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Like the Stoker Literary Awards, TDS strives to shine light on the accomplishments of the world's talented writers, poets, and artists.To do this, we hold a LIVE annual literary awards ceremony! Creatives are invited to enter the second annual awards from 12:01am (EST/New York) on July 7, 2021 to 11:59pm (EST/New York) on October 30, 2021. Finalists will be announced on January 15, 2022 with winners announced at a LIVE awards ceremony held on Feb. 20, 2022 in Dover, Ohio.
CATEGORIES
FICTION Short Story (1,000-7,000 words) Novella* (20,000-40,000 words) Short Screenplay* (up to 20 pages) Feature Screenplay* (90-120 pages) POETRY Any Form (1-4 pages) ART Abstract (non-representational) Realism (representational) Photography (abstract or representational) * New categories added for 2022 |
SUBGENRES
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GOTHIC
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HORROR
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FANTASY
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PSYCHOLOGICAL REALISM
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WINNERS
PUBLISHED and EMERGING CREATIVES. All creatives are welcomed to enter the TDS Creative Awards. Published is defined as a person having published at least one work in their lifetime through literary magazines or traditional/independent publications (including school magazines and Amazon); whereas, emerging is defined as a person who does not have any publications at all.
TDS CREATIVES. Special categories and genres exist for previously published creatives of The Dark Sire. Any author, poet, or artist published in TDS from October 31, 2020 to July 31, 2021 will automatically be considered for separate awards in five categories: fiction, poetry, art, serialization, and cover art.
THE COVETED SIRE. The final award is the coveted Creative Sire Award, the highest honor of the TDS awards. This award is given to the creative who is considered to be the best in show and thus crowned BEST creative of the year. All authors, poets, and artists entered into the TDS awards are automatically eligible for this award (including non-TDS creatives).
All together, there are 9 awards scheduled for the second annual TDS awards ceremony.
*Any category/genre with less than 4 entries will be combined with another compatible category/genre.
TDS CREATIVES. Special categories and genres exist for previously published creatives of The Dark Sire. Any author, poet, or artist published in TDS from October 31, 2020 to July 31, 2021 will automatically be considered for separate awards in five categories: fiction, poetry, art, serialization, and cover art.
THE COVETED SIRE. The final award is the coveted Creative Sire Award, the highest honor of the TDS awards. This award is given to the creative who is considered to be the best in show and thus crowned BEST creative of the year. All authors, poets, and artists entered into the TDS awards are automatically eligible for this award (including non-TDS creatives).
All together, there are 9 awards scheduled for the second annual TDS awards ceremony.
*Any category/genre with less than 4 entries will be combined with another compatible category/genre.
ELIGIBILITY
ALL writers, poets, and artists are eligible to enter works created or published between October 31, 2020 and October 30, 2021. As long as the work submitted adheres to these dates, posted genres, guidelines, and submission policies, the creative and work is eligible. Independent, small press, traditional, international, minority, and LGBTQ+ creatives are all welcome!
Published or unpublished works? ALL works, published or unpublished, are eligible for awards. Please note, however, that any published work must have reprint rights available since short-listed finalist and winning works will be published in the annual TDS anthology. For submissions of published work, please add the details of the first rights publisher.
TDS Creatives. All authors, poets, or artists published in Issues 5-8 are automatically eligible for a TDS creative award. The piece published in TDS is the piece that will be entered for consideration. Any TDS creative who has a non-TDS work to enter may do so at regular submission rates.
Published or unpublished works? ALL works, published or unpublished, are eligible for awards. Please note, however, that any published work must have reprint rights available since short-listed finalist and winning works will be published in the annual TDS anthology. For submissions of published work, please add the details of the first rights publisher.
TDS Creatives. All authors, poets, or artists published in Issues 5-8 are automatically eligible for a TDS creative award. The piece published in TDS is the piece that will be entered for consideration. Any TDS creative who has a non-TDS work to enter may do so at regular submission rates.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
When submitting shorts and poetry, please be sure that each work follows Shunn's story or poem formatting and is:
When submitting screenplays, please be sure that work uses professional standard formatting and is:
When submitting artwork, please be sure that each image is of high-quality photography and is:
- Presented with 1" margins on all sides, double-spacing, page numbers, and American Letter (8.5"x11", not A4)
- Typed in Garamond 12-point font
- No longer than 7,000 words (short fiction), 40,000 words (novella), or 4 pages (poetry)
- Written in English
- Saved in WORD Document (.doc/.docx) format with TDS Awards, SS (short story), N (novella), or P (poem), author's last name, shortened title, and genre (EX: TDSAwards_SS_Stephens_TheVampireArgos_Gothic)
When submitting screenplays, please be sure that work uses professional standard formatting and is:
- No longer than 20 pages (short scripts) or 120 pages (feature scripts)
- Written in English
- Submitted as PDF
- Saved with TDS Awards, S (screenplay), author's last name, shortened title, and genre (EX: TDSAwards_S_Stephens_TheVampireArgos_Gothic)
When submitting artwork, please be sure that each image is of high-quality photography and is:
- Free of text on the image
- Saved as a .jpeg or .PNG
- Original work
- Labeled with TDSAwards, A (art), artist's name, title of piece, material, and year created (EX: TDSAwards_A_Stephens_Argos_Acrylic_2018)
JUDGES
Dan Stout lives in Columbus, Ohio, where he writes noir with a twist of magic and a disco chaser. His prize-winning fiction draws on travels throughout Europe, Asia, and the Pacific Rim as well as an employment history spanning everything from subpoena server to assistant well driller. Dan's stories have appeared in publications such as The Saturday Evening Post, Nature, and Intergalactic Medicine Show. He is the author of The Carter Archives, a series of noir fantasy novels from DAW Books. To learn more about Dan, visit his website.
Dan is represented by Nat Sobel at Sobel Weber Associates and can be found on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads. |
Bre Stephens is a literary agent for The Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency who has 13 years of experience as a writer, publisher, educator, literary judge, and editor. She founded The Dark Sire literary magazine in March 2019 to "give a voice to the voiceless." Bre holds an MA in English and Creative Writing, an M.Ed. in ESL, and a BA in Art History. In her spare time, she loves attending Japanese festivals and learning more about world cultures. To learn more about Bre, visit her website.
Bre is active on social media and can be found on Facebook and Twitter. |
J. Motoki is a speculative writer with a love for all things strange and dark. She graduated with a degree in Literature/Creative Writing from the University of CA, Santa Barbara and has since explored teaching, library clerking, and criminal background research. Currently, she is an editor for Coffin Bell Journal and Rune Bear Magazine. Her works have appeared in Black Hare Press, Luna Station Quarterly, Hawk & Cleaver, and others. To learn more about J, visit her website.
J is active on social media and can be found on Twitter and Instagram. |
PRIZES AND ENTRY
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PRIZES
Each category winner will receive: TDS skull trophy TDS Certificate Publication in a special edition of TDS The Dark Sire: Accolades (March 1, 2022) Agent consultation with Bre Stephens |
FEES $10 (USD) PER ENTRY
Creatives can submit as many entries as they wish. However, each submission must be separate with a separate entry fee. Example: 1 short story entry ($10 USD) and 1 poem entry ($10 USD) are 2 separate entries, equalling $20 USD in entry fees. Entry fees cover live event costs and stipends for the judges.
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HOW TO ENTER
Entry is simple and fast. Just follow the two-step process below:
1) Pay the entry fee.
1) Pay the entry fee.
Fiction Entry |
Poetry Entry |
Art Entry |
2) Send a query letter with your attached work via email to darksiremag@gmail.com. In the query, be sure to confirm all the details of your entry: category and genre, title of work, word/line/page count (fiction/poetry/screenplay), medium/dimensions/substrate of piece (artwork), whether you are a published or an emerging creative, and publication details of work (if applicable).
GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!
