The Washington Pastime » news

CLOSED SUBMISSIONS

Mike Vidafar — Thu, 08 Aug 2013 02:21:52 +0000

The Washington Pastime will be closed to new submissions for the coming months. This is in an effort to allow our staff to sort through the enormous amount of submissions in que. We will do our best to review all…

ANNOUNCEMENT: March Madness Contest Prize

Mike Vidafar — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 12:00:28 +0000

We want to thank everyone for their tremendous support during the brief entry period for our 2013 March Madness Literary Contest.

We are pleased to announce that our grand prize for the 2013 March Madness Literary Contest will be $1,000.

Thanks to everyone who entered! Look back to our website in April for an announcement of our Winner and Runner-Up!

-The Washington Pastime Staff

ANNOUNCING: RITE-PATH, powered by The Washington Pastime

Mike Vidafar — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 12:00:51 +0000

The Washington Pastime is proud to announce the introduction of our newest service, Rite-Path.

Rite-Path is a dynamic feedback loop between writers and The Washington Pastime’s senior editorial staff.

Rite-Path Services are available now in a variety of options designed to meet your editing goals.

To learn more, visit our RITE-PATH Resource Page.

ANNOUNCING: 2013 MARCH MADNESS LITERARY CONTEST

Mike Vidafar — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 15:00:00 +0000

On March 1, 2013, The Washington Pastime announced its 2013 March Madness Literary Contest.

Read below to get a summary of the contest rules, prizes, and entry methods.
All Submissions Subject to The Washington Pastime’s 2013 Submission Guidelines
See the 2013 March Madness Literary Contest Official Rules for more information.

TO ENTER:

1. Write or select your story. It can be something you’ve submitted here before, or something entirely new. Just make sure it’s yours!

2. Pay your contest entry fee ($10 for students with ALL REQUIRED MATERIAL, $20 for everyone else)

3. Go to our CONTEST SUBMISSION PORTAL, and upload your story with payment receipt and supporting student documentation (if applicable).

THE BRACKET:

1. Submissions will be randomly pooled and placed into a “bracket,” where they will be judged solely against the submission they are against, “head-to-head.”

2. If there are an uneven number of entrants, all stories will be randomly pooled to determine “first round bi’s,” which automatically pass the chosen submission into a second round submission head-to-head.

3. The head-to-head format will continue throughout the tournament, until the “Final Four” showdown.

4. Final Four selections will determine a) Champion or Grand Prize Winner, b) Runner-Up or Second Place Finalist, and the remaining two stories will be labeled “Final Four”

THE PRIZES:

CHAMPION: The Champion will be the headline publication in the 2013 The Washington Pastime paperback collection, be published digitally, receive a voucher for a future literary contest at The Washington Pastime with no expiration, and 50% of the total profit

“Profit” is defined in section 4 of

Official Rules
. GRAND PRIZE IS GUARANTEED AT LEAST $100

2013 MARCH MADNESS LITERARY CONTEST — OFFICIAL RULES

The 2013 March Madness Literary Contest (the “Contest”) is presented solely by The Washington Pastime (the “Host”) and is not sponsored by any third party. There will be an entry fee of US $20.00 for all participants, excluding students, who may enter the contest for US $10.00 with enclosed proof of student ID, current class schedule, and a department faculty member e-mail address ending in .edu. The Contest entry period begins on March 1, 2013 at 10:01 a.m. EST and ends on March 15, 2013 at 11:59 p.m. EST (the “Contest Entry Period”).

1. Eligibility: The Contest is open to all paid entrants at the beginning of the Contest Entry Period, Individuals who do not pay the proper contest entry fee, or who do not submit at least one story during the contest entry period shall not be eligible to participate in the Contest. By entering the Contest, you agree to be bound by these Official Rules. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.

2. To Enter: As an Entrant, you may enter the Contest by completing and submitting the CONTEST ENTRY FORM during the Contest Entry Period and posting a story or work of fiction you have written (an “Entry”) that follows standard story submission guidelines for that submission type as per The Washington Pastime’s standard submission policy. Except as otherwise provided in these Official Rules, there are no restrictions associated with Entries, and multiple entries are acceptable, so long as the Official Rules are followed for each entry.

No mechanically reproduced mail-in entries are allowed and any use of robotic, automatic, programmed or the like Entry methods will void all entries by such methods.

3. Prize Selection:

During the period from March 1, 2013 to March 15, 2013 (the “Entry Period”), all participants can submit to “enter” the tournament. An entry shall constitute a particpant’s spot on the bracket pool. At the end of the Entry Period, the Host will (i) organize each story submission randomly, (ii) judge the individual merit of a story solely against the story it is against on the bracket, (iii) advance the better of the two stories presented, (iv) repeat steps i-iii until such a time as the “final four” stories are selected. In the event of an uneven number of participants, all stories will be entered into a random drawing for a “first round bi-” and skip the first round of story selection as an automatic “1 seed”.

On or around March 31, 2013, the senior Editorial Staff of The Host will judge the four (4) final entries (“Final Four”) to determine the Contest winner, as well as contest runner-up. The “Final Four” will be judged according to the following: (a) originality/creativity (30%); (b) uniqueness (30%); and (c) impact (40%). The entrant who earns the highest overall score from the judges will win the contest and be labeled “Champion” with all applicable prize money to be awarded. The decisions of the judges will be final. If any ties must be broken to determine the winner, the judges will choose the “Final Four” entry that is most impactful.

As an entrant, you represent and warrant that your Entry: (i) is original and created by you, and (ii) does not violate the intellectual property or proprietary rights of other parties. You also agree that your Entry is not offensive or defamatory, and does not contain contain vulgar or profane language, or violate general submission guidelines pertaining to your submission type as determined by the Host.

4. Prizes and Odds: The prize to be awarded from the Contest to the winner is to be determined – 50% of the total contest profits for amounts up to and including US $5,000.00 The odds of winning a prize depend on the total number of eligible entries received. No cash or other substitution of prizes is permitted, except at the mutual consent of Host and Champion for a donation (charitable or otherwise) of a portion of Champion’s prize amount to be withheld and properly allocated. Host will not replace any lost or stolen prizes. Champions are solely responsible for any and all federal, state, provincial and local taxes, if any, that apply to prizes. Runner-Up will receive publication in “The Washington Pastime,” token submission payment, a contest voucher, and contest fee or 5% of total contest profits (whichever is greater). Remaining “Final Four” entrants shall receive a voucher for a free, non-expiring contest submission at The Washington Pastime and 50% of their contest entry fees returned. PROFIT IS DETERMINED BY SUBTRACTING 15% OF TOTAL MONEY RECEIVED DURING CONTEST ENTRY PERIOD (HELD AS COST OF CONTEST OPERATION), UP TO $500. Therefore, profit shall be 85% of total contest revenue, or total contest revenue minus (-) US $500.

5. Notification of Grand Prize Winner: Sponsor will notify the Champion by e-mail within five (5) business days of selection of the Champion. The Champion may be required to sign and return an affidavit of eligibility and publicity/liability release within seven (7) days of notification. If a selected winner cannot be contacted, is ineligible, fails to claim a prize and/or, where applicable, an affidavit of eligibility and publicity/liability release is not timely received, is incomplete or modified, the prize may be forfeited and an alternate winner will be selected from remaining valid, eligible “runner-up” or “final four” contestants. In the event of a dispute regarding who submitted an Entry, the Entry will be deemed submitted by the authorized account holder of the e-mail account specified in the Entry. “Authorized account holder” is defined as the natural person who is assigned to an e-mail address by an Internet access provider, online service provider, or other organization (e.g., business, educational institution, etc.) that is responsible for assigning e-mail addresses for the domain associated with the submitted e-mail address.

6. General Rules: The Contest is offered by Host, The Washington Pastime, 3875B Steppes Ct., Falls Church, VA 22041 which is not responsible for (a) late, lost, delayed, damaged, incomplete, illegible, or misdirected Entries, responses, or other correspondence, regardless of how delivered to Host; (b) theft, destruction, unauthorized access to or alterations of Entries; or (c) phone, electrical, network, computer, hardware, software program or transmission malfunctions, failures or difficulties.

You agree to indemnify, defend and hold Host and its affiliates, subsidiaries, directors, officers, employees, sponsors and agents, including advertising and promotion agencies, and assigns, and any other organizations related to the Contest, harmless, from any and all claims, injuries, damages, expenses or losses to person or property and/or liabilities of any nature that in any way arise from participation in this Contest or acceptance or use of a prize, including without limitation, any claim that your Entry infringes or misappropriates the intellectual property or proprietary rights of any third party.

In no event will Host be liable to you for any direct, special, incidental, exemplary, punitive or consequential damages arising out of or in connection with your participation in the Contest, whether such liability arises from any claim based upon contract, warranty, tort (including negligence), strict liability or otherwise, and whether or not Sponsor has been advised of the possibility of such loss or damage. Some jurisdictions do not allow the limitation or exclusion of liability for incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitation or exclusion may not apply to you.

7. Additional Conditions: Except where prohibited, by participating in the Contest, you consent to the use of your name, photo and/or likeness, biographical information, Entry and statements attributed to you (if true) for advertising and promotional purposes, including without limitation, inclusion in Hosts’s newsletters, marketing materials, the Contest Collection page and Host’s Medium or corporate websites, without additional compensation. Allow six (6) to eight (8) weeks for delivery of prize.

Host reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to cancel, modify or suspend the Contest in whole or in part, in the event of fraud, technical or other difficulties or if the integrity of the Contest is compromised, without liability to the entrant. Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify any entrant or winner, as determined by Host, in its sole discretion. The Contest is subject to these Official Rules and all applicable federal, state, provincial and local laws and regulations apply. These Official Rules are governed by the law of the State of California, without reference to rules governing choice of laws. Any action, suit or case arising out of, or in connection with, this Contest or these Official Rules must be brought in either the federal courts or state courts located in Falls Church, Virgina.

Personal Information: Host may collect personal data about entrants online, in accordance with its privacy policy and as may be more specifically set forth in these Official Rules. Please review these Official Rules and Host’s Privacy Policy. By participating in the Contest, you agree to Host’s collection and use of your personal information in accordance with that privacy policy.

8. Winner’s List, Official Rules: For a copy of these Official Rules, send your request and a stamped, self-addressed envelope to 2013 March Madness Literary Contest, The Washington Pastime, 3875B Steppes Ct., Falls Church, VA 22041 or (for Winner’s list only) send an email message to contest@washingtonpastime.com with “Winner’s list” as the email subject and contest name specified in the body of the e-mail.

9. Hosts’s Address: 3875B Steppes Ct., Falls Church, VA 22041

RUNNER UP: The Runner-Up will be published in The Washington Pastime’s digital collection with token payment, receive a voucher for a future literary contest at The Washington Pastime with no expiration, and 5% of the total profit* generated by the 2013 March Madness Literary Contest.

FINAL FOUR: The remaining two “final four” finalists shall receive a voucher for a future literary contest at The Washington Pastime with no expiration.

SELECTING A WINNER:

1. All submissions will be judged solely by The Washington Pastime staff.
2. Only Senior Editors and the Editor-in-Chief shall be permitted to judge the “Final Four”
3. Only contributors who submit material during the contest entry period are eligible for the 2013 March Madness Literary Prize.
4. All of The Washington Pastime’s 2013 Submission Guidelines must be upheld for an entry to be considered valid.

STUDENTS MUST:
1. Scan a valid STUDENT ID with Photograph
2. Scan a valid driver’s license, non-driver’s license, passport, or military ID with photograph
3. Scan a copy of your CURRENT SEMESTER class schedule
4. Provide a .edu email address of a current professor who can verify your enrollment.
5. Paste items 1-3 in .jpg format into a word document, and save as .PDF
6. Upload that .pdf during submission.
7. Supply professor’s .edu email address in contest entry form.
NOTE: .PDF MUST CONTAIN ITEMS 1-3 OR CONTEST ENTRY SHALL BE VOID

TO SUBMIT:

1. Pay for your contest entry
2. Save your payment receipt
3. Enter the Contest Submission Portal and fill out all applicable fields.

Contest Entry Type

Message to The Washington Pastime

GOOD LUCK!

-The Washington Pastime Staff

We The People

Mike Vidafar — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 13:00:07 +0000

Introducing “We The People” – A discussion platform where users can submit controversial and current topics of national interest and offer their solutions.

Gun violence. Inadequate healthcare. Testing and developing nuclear weapons. Immigration Reform. Gay Rights.

Odds are, you have something to say about some — if not all — of the topics listed above you.

The Washington Pastime, as part of our promise provide a platform for you to “Be heard,” wants to give you a chance to weigh in on these issues.

Your role:

We encourage viewers to submit (via our WTP Submissions Portal, located on every WTP page) topics of national relevance that warrant further consideration. As a reader, we want you to actively contribute to the discussion, rather than leave these important discussions to people who may be out of touch with your unique opinions and perspectives. You can submit a topic, and/or a response/suggestion for (re)solution.

Our Role:

The Washington Pastime will play the role of moderator and editor — we’ll read through your topic suggestions and responses, and post only what we feel will appropriately continue discourse on relevant subject matter. Plus, none of our readers will have to deal with offensive or disrespectful comments.

We encourage submitters to provide sources and citations wherever possible, and will look to help contributors in those areas when they’re missing. We’ll also proof-read and clean up prose on topics when we feel it’s necessary. But most importantly, we’ll protect your identity — we’ll only post the initials of contributors.

The Goal:

The Washington Pastime hopes that “We The People” becomes part of your daily news intake. We want the topics that are most important to our readers to be an active part of what we do, because the world we live in shapes the stories we read and write. We hope you’ll enjoy contributing to this global initiative, and encourage your friends to become part of the solution.

Use hashtag #wtp to bring the topic to Twitter!

http://www.washingtonpastime.com?=859

ANNOUNCING: SKIP THE SLUSH™

Mike Vidafar — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 13:00:28 +0000

INTRODUCING: SKIP THE SLUSH™

What is Skip the Slush™?

Skip the Slush™ is The Washington Pastime’s response to submitting authors who are anxious for results and feedback, and do not want to wait the requisite amount of time for a submission decision (which can take up to 60 business days).

Skip the Slush™ “pushes” your submission to the front of our query piles. By skipping our “slush” editors and their massive submission numbers, authors can rest assured knowing that senior editors will be directly reviewing and notifying them of our submission decision.

How fast can I expect my work to be reviewed if I purchase Skip the Slush™?

Authors who make an online submission after purchasing Skip The Slush™ can expect a submission decision in two business days. If, by noon on the third business day, the author has not received a submission, he or she may query the submission. If an author has not received a submission by the fourth business day, they will be refunded in full.

If I purchase Skip the Slush™, will it be good for all of my submissions?

No. Unfortunately, due to the high volume of submissions we receive, a Skip the Slush™ purchase is only valid for one submission. However, an author or submitting contributor may purchase Skip the Slush™ for each piece he or she submits.

Why do you charge a fee for Skip the Slush™?

We charge a fee because it’s the only way we can fairly justify preferential treatment to submitters. Our submissions inbox regularly houses hundreds of submissions, and non-paying submitters are reviewed on a “first-come, first-serve” basis. However, we recognize that some writers are especially anxious for submission decisions, and we want to do our best to accommodate them as well.

Can I make block purchases of Skip the Slush™ to get a discount?

Currently, block purchases and bulk discounts are not available. However, we will be monitoring Skip the Slush and our contributor feedback closely to evaluate the desire for such features in the future.

Will purchasing Skip the Slush™ give me an advantage over other authors, or increase the likelihood of a submission acceptance?

ABSOSULTELY NOT! The Washington Pastime wants to stress that we will not bias any submission acceptance upon any sort of prejudice – including prior submission history, submission acceptances, prior publication (in-house or elsewhere), submission genre, or an author’s choice to purchase Skip the Slush™ for a particular submission.

Further, a Skip The Slush™ purchase does not entitle an author to any additional submission feedback. The Washington Pastime strives to provide useful critiques of declined material, and our editors are trained to identify and express areas where we feel a story can stand to improve, or where it was exceptionally strong. That valuable feedback does not enhance or decrease based upon an author’s decision to purchase Skip the Slush™.

I want to purchase Skip the Slush™ for a paper submission. How will that work?

Paper submissions, by nature, will take longer to be reviewed. That is a product of FedEx, UPS, DHL, and the USPS. In other words: it’s completely out of our hands. However, once we receive a paper submission with Skip the Slush™, we will immediately review it. The submission will then be uploaded and emailed back to the author with handwritten annotations alongside a typewritten transcription of those annotations and a digital submission decision. The return of submission material will follow normal paper submission protocols.

I submitted using the standard online portal without Skip the Slush™. I’ve been waiting for some time, and I’ve decided that I would like to purchase Skip the Slush™ to expedite the decision process, because I just can’t wait anymore. Is it possible?

We allow submitting authors to retroactively purchase Skip the Slush™ for pending submissions. After you complete your purchase, please email our contact department at contact(at)washingtonpastime(dot)com to ensure that your story is quickly identified.

I don’t have a PayPal account. Do you accept any other forms of payment?

Unfortunately, no. PayPal is the most secure way for us to accept payment at this time. Please note that you can create a PayPal account for free, and that you can associate both credit and debit cards, as well as checking accounts to your PayPal account.

I’m ready to skip the slush. Where do I begin?

A LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Mike Vidafar — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 13:00:26 +0000

What a journey it’s been. I have been with The Washington Pastime for 14 months. And for all of that time, The Washington Pastime has been my literary home. This platform helped me to find my voice; and today, I’m proud to be welcoming all of you to our resurrection.

For those of you who aren’t familiar, things at The Washington Pastime haven’t exactly been easy over the past six months. In July, 2012, Paul Karaffa — The Washington Pastime’s founder and original Editor-in-Chief — was forced to resign due to personal issues.

I took over then, knowing full well the challenges and opportunities that lied ahead of me as the Pastime’s second Editor-in-Chief. I worked hard to reach out to the communities surrounding the DC Metro area, and began forging new relationships in New York.

Then, right when things were beginning to pick up, I faced an adversity I hadn’t anticipated. Our website was hacked by unknown assailants infected with malware, and appropriately blacklisted by Google. We couldn’t get into our e-mail servers, and we didn’t have the money to switch servers or cleanse our code.

It was a sad couple of months. From October to February, we were essentially defunct. But we had a heartbeat, because we had you.

Reader support was overwhelming. Some of you reached out on Facebook. Some of you found your way to my own personal website and wrote in to my blog Hacked: My Crippled Dream.And still more of you showed your dedication to what we do by donating a little money towards our resurrection.

And on February 11, 2013, we did it. With gifts, donations, and the little money we did have, The Washington Pastime made a move onto a new hosting site, and began using fresh backend code to ensure that the user experience was not compromised with malware, spyware, or adware.

Over the last month our staff, and myself in particular, have worked countless hours to prim and prep The Washington Pastime for its second first-impression. We’ve added new features, new content areas, eased navigation, and have tried to make the entire experience — from start to finish — a more pleasurable one for you.

To coincide with our relaunch, we are introducing We The People — a contributor driven and provider moderated discussion forum for current events. We’re also excited to offer contributors the ability to “skip the slush” for the very first time. Finally, we will be announcing our first literary contest of the year (but certainly not our last!) in the coming hours. It’s not a traditional contest — but then again, this isn’t a traditional month for us. Look for news around 10 a.m. EST!

In closing, I want to express how glad I am to have every one of you back, and to have the opportunity to re-establish The Washington Pastime as a place where artists can be heard. I hope the content and the website suit your liking, and I look forward to rolling out new features (like our mobile app!), as well as learning from and responding to your feedback in the coming weeks and months.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, there are literally hundreds of submissions I have to get around to reviewing. It’s been way too long.

Mike Vidafar
Editor-in-Chief
The Washington Pastime

ANNOUNCING: WEBSITE RE-LAUNCH

Mike Vidafar — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 17:00:12 +0000

Website Relaunch
Great News — Thanks to generous donations, your patience, and the support of our readership, The Washington Pastime will (finally) be making a move onto a more secure server and web host in the coming week.

UPDATE: The Washington Pastime has moved onto its new hosting and domain provider. Google has checked our website’s code, verified that it is free of malware, and removed warnings from its search results and browsers.
–
Look to our facebook page for an official re-launch confirmation, and for news regarding our first writing contest of 2013!

Thank you all again for your support and patience during this arduous process. Our editors cannot wait to get back to reading and sharing your wonderful stories!

Sincerely,

Mike Vidafar
Editor-in-Chief

ANNOUNCEMENT: Twitter/Facebook Migration

Mike Vidafar — Wed, 02 May 2012 16:00:21 +0000

Hello Interested Readers!

Today we are announcing the completion of our full migration to Twitter & Facebook as our primary tools for reaching out to you. In the past we have used email subscriptions for this purpose. However, time are changing. With email continually becoming more and more antiquated, we want to give our support to our community of readers and writers by moving in this new direction.

We hope those of you that are only email subscribers will join our community on Twitter & Facebook

ANNOUNCEMENT: FREE DAILY FICTION MOBILE SERVICE

Mike Vidafar — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 16:00:32 +0000

The Washington Pastime has recently launched Daily Fiction, a new free-to-participate program which uses mobile technology to give your organization, business, non-profit, health, or educational community instant access to fiction and non-fiction literature for free.

The Washington Pastime provides digitally readable high-definition images that can be scanned by smartphones and other mobile devices, which take users to a mobile website that instantly provides them with literature, in over 12 genres, at no charge. These options satisfy any literary palate and provide your community with an additional entertainment service.

Organizations can reduce electricity costs & subscription costs by replacing video media & print media with Daily Fiction, allowing them to save money and become more green.

The Washington Pastime allows Daily Fiction to be co-branded by the organization promoting the service. Daily Fiction increases end-user satisfaction with zero cost while gaining brand recognition & credibility as educational, technologically advanced, and environmentally friendly.

The Daily Fiction label is convenient, as it can easily be printed and made digitally readable on any medium. It has been considered for coffee shops, cafeteria’s, hospitals, bus stops, libraries, newspapers, and for custom designs. The more places the Daily Fiction label is added, the more access your community will have to the service and the benefit.

Daily Fiction is yet another way your community can become more people-centered. Providing your community with a free, easy-to-use, valuable electronic smart device alternative to conventional media entertainment will save them money, build customer relationships, and launch the community further into a technology and environmentally oriented future.

Daily Fiction is a free service provided to organization, business, non-profit, health, and educational communities to increase customer satisfaction. Research has shown that people across all demographics are demanding more media options at quicker and more reliable rates than ever before. Because people want these options, Daily Fiction can instantly improve the services communities provide and the relationships they cultivate.

It is easy to get a sense of just how easy and natural it is to use Daily Fiction during a demo. To demo Daily Fiction, download a QR Code Reader App for your mobile device, scan the Daily Fiction image above, and begin to explore. For More Information, or to request a meeting, please contact Paul Karaffa at contact@washingtonpastime.com. If you represent a hospital, nursing home, or other health facility, please download and read Daily Fiction for Hospitals.

To start using Daily Fiction immediately, please click the link below. You will fill out and submit a form and then be redirected to a webpage to download your Daily Fiction digitally readable high-definition image.