Scribes Valley Notes

   Scribes Valley is now open for entries in our 20th annual Short Story Contest. We'd love to see what you've been working on! Enter the Scribes Valley Writing Contest !  Hard to believe this is our 20th year. We must be doing something right! Full contest guidelines and rules can be found on our website. Maximum word length: 5,000 Deadline:  November 30, 2022 Winners announced around January 31, 2023 Entry fee: $8 US Prizes include: all finalists published in print/electronic anthology. Monetary reward for top 1-3 finalists based on participation (the more entries, the bigger the prize amounts).

Scribes Valley Publishing announces 2019 contest winners   We are excited to release the names of our 2019 Writing Contest finalists: Steve Putnam - Lone Strangers Strawberry Patched Virginia M. Amis – Turtle Tree William E. Burleson – When the Moon Gets in the Way of the sun Nancy Canyon – Holy Spirit Delivers Ronna L. Edelstein – The Monster Within Phillip Frey – Old Hat Theresa Jenner Garrido – An Abeyance Denise P. Kalm – Submission Bear Kosik – One Way Anna-Clair McGrath – The Professor Leslie Muzingo – Counting flowers JoDean Nicolette – The Ride Bill Frank Robinson – Pee Ja Joseph Salerno – Served Cold Michelle Wotowiec – Pearl Frank DiPalermo – The Friendship Gallery Lynn C. Miller - Is It Really You?

Okay, I'm fed up. It's supposed to be cool now. The temperatures are supposed to be in the mid to lower seventies. Breezes are supposed to be crisp. Leaves are supposed to be turning beautiful colors. Quilts are supposed to be moving from closets to beds. Instead...we're sweating as humidity threatens to smother us as we set on our back porches, work in our yards, walk through the woods. What the heck? Where is Autumn? Where is it hiding? Where has it gone? Scribes Valley Publishing

Greetings! Listed below are the finalists of our 2018 Short Story Writing Contest . Please visit our 2018 Winners page , and get to know these talented authors. Virginia M. Amis  -  WOOD AVENUE Katelyn Andell  -  EUPHORIA, VA Patricia L. Baker  -  THE WHISPERERS Colin Brezicki  -  STAGE STRUCK Andrew K. Clark  -  TANGLED LIMBS Carol Cooley  -  NEVER IN GRACE Ronna L. Edelstein  -  THE MALLEABILITY OF MEMORY John Francis Istel  -  DEVILED EGGS Catharine Leggett  -  THE ORIOLE Leslie Muzingo  -  IN MY DADDY'S SHOES Steve Putnam  -  SELTZER CAN ON A BLUE TRACTOR PAINTED ORANGE Mike Tuohy  -  CONFETTI GIRL Michelle Wotowiec  -  PICTURES AND STORIES AND GHOSTS

LOSE YOURSELF: Get Lost in the Words , Our newest short story anthology has been released , both in paperback and Kindle editions. Get lost! A simple phrase with complicated meanings. Taken one way, it can be considered quite rude and derogatory. Taken another way—the way this book intends—it is an extraordinarily great directive. Writers desire to achieve that blissful sensation of being lost in the words, to find that the story has taken over and is writing itself, causing even the author to breathlessly wait to see what is going to happen next. Readers also want that level of consciousness where their real world departs, and the words on the page transport them to places unknown. If you seek to lose yourself in the written word, to leave everyday life behind, to be elsewhere...you’ve come to the right place! The authors featured in this anthology have crafted remarkable stories with the capability and the power to take you out of this world. LOSE YO...

Scribes Valley Publishing is accepting submissions for their 13th annual short story writing contest. All finalists (around 10-15 stories) are published in an annual contest anthology, both print and electronic versions. Monetary prizes for top 3 finalists are based on contest participation – the more entries we receive, the bigger the prize amounts. In addition, all finalists receive a copy of the finished anthology. Thrill us…amaze us…entertain us…TELL US A STORY! Deadline:   November 30, 2015 Winners announced around January 15, 2016 Word limit: 5,000 Entry Fee:   $7.00 US You can enter by snail mail or online submission. Complete submission guidelines and rules on our website: http://www.scribesvalley.com .

Here are the winners of our 2013 Short Story Writing Contest. Our thanks to everyone who entered. Ronna L. Edelstein – Dismissed Vincent Guiliano – Consumed Drew Hardman – To Endure Mike Tuohy and Susan Zimmerman – Capisce? TJ Perkins – Redemption Io Kirkwood – The White Carpet Kristin Swenson – The Flood Chelle Wotowiec – When We Become the Photographs Catharine Leggett – All of Me Mike Tuohy – War of the World’s Fair Amelia Perry - Watcher Author bios and other information will follow shortly.

August 31, 2013 is quickly approaching! For the Eleventh Annual Scribes ValleyShort Story Writing Contest , we are looking for stories that enthrall us, leave us breathless, make us say “Wow!” and stay in our minds even weeks after we read them. You've worked hard on your story, pondered every word, developed characters so real you know them personally, and created a setting which pulls readers out of the real world. Don’t keep it to yourself, don't let it sit on your computer yearning for the light of day! Let others read it. Let US read it! Online submissions available.

For the tenth annual Scribes Valley Short Story Writing Contest, we are looking for stories that enthrall us, leave us breathless, make us say “Wow!” and stay in our minds even weeks after we read them. You've worked hard on your story, studied every word, developed characters so real you know them personally, and created a setting which pulls readers out of the real world. Don’t keep it to yourself! Let others read it. Let US read it!

Technology is taking over. “It’s everywhere! It’s everywhere!” screams the black-and-white movie hero as he runs through the darkened town, trying to alert the sleeping residents that their end is near. As someone who watches scary movies from the 50s and 60s, and can remember the time before cell phones and high-definition TV (and even COLOR TV), I wonder when technology is going to bite us all in the butt. When is our ever-increasing knowledge going to turn on us? Now, I’m not one of the doomsday forecasters who sit around waiting for the apocalypse. I don’t subscribe to the “end of the world is just around the corner” philosophy. I’m generally happy with the way things are going in the world that affects me. But…. Okay, let’s just say this comes from what happened to me today. I was taking my son to school this morning. Just like every morning. We pulled onto a busy section of road going to the school, when I noticed the silver car next to us had a key hanging from the...

The thrill of competition! The thrill of seeing your name in print! The thrill of your work being read by someone! The thrill of recognition by your peers and others! All this and more can be yours. All you have to do is enter: The Scribes Valley Publishing Company's TENTH ANNUAL SHORT STORY WRITING CONTEST !

Cover of new antholgy I love old pictures of people (as opposed to pictures of old people). There’s something about looking at someone from a by-gone era. Maybe it’s the look in their eyes, maybe it’s their smile—or lack of a smile, maybe it’s the way they are posed…. I don’t know. It’s hard to put into words. Whenever I look at an old picture of people I realize it shows so much more than just people. It is a microcosm of the time the picture was taken, a museum display of their era, a depiction of their when . My modern eyes stare into their ancient eyes and something seems to pass between us, not only from the picture to me, but from their time to mine. It’s amazing to think that, at the time the picture was taken, they had the modern eyes, they were up-to-date. In this age of digital pictures, I wonder what our legacy will be. A hundred years from now, will people stare at our pictures on computer screens and wonder how we lived? I think they will. I guess it’s ju...