It's the dead of winter. Your hands are cold. Your feet are cold. Your earlobes are cold. Everything is cold. Outside, the landscape is a frozen whitish-blue. Dreary, if you think about it. But inside you beats a writer's heart, warm with thoughts of stories, old and new. Fond reminisces, important ideas, strong opinions. Send them our way. We're waiting for a good read overa steaming cup of hot chocolate!

Note: Open Theme. Dead of Winter is the name of the contest, NOT the theme. Open subject, open genre. (Nonfiction only - memoir, essay, articles, opinion piece, prose, etc.) Facts must be verifiable. (If you feel the need to make things up to "enhance" the story, then this contest is not for you.)

Every entry receives a free critique! To request your free critique, write the words "free critique" on your title page.

(Optional: To receive a thorough line edit, enclose an additional $5 per story, plus 9 x 12 SASE with enough postage for returning your story.)

DEADLINE: Postmarked by February 10, 2010. Prizes: $70, $35, $20

More information @ www.thewritehelper.com/id68.html