editors' select prizes

What are the Editors' Select prizes?
The Editors' Select prizes recognize our favorite writing from each quarterly issue of 42opus by honoring one story and two poems. The Editors' Select prizes began with Vol. 7, No. 1, which ran from March 2nd through June 1st, 2007.

How much are they worth?
$300 for fiction; $150 for poetry.

How do I apply? Who is eligible?
All work submitted to 42opus for publication is eligible and considered for the Editors' Select prizes. The Editors' Select are chosen from the work published in each quarterly issue of 42opus. To apply, simply follow our guidelines to submit your work.

What are the entry/reading fees?
There are none. It is free to submit work to 42opus for publication consideration and all work submitted to 42opus is considered for the Editors' Select prizes.

What is the quarterly schedule for the prizes?
A new issue of 42opus is begun on the second day of March, June, September, and December. And each issue is slowly constructed over the three months of its release; for example, the contents are added to the Spring issue throughout March, April, and May. The work published during these three months is the work from which the Spring issue Editors' Prizes are selected.

When are winners announced?
Winners are announced during the following issue. The winning writing is posted to the Editors' Select label in our indices (see http://42opus.com/editorsselect/) and the winners are announced in our monthly newsletter (visit our about page to subscribe).

How much does 42opus pay for pieces that aren't chosen as Editors' Select?
Currently, nothing. We do believe that writers deserve to be paid, but 42opus, like most online magazines, is an insolvent product of hard love. Our primary editorial goal throughout 2007, however, has been to research and develop ways to pay all of our contributors. The Editors' Select prizes are the first in what we hope is a gradual rollout of a full, professional-level pay structure for 42opus writers.

Why doesn't 42opus use the money spent on the Editors' Select prizes to pay all contributors a token amount, even if it is very small?
The Editors' Select pieces would be highlighted even if we didn't make them monetary prizes because we are using the Editors' Select label as an abridged contents of our archives. The Editors' Select writings provide new and returning visitors a good place to begin browsing 42opus. Since we are already picking out some of our favorites for this function, we want to honor those writers properly—by paying them. The Editors' Select prizes are, hopefully, the first step toward properly paying all of our writers.

I want to donate money to support the Editors' Select prizes? How do I do this?
Thank you, but, as with any new project, and despite our planning, we expect a few small snags. Therefore, until we've dealt with these, and have run the prizes two or three times, having developed a solid structure to ensure fair and honest selections, we'll cover all costs.