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Silver Sails Press

books to inspire

Win $500

Inexplicable Stories

2024 Contest is closed! Check back in summer 2025 when we open the next contest.

2024 Contest Winner

Official Rules

Want to submit a story for publication without entering the contest? Go here.

Dreams Do Come True

I was 12 years old when I dreamed that my mother handed me an envelope. It was torn and stained with mud in one corner.

"I found it by the mailbox," she said.

Other than birthday cards, I had never received a letter. Mystified, I opened it. Inside the envelope was money.

What a weird dream, I thought when I awoke the next morning.

After school the next day my mother handed me an envelope. "It's for you," she said, eyebrows raised.

I looked at the white envelope. It was water-stained and crumpled.

"Where did...?" My tongue stuck to the roof of my dry mouth.

"I found it by the mailbox," she said. "It must have been there for a long time."

She watched, curious, as I opened it.

Inside was a check for $10.

Inexplicable Stories Contest
Official Rules

Prizes

First prize is $500.
Top entries may be invited for publication in Inexplicable Stories published by Silver Sails Press in an anthology publication, our website, or podcast.
You must possess a PayPal account or have a Zelle account to be awarded the cash prize.

Dates and fees

Final date for submissions is November 15, 2024 USA Central Time. Any late submissions are saved for the 2025 contest date.
Winners are announced in December via Silver Sails Press newsletter and posted on the Silver Sails Press web site. Entrants are invited to subscribe to Silver Sails Press email list but subscribing is not required for entry.
Contest entry fee is $10.

Copyright

The author retains copyright.
The winning author and finalists may be invited to publish their stories on our website, anthology or podcast. We will ask permission to do so.
Stories must be the author's own work.
We do not accept stories written by AI or that appear to be written by AI.

Eligibility

The Inexplicable Stories Contest is open to all writers, published and unpublished, who are 17 years or older.
Entries may have been previously published in print or online, been broadcast or won a prize.
Entries published elsewhere are not eligible for publication in the anthology but are eligible for the cash prize.
Simultaneous submissions are permitted.
No refunds.

Format and Story Content

Stories must be in English.
All submissions must be true stories and describe events that occurred to the author or that the author witnessed. No second-hand descriptions.
An inexplicable story is one in which the event described is unexplained by conventional definitions. Examples include but are not limited to the paranormal, coincidences, time-bending, ESP, past life memories, angel encounters.
Stories are a minimum of 100 words and maximum of 500 words. Do not include a title or author name in the word count.
A title is not required nor is the presence of a title penalized.

Judging

The judges are Sophia Cook owner of Silver Sails Press and Michelle Harris editorial director of Baruch Publishing. Finalists are judged anonymously by Michelle.

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