Paradox Short Story Contest 2014 - Rewrite History!

[Tomas H]

Rewrite History with Harry Turtledove & Europa Universalis IV

Today your dreams of rewriting history shall lay dormant no longer.
Today we are proud to announce Paradox Short Story Contest 2014.​

Ever wanted to reshape history in your own design? Are you a skilled writer yet to be discovered by the world? Here's your chance to do both! During 2014, Paradox Books will publish an Alternate History Anthology for Europa Universalis IV. Half of the short stories will be written by professional authors, one of which is the "master of alternate history" himself: Mr Harry Turtledove, the author of the Southern Victory series and many other titles.

Players are now invited to submit their own alternate history short stories to the anthology.
The ambition of the Paradox Short Story Contest is to spread the word about the storytelling created by players in strategy games.

The Rules:
If you want the chance to join Harry Turtledove and our other authors in the quest for histories that didn't come to pass (but could have), follow these simple steps:

1. Length: Write a short story of circa 5,000 words based on some pivotal event - political, military or cultural - that turned out differently than in actual history. Please note: Only one short-story per writer. Also add a short text (circa 200 words) about how the event turned out in actual history, and circa 200 words about yourself.
2. Time frame: The pivotal event must have taken place between the years 1444 and 1821 - the era of the Europa Universalis game. The story could be set later, however. The story could be told through individuals "on the ground" or have a bird's eye view of events - or a combination of the two.
3. Atmosphere: The short story can be historical, humorous, serious, or any combination of those - as long as it fits the period and has an alternate take on history.

How to participate
THE DEADLINE HAS EXPIRED!
The three winners will be announced the 28th of February, 2014.

Ravishing Rewards:
The three winning short stories will be published in the alternate history anthology, with a standard writer’s fee from Paradox Books. All winners will receive a hard copy of the anthology signed by the developers at Paradox Development Studio. Not only that, the winners will receive the Paradox Interactive Collection, a bundle of over 50 games.
Please note: There may be honorable mentions and more than three short stories may be included in the anthology. All contributions selected will receive a standard writer’s fee.
The anthology will be published by Paradox Books in 2014. The release date will be announced later.

May the best conqueror change history!

 

[Tomas H]

Wow, I really like the idea.. but the deadline seems a bit tight.

Come on, you can make it.

 

[Tomas H]

Nice this Paradox books thingie.
I cannot use kindle crapformat in my reader though, not without cracking the protection to translate it into Epub or mobi and honestly I think it's very wrong to make users do that after they have paid. Any chance that books will be sold in those formats?

All of our books are also available on the iBookstore in iTunes. And plenty more outlets are on the way.

 

[Tomas H]

Hmm, think I'll take part. Already got an idea in mind even.

Great, looking forward to it!

 

[Tomas H]

the new york times.

 

[neondt]

I've got an idea involving Vlad the Impaler surviving his historical assassination during his 3rd reign, and proceeding to embark on an ultra-violent rampage of revenge across the Balkans. Not much of a writer, but I might give it a shot if I can find the time

 

[DDRJake]

Sure, here we go *ahem*

Hapsburg was an Emperor, Hapsburg was no more
For what he thought were merchants were the Ryukyuan invaders of 1684

 

[Tomas H]

Hm, everything seems clear, but still I have a question: is it acceptable to use self-made graphics in stories? I imagine adding a map or two could make things better, but it might not be allowed in the end, for some reason, who knows?

So, the question is, are we allowed to include our graphics? Or would you prefer us to not to? It's a writing contest after all. I just want to make sure, you know.

Yes, as you say, it is a writing contest so the final stories will most likely be published without maps. If you want to send a map as well you are welcome to, but the text must stand on its own.

 

[Tomas H]

Ah, why not? I'm feeling crazy today. I'm in.

That's the spirit!

 

[Tomas H]

I've got an idea involving Vlad the Impaler surviving his historical assassination during his 3rd reign, and proceeding to embark on an ultra-violent rampage of revenge across the Balkans. Not much of a writer, but I might give it a shot if I can find the time

Fun stuff.

 

[Tomas H]

This is a very interesting initiative. But I have one question. What role is EUIV as a game going to play in these short stories?
I think we will have to get rid of many of the game's abstract concepts like cores, culture conversions, vassal feeding expansion to make the short stories look more realistic or is it fine if the stories may sound quite weird because they are based on a game with all of its concepts and limitations?
So how far can the game enter the story?

The stories can of course be inspired by EU4 and EU4 sessions - that's the whole idea - but a reader should be able to understand them without knowing the game. The anthology will (hopefully )be read by non-gamers too, so try to explain things in "layman's terms".

 

[Tomas H]

I'd like to know this too -- if only the period matters, that's one thing, but if we have to link it directly to the game somehow, that could be problematic.

The stories do not need to be directly linked to the game, no. What we are looking for is alternate history stories in the era of EU4, inspired by EU4, but they shouldn't be written in game terms.

 

[Ofaloaf]

BTW What alternate history authors are your favourites?

As has been mentioned above, Eric Flint's 163X series is pretty fun, what with West Virginians bringing truth, justice and the American Way to 17th-century Germany. Winston Churchill was a good alternate history writer too, although he wrote woefully little of it. I still haven't read For Want Of A Nail, to my eternal embarrassment.

Hm, everything seems clear, but still I have a question: is it acceptable to use self-made graphics in stories? I imagine adding a map or two could make things better, but it might not be allowed in the end, for some reason, who knows?

If you think you need a visual aid to fully explain something, it might just be worth going back to either rewrite the section more clearly or scrap it altogether anyways.

 

[Tomas H]

Writing it as a historical text, from the perspective of a historian looking back at a pivotal event and its causes and repercussions, should be acceptable, yes? Just checking while I'm only a fifth of the way through.

Yep, thats fine!

 

[Tomas H]

Are you prohibiting illustrations? Asking purely because it's harder to write a story than it is to draw a comic.

Well, it is a writing contest after all...

 

[Tomas H]

This is great, I already managed write one fifth of the whole. My writing skills are a bit rusty though, do you get penalized a lot if you have one or two typos in the text?

Nah, typos we can fix - the story is what matters.

 

[Tomas H]

What will appear in the anthology with regard to writers' names et cetera?

Well, the name of every author published in the anthology will certainly appear in the book. There will also be a short bio on each one (circa 200 words). Does that answer your question?

 

[Tomas H]

Hey! I take offense to that! "layman's terms"... the nerve! Just because my last name is Layman!?

^that was a joke by the way. I'm not offended, though my last name is really Layman.

Also, I might enter the contest though the timeline might be a little tight.

Haha, I had no idea.

You should definitely enter the contest!

 

[Tomas H]

Tomas! Click on the link above! That story right there deserves to be in the book! What do you think of it?

Looks good! I'd be happy to see it in the contest.

 

[Tomas H]

Already cooked up and submitted my own story. Kinda feeling a bit regretful for rushing it, but I think I delivered a quality entry.

Yep, you're the first contender to enter the race. That was fast.