Darkover Short Story Contests

Darkover Short Story Contests were sponsored by the zine Starstone.
There were three of them.
The first one was announced June 1978 and had a deadline of September 1978.
The second one was announced in December 1978 and had a deadline of May 1979.
The third one was announced March 1982 and had a deadline of June 1982. These stories appear to have been published in Starstone #6.
==Where Did the Winners Appear?==
Winners were published in Starstone and in the zine Tales of the Free Amazons. Some winners were published in the professional DAW Anthologies.
==The First Contest==
The first contest was announced in Starstone #2 in June 1978 and had a deadline of September 1978.
For MUCH more about the first contest, see the essay by Marion Zimmer Bradley called Adventures in Reading Darkover Stories Without Having to Write Them First..
Some stats:
* there were five judges: Randall Garrett, Jacqueline Lichtenberg, Diana Paxson, Katherine Kurtz, and Marion Zimmer Bradley.
* the top score was 150; the top score achieved was 134
* there were 34 qualified entires by 26 different authors
* 23 of the 26 authors were female
Some of the winners:
* Journey to Newskye by Mary Frey (first place tie) (Starstone #3, also in Contes Di Cottman IV #8)
* A Simple Dream by Penny Ziegler (first place tie) (printed in Starstone #3, reprinted in "The Keeper's Price")
* At Nevarsin; Valdir and Valentine (second place tie) by Mary Frances Zambrene
* The Alton Gift (second place tie) by Elsabeth Yes, spelled that way. Waters
* The Banshee by Sharrie n'ha Verana (Sherry Kramer) (third prize, printed in Tales of the Free Amazons)
* The Fall of Neskaya by Roger Bermingham (tie, fourth place)
* Promises Called Home by Susan Schwartz (tie, fourth place)
* Cast Off Your Chains by Margaret Silvestri (fifth prize winner, printed in Tales of the Free Amazons)
See the images on this page for other entries and winners.
File:startone3winners-1.jpg|page one of the winners, this flyer was printed in Starstone #3
File:startone3winners-2.jpg|page one of the winners, this flyer was printed in Starstone #3
From the flyer, printed in Starstone #2: 
==The Second Contest==
The second contest was announced in December 1978 in Starstone #3, and had a deadline of May 1979.
The judges were again Diana Paxson, Katherine Kurtz, Jacqueline Lichtenberg, and Walter Breen.
This contest differed from the first one in that entries for this contest were to be considered for professional publication in the DAW Anthologies.
Three stories were disqualified, two for length, one for other reasons, see below.
Bradley had much to say about the entries, including that the judges all treated another story harshly, saying it was very juvenile—the story turned out to have been written by an actual juvenile, a 12-year old girl (which Bradley discussed in a fairly shaming way): 
The winners:
* Clingfire by Jane Brae-Bedell (first prize, printed in Starstone #5)
* Where the Heart Is by Millea Kenin (second prize)
* Miracle of Modern Medicine by Jane Brae-Bedell (tie, third prize)
* Regis in Middle Earth (tie, third prize, but disqualified)
* The Keeper by Lynne Holdom (tie, fourth prize)
* Cold Hall by Aly Parsons (tie, fourth prize)
* Oath-Breaker by Eileen Berkun (tie, fifth prize)
* Useless Wife by Elisabeth Waters (tie, fifth prize)
The flyer in Starstone #3 for the second contest told fans their contributions may be harvested for possible publication in the DAW Anthologies, as well as Starstone.
===Some Hijinks by Bradley ===
Bradley expounds at great length about the contest in Darkover Newsletter #23. In it, she explains that three entries were disqualified: two because they were too long, and one that didn't include an address or name. The third disqualified story was a Darkover/Tolkien crossover.
Another story that wasn't officially in the disqualified section was a story she submitted herself, see below. This story ended up being "Knives" which was later printed in More Tales of the Free Amazons, as well as in a one of her professional anthologies. Its subject matter was childhood sexual abuse and revenge.
From Darkover Newsletter #23:
===Bradley Had No Patience for Someone Else's Hijinks, However===
While Bradley seemed to find her tricksy, anonymous entry in the contest acceptable, she had no patience for someone else's, even though it was benignly offered.
===Flyer===
From Starstone #3 in December 1978:
===The Second Contest: The Winners, MZB's Description of the Process, and Hijinks by Herself and By Breen===
File:starstone2contest-1.jpg|printed in Darkover Newsletter #23 (1980)
File:starstone2contest-2.jpg|printed in Darkover Newsletter #23
File:starstone2contest-3.jpg|printed in Darkover Newsletter #23
File:starstone2contest-4.jpg|printed in Darkover Newsletter #23
==The Third Contest==
The third contest was announced in March 1982 in Starstone #5, with a June 1982 deadline. There was no mention, this time, of entries being considered for publication in the DAW Anthologies.
==References==
Category:Darkover
Category:Marion Zimmer Bradley
Category:1980s