2022 Weird Fiction Contest

In a tradition stretching back to bygone aeons — pre-pandemic — Motif is working in collaboration with NecronomiCon Providence on a weird fiction contest for writing and art. This is an opportunity to get involved with the ongoing convention homage to PVD’s traditions of creepiness and horror.

Entries must be original creative work evoking the themes, images, characters and feeling of the Cthulhu mythos or similar tales of weird fiction, and must not have been previously published elsewhere.

The winning entry in each category, determined at the sole discretion of our panel of judges, will be published on our website and in our August issue, which will be distributed statewide and at NecronomiCon, happening Aug 18 – 21. Honorable mentions will be published on our website. Submissions by e-mail must be received by us no later than 11:59pm on Jul 31, 2022; no other submissions will be accepted. Winners will be notified by Aug 12 via e-mail sent to the address from which we received their entry. Additional haunted goodies, still to be determined, will also be awarded. Other prizes will include a featured role in the annual Cthulhu prayer service, collectible tomes and gift certificates.

Each entry must include your real name, city and state of residence, and optionally a pseudonym if you’re choosing not to be published under a real name. (Including your telephone number is helpful.) There is no minimum age, but entrants under the age of 18 must accompany their entry with a statement of permission from a parent or guardian.

Use of the City of Providence and its surrounding area as a setting counts in your favor, but is not necessary.

Writing category: An English-language work of prose fiction with a maximum of 2,000 words. It is not required that you try to imitate Lovecraft’s style; make it spooky or horrifying. Send to cthulhu@motifri.com as either plain text or HTML text in the body of your message, or as attachments in ODT, DOC/DOCX, RTF, or PDF format.

Send any questions to cthulhu@motifri.com as well. Motif reserves the right to change or waive these rules at our sole discretion.