaning success of our first Writing Dead competition, SFX has once again teamed up with top author and master of horror Darren Shan to find the best original zombie-themed short stories – and Zom-B author Darren will personally judge your entries!
Your tales can be funny or scary, feature fast or slow zombies, slop on the murder and mayhem, or contain no bloodshed whatsoever. Imagination is your only limit. That and the rules: entries must be no longer than 1500 words, be your own original work, include at least one zombie in a Santa outfit, and feature Christmas tree lights as a prop – we encourage you to be as inventive as you can with these festive ingredients…
The latest instalment in Darren’s 12-part series, Zom-B Family, is on sale now. The series chronicles the journey of teenage protagonist B Smith during a zombie outbreak in Ireland, to the death-filled streets of London. B has encountered crazy clowns, teenage “Angels” dedicated to restoring order to the living and Mercenaries who capture B in their traps. It’s grisly, fast-paced and guarantees a high body count.
The closing date for entries is Tuesday 3 February. Any submissions received after this date will not be considered, so don’t hang around. All entries will be reviewed by judges from the SFX team. The five best will then be passed on to Darren to pick the winner.
All shortlisted entries will recieve a signed set of nine Zom-B books published by Simon & Schuster, and the incredibly talented winner will discover their fate when their story is printed in full in SFX issue 260, on sale Wednesday 1 April 2015. Plus, they’ll get a weird zombie baby statue! Who wouldn’t want that in their house?
Entries should be submitted in Microsoft Word format (either .doc or .docx files) here.
Good luck, and good scaring!
Terms And Conditions
By taking part, you agree to be bound by the Competition Rules: www.futuretcs.com. Entries must be submitted in the place and format specified above and be received by midnight (GMT) on Tuesday 3 February 2015. Late or incomplete entries, or entries in excess of 1500 words, will be disqualified. Entries are limited to one per individual. Open to all UK residents of 16 years and over, except employees of Future Publishing Limited (“Future”) and any party involved in the competition. The winner will be selected by Zom-B author Darren Shan in his sole discretion from a shortlist of 5 entries selected by a panel of judges from the SFX magazine team. The judge’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. The winner will be notified by email or telephone. There will be four (4) shortlisted winners entitled to nine (9) signed books from the Zom-B series, and one (1) overall winner who will receive a set of signed books, a baby zombie statue, and their entry will be printed in Issue 260 of SFX Magazine. The prize is non-transferable and non-refundable. There is no cash alternative. You will retain all rights you have in the copyright and other intellectual property rights comprising your entry but, by entering the Competition, you grant Future Publishing and its licensees, and the Competition sponsor, the right free of charge to republish your Competition entry in any medium or format. You warrant that the Competition entry is entirely your own work and not copied or adapted from any other source.
