Every short story starts somewhere.
Maybe with a body in an alley. A stranger at the door. Two people meeting for the last time. A dog that knows something its owner does not.
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For Bucks County writers, this particular story starts with a blank page and ends, potentially, behind a microphone alongside acclaimed crime novelist Dennis Tafoya.
Bucks County Community College has opened submissions for its fall Short Fiction Contest, inviting adult writers from across the county to send in their best original, unpublished tales by noon Oct. 8.
Three writers will emerge from the pile.
They will receive cash prizes, recognition and the chance to read their work at a November event on the college’s Newtown Campus. Joining them will be Tafoya, the Bucks County author whose 2009 crime novel “Dope Thief” was adapted into an Emmy-nominated Apple TV series.
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Tafoya will serve as the contest’s final judge.
“We are thrilled to have a bestselling novelist as our final judge and guest,” said Elizabeth Luciano, a Bucks County Community College language and literature professor and director of the contest, in a news release.
Tafoya knows something about constructing stories with a distinctly local pulse.
A Bucks County resident and Philadelphia native, he has written three crime novels set in and around Philadelphia: “Dope Thief,” “The Wolves of Fairmount Park” and “The Poor Boy’s Game.”
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His short fiction has also appeared in magazines and anthologies, including “Philadelphia Noir” and “Best American Mystery Stories.”
“Dope Thief” found a new audience in 2025 when it was republished in conjunction with the television adaptation of the novel.
Now Tafoya will be on the other side of the manuscript, deciding which Bucks County writers have spun the best tales of their own.
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The contest is open to Bucks County residents 18 and older, although previous first-place winners and Bucks County Community College employees are not eligible.
First place comes with a $200 honorarium. Second place earns $100 and third place $50.
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There are a few important rules before writers type “The End.”
Entries must be previously unpublished, including on blogs or other online platforms, and submissions must be made online by noon Thursday, Oct. 8.
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And this particular writing contest comes with a decidedly 2026 rule: No artificial intelligence.
The college said the use of AI “in any form” is strictly prohibited for entries.
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The three winning writers will be honored at the November reading on the Newtown Campus, where they will have the unusual opportunity to share the program with the novelist who judged their work.
The contest receives funding and administrative support from the college’s School of Language and Literature. A separate short fiction competition for high school students is planned for the spring.
Complete rules and the submission form are available through Bucks County Community College’s Short Fiction Contest page.
Then comes the difficult part.
Finding the first sentence.
This article appears courtesy of a content share agreement between LevittownNow.com, NewtownPANow.com, and NewHopeFreePress.com and Central Bucks News. To read more stories like this, visit https://www.centralbucksnews.com
