Prompt:

Second Chances

…because life offers opportunities all the time,
and sometimes the universe conspires with it to give us second chances.

• Pen a tale that depicts second chances in any genre of your choice (a combination of two or more is also acceptable)
• Send in your entries to penmagica@gmail.com as an attachment in a word document (.doc/.docx) along with a 2-3 line bio (not required if previously sent) and a cover picture for your story (optional).
• The subject of your mail should be “Entry for #TakeTwo″ (compulsory).
• Along with your entry please send a suggested cover for your story (landscape ONLY). Use pixabay.com, pexels.com or unsplash.com to source.

Rules:

1. The submitted story must be between 2500-3000 words (each). Entries lower than or exceeding the word limit will stand disqualified for the event. (Penmancy Tip: Use https://wordcounter.io/ to check your word count.)
2. There is no limit to the number of entries you may submit- though only the first one of them will be eligible for contest.
3. Previously published or plagiarised works will not be considered for contention. The writer of such content stands to be disqualified for the next Penmancy event.
4. Stories found to have been shared on another platform or blog before the declaration of results stand disqualified from the event.
5. In case a story is received after the submission deadline, it shall be considered as a guest entry and shall not qualify for the contest.

Winning criteria:

The winner will be chosen on the basis of votes from the readers and the judges’ scores (out of 10), in the ratio 30:70

1a. Judges’ scores to be based on-

• plot/story/creativity (15 points)
• language/grammar (10 points)
• narrative voice & content (9 points)
• emotional impact, (8 points)
• use of prompt/theme (8 points) 

1b. The voting process for the readers:

• A day after the submission close of the event, we shall post a poll on our writing community on Facebook
• The poll closes in a week’s time and total votes would be sourced for all entires
• The votes would be calculated on the basis of the number of writers submitting for the event
• 20% of this score will contribute to the total score of the story.

2. The entries adjudged by a panel of judges and event organisers shall be binding. Judges’ scores to be deemed final and may not be contested.

3. All writers are required to read and comment on 5 stories other than their own and encourage their fellow writers with valuable and constructive inputs. Comments like “nice”, “good work”, “brilliant piece”, etc. do not provide the necessary critique and are not helpful for anyone.

4. Only stories that garnered an average score/rating of 7.5 and above, as aggregated on voting and judges’ scores, shall be eligible for winning.  

5. Contest duration:

• The submission for the contest is open from May 1 to May 31, 2021.
• The stories would be open for voting until June 7, 2021, midnight
• Results for the event shall be shared on June 8, 2021, at 8:00 pm

6. Top three winners will receive the book “Lost and Found in Banaras“ by Mona Verma

For questions related to the rules and criteria, please write to us at penmagica@gmail.com