The Sword Review 2006 Fiction Contest was a great success. It was fun and resulted in a wonderful slate of stories, plus it was significant fund raiser for this publication. The US$10.00 entry fee was used, not only for the prizes, but also to help defray the cost of this magazine.

Prizes for The Sword Review 2005 Fiction Contest

The payout for the contest was based on the number of entries so, prizes will be awarded as follows:

First Place: $71.67 - $25 plus 1/3 of remaining entry proceeds
Second Place: $38.33 - $15 plus 1/6 of remaining entry proceeds
Honorable Mention (2 awards): $16.67 - $5 plus 1/12 of remaining entry proceeds

ALL FOUR winners will be published in the January 2006 issue!

Futhermore, this contest generated $46.66 for The Sword Review's operation, helping to allow us to continue publishing great features.

Contest Results

This year's theme was HOPE.

This year's contest centered on the theme of hope, and the entries approached this idea in a number of different ways.  Having the privilege of being one of the judges was a real treat...until it came time to pick winners.  The competition was tough.  A few entries were outstanding stories, but were passed over for reasons of genre preference.  All the entrants can be proud!

When all was tallied and the authors' names were disclosed, the winner turned out to be no stranger to The Sword Review.  The overall winner of The Sword Review 2006 Fiction Contest was "Waiting for Appa" by Mirta Ana Schultz, a member of the editorial team for sister publication, Dragons, Knights, & Angels and the winner of The Sword Review 2005 Fiction Contest and The Sword Review 2006 Poetry  Contest.  When you read the story, you'll see why she had emerged on top, once again.

The runner up in The Sword Review 2006 Fiction Contest was "Winter Branches" by Jane Lebak.  As far as we know, Jane is not a pseudonym that Mirta uses to fool judges!  Jane's story will take you through trials and troubles, but hope is always nearby, though the protagonist has a hard time seeing it.  This is a fantasy story that many of you will love!

Two honorable mentions were also awarded this year.  The first of these went to "Natural Selections" by Mike Simon.  Mike asks readers to consider how they might act in the face of near hopelessness.  This sci-fi story, as readers will learn when you read it, makes a huge impact!  The second honorable mention went to another sci-fi story, "The Blue Flower" by Donald Jacob Uitvlugt.  Donald explores humanity and how hope can be inspired by little things.

This was a wonderful contest and the stories that came out on top are sure to be favorites of The Sword Review community for a long time.