Greetings!
We want to introduce our fun new summer contest, "The Dog Days of Summer." The dog days, or dog days of summer, are the hot, sultry days of summer. They were historically the period following the rising of the star system Sirius, also known as the "Dog Star, which astrology connected with heat, drought, sudden thunderstorms, lethargy, fever, mad dogs, and bad luck.
In Egypt, its return to the night sky became known as a precursor to the annual flooding of the Nile. In Greece, it became known as the precursor of the unpleasantly hot phase of the summer, and many Greek poets even recorded the belief that the return of the bright star was responsible for bringing heat and fever with it; it was also associated with sudden thunderstorms. The Romans continued to blame Sirius for the heat of the season and attendant lethargy and diseases. Even after astrology and its influence on health and agriculture waned in importance, the "dog days" continues to be vaguely applied to the hottest days of the summer, with their attendant effects on nature and society.
This time also coincides with "silly season" in the United Kingdom, a period in the summer months known for frivolous, outlandish, or trivial news stories in the mass media. In North America, the period is often referred to as the slow news season.
In this contest, participants can showcase their talent by writing a short story or poem. When submissions close, the pieces will be posted for everyone to admire and give feedback on, and the winner will receive a cool prize!
The contest will run from July 11 and end at midnight CST on August 11th.
The winner will be announced on August 18th after being chosen by our judges @hypnos. and @Ardent. All participants will receive a trophy, but the winner will receive a $25 Amazon gift card and the Dog Days of Summer's winner trophy!
In order to qualify, your submission needs to be set during the summer months and include at least one of these themes:
- Catastrophe
- Madness
- Comedy
- Romance
All submissions must be under 1000 words and cannot contain explicit content. Mentions of such things may occur, but you cannot submit full smut. Any triggering content must be hidden behind a trigger warning.
To Submit a piece, please PM me with the title "Dog Days of Summer Contest." along with the following information:
Title:
Word Count:
Chosen theme(s):
Chosen format: (Short Story vs Poem)
Do you want to remain anonymous?
