Month: February 2016

Indie Reads – February 2016

Indies Unlimited does not review books, but we do have a couple of renowned reviewers on staff. We thought a great way to celebrate indie writing would be to ask those reviewers for their top indie picks of the month. Here are this month’s top picks from our experts:

Caesars Ghost 120x177Caesar’s Ghost by Reb MacRath

“It’s fast-paced, with short chapters that keep the story hopping and skipping along. …it is also full of humor….”

Read the rest of the review by BigAl.

Caesar’s Ghost is available through Amazon.com.

Sonnets for Heidi 120x177Sonnets for Heidi by Melissa Bowersock

“What a great story. …some life lessons about risk and being true to yourself.”

Read the rest of the review by BigAl.

Sonnets for Heidi is available through Amazon.com.

A Billion Gods and GoddessesA Billion Gods and Goddesses by Lynne Cantwell

“I wasn’t sure whether I would enjoy just reading about the gods and goddesses but Ms. Cantwell is a storyteller at heart.”

Read the rest of the review by ?wazithinkin.

A Billion Gods and Goddesses is available at Amazon.com.

Duchess Rising 120x177Duchess Rising by Alison Naomi Holt

“The conclusion comes to a somewhat satisfying end, however, with a nefarious note.”

Read the rest of the review by ?wazithinkin.

Duchess Rising is available on Amazon.com..

THRESHOLDS International Short Fiction Feature Writing Competition

Thresholds international short story features competition

THRESHOLDS, an online forum dedicated to the reading, writing and study of the short story form, is now accepting submissions for their 2016 Feature Writing Competition. The maximum word count is 2,000, with a minimum of 750. Writers may submit a maximum of 3 essays. Please note: the Competition is open for non-fiction entries only. Short story submissions will NOT be accepted.

Prizes: 1st Prize of £500; 2 x Runner-up Prize of £100; PLUS, a selection of short story titles for all shortlisted writers

Entry fee: FREE

Deadline: 6 March 2016

For more information, please visit their website.

Indies Unlimited is pleased to provide this contest information for the convenience of our readers. We do not, however, endorse this or any contest/competition. Entrants should always research a competition prior to entering.

2015 IUEA Winners

STARVoting for the Indies Unlimited Excellence Awards has concluded. We’d like to thank everyone for vigorous participation. The votes constitute an important part of the process, but do not exclusively determine the winner. To balance the votes and prevent the awards from becoming an outright “popularity contest,” we used the Alexa rankings of the finalists in the final calculation. Alexa is is the leading web traffic ranking service, and we regard it as an impartial standard.

The total votes received by each finalist by the close of the polls was divided by each candidate’s Alexa ranking. The rankings used were those recorded for each site on the morning of January 20, 2016.

This methodology was chosen for several reasons. First, while it gives significant weight to the Alexa ranking, it does not allow a site (even with an excellent rating) to win without getting votes. Second, of the various methodologies we tested on dummy data, this was  the only one that did not produce ties. It also removes any potential elements of favoritism.

Both the winners and the finalists exemplify the very spirit of the indie community. We are pleased to present the recipients of the 2015 Indies Unlimited Excellence Awards.

BBC Radio 500 Words Competition for Kids

BBC Radio 500 words competitionBBC Radio is now accepting original stories on any subject or theme for the Chris Evans Breakfast Show’s 500 Words competition. Entries can be of any length up to 500 words. Entrants must be between the ages of 5 and 13 and must have the  assistance of an adult in order to participate.

Prizes: There are bronze, silver and gold prizes in each category. The winning story will be read live on the radio, and more. See web page for details.

Entry fee: FREE

Deadline: 25 February 2016

For more information, please visit their website.

Indies Unlimited is pleased to provide this contest information for the convenience of our readers. We do not, however, endorse this or any contest/competition. Entrants should always research a competition prior to entering.