Point of Divergence Celebrates Its 75th Issue With a Short Story Contest

Friend of The Update, Dale Cozort (author of All Timelines Lead to Rome, American Indian Victorious and "Alternate History Versus the Prime Directive") has a special announcement to make. Point of Divergence, a kind of Do It Yourself Alternate History zine/writers'workshop/slow-motion forum, has been quietly publishing issues for over sixteen years now. Their 75th issue is coming up soon. To celebrate, they're having an alternate history short story contest. Here is the official announcement:

The Prize:

•  $25 Amazon gift card
•  Your choice of one of the following alternate history books Exchange or All Timelines Lead to Rome or American Indian Victories
•  Winning story (and possibly up to two (2) runners-up) will appear in Point of Divergence issue #75 and winners will receive a copy of that issue.

The Deadline:

• Entries Must Be Received By midnight Central Standard time on April 6th
• However, only the first 75 entries will be accepted, so when the 75th entry arrives, the contest will be closed to further entries.

The Story:

• Length: 2000 to 6000 words, with less than 5000 words strongly preferred.
• Other requirements: Alternate History must be a central part of the story--the story would not work without the AH.
• Must be a complete, standalone story, not a chapter or an excerpt of a larger work.
• Must be original, set in a universe of your creation using characters you created.

The Details:

• Current members of POD and past members who were in the APA within one year of the contest deadline are NOT eligible.
• One entry per person.
• The minimum number of entries will be set at twenty (20). If fewer than twenty entries are received, the contest may, at the discretion of the contest organizer, be cancelled.
• Depending on the number and quality of the entries, up to two (2) runners-up prizes may be awarded. If awarded, they will be a subset of the first prize
• Void where prohibited or taxed.
• Entries should be submitted to Althist1atAOLdotcom as attachments to an e-mail in Word format (.doc, .docx, or .rtf) --substitute @ and a dot for the AT and DOT in the e-mail address.
• E-mail with the entries attached should be titled “Contest Entry”
• Include your name and mailing address in your e-mail
• A US winner may receive their copy of the prize book in trade paperback format or in a variety of e-book formats. Due to high overseas postage costs, overseas winners may, at the sole discretion of the contest organizer, be restricted to e-book formats.
• No purchase is required. You may find it helpful to stop by www.DaleCozort.com to get an idea of the contest organizer’s tastes, but mainly just write or polish a good story.
• Decision of the judge is final.
• Stories that have been previously posted at online forums remain eligible, as long as the author retains full rights to the story. However stories that have been published as part of an agreement where money or other tangible items of value flowed to the author in exchange for publication rights are not eligible.
• Contest rules may be modified or clarified at the sole discretion of the contest organizer.

Good luck!

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger on Amazing Stories and a volunteer editor for Alt Hist magazine. His fiction can be found at Echelon Press, Jake's Monthly and The Were-Traveler. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.