Short story competition: The Suitcase

I’ve never run a short story competition – hell, I’ve never even entered a short story competition – but sometimes, when you have an idea, you just have to go with it.

I was waiting by the baggage carousel at Warsaw Airport this evening, drafting a story in my head about the bus ride from the plane to the terminal (hotter than it sounds, honest). A suitcase rose up from the delivery belt, onto the carousel, and I instinctively went to grab it, thinking it was mine. At the last second, I realised my mistake, jerked my hand away, and let it roll past, to be picked up by another passenger further along the line.

That got me thinking: what if I had picked it up? What if I’d wheeled it through Customs and out of the airport? In reality, the answer is probably ‘nothing very interesting’, but in my already amped-up brain, a whole host of sexy possibilities presented themselves.

So many, in fact, that I decided it would make a great prompt for a short story. And that’s where you lot come in. I don’t want to write that story: I want to know what other people can do with it. I met so many brilliant, talented, pervy, kinky, altogether awesome people this weekend that the thought of having a bunch of them – as well as a whole host of other great writers out there – do something with this pretty basic idea makes me very happy.

Anyway, here are the details:

The prompt

You (or your protagonist) pick(s) up the wrong suitcase at the airport. This mistake is only discovered after leaving the terminal: it could happen while queuing for the shuttle bus, or in a taxi, or hours later in a hotel/apartment, or somewhere else entirely.

The rules

1. Stories should be no longer than 2500 words. However, this is very much a limit, not a target: if you have a great idea and can get it down on paper in 250 words, that’s fantastic, and stories of all lengths will be given equal consideration.
2. This is an erotica competition. You can blend in other genres, but fundamentally something sexy should happen at some point. It can be M/F, M/M, F/F, any combination of Ms and Fs, trans, or just a hot piece about one person and the wrong suitcase. It can also be as graphic/explicit as you like – there’s no need to tone down the language or turn dicks and cunts into throbbing members and flowers in full bloom.
3. You can post your story on your own blog/site and send me the link, or just email it to me directly. You own the piece, so can do with it as you please outside the competition, but to be eligible for the prize you must be happy for me to post it here in the event that you win (and then probably go and wank over it afterwards).
4. First (and indeed only) prize is £25, or the equivalent in the winner’s currency, to be paid via Paypal.
5. The deadline for entries is 2300 (GMT) on Monday 17^th March. Winners will be announced (and the prize paid) by Friday 21st March. I’m a fast reader.
6. As with all the best sex parties, multiple entries are permitted.
7. The winning entry will be the one I like the most. I’m really curious to see what people come up with, so I don’t want to set out a whole load of judging criteria here. Write what interests you, or makes you horny, not what you think I want to read.
8. UPDATE: The lovely Giselle Renarde has very kindly offered to provide a runner’s up prize, in the form of her anthology Kinksters. Given that it promises ‘Wild Group Sex, Bisexual Fun and Kinky Pleasures’, I can’t think of a short story collection I’d rather get my hands on.

This is just for fun: I’m not looking to put together an anthology, nor indeed to embark upon a new career as someone who judges short story competitions. That said, if the response is good, and if people enjoy doing it, I’m not going to rule out running another one at some point in the future!

Happy writing 🙂