Crime in the Capital. Oh, My.

One of the best results of the Internet’s burgeoning, is that it’s become a fertile field for fiction publishing. Not only are there ample Web sites and blogs inviting regular submissions (The Thrilling Detective Web Site, ThugLit, Demolition, and Hardluck Stories all spring to mind), but there are contests being run to further expand the offerings to readers of fiction--crime fiction, included.

Crime and Suspense editor Tony Burton alerts us to yet another of these competitions: the first Austin Camacho Beltway Crime Writing Contest. Evidently named in honor of U.S. Defense Department public affairs officer and novelist Austin S. Camacho (Blood and Bone), who’s also a frequent C&S contributor, this competition invites submissions of mystery or suspense short stories, from 1,000 to 2,000 words in length. Tales can be set at any time between 1776 and the present day, but must take place in and around Washington, D.C.--which has boasted more than its fair share of malcontents, prevaricators, and crooks (even if one judges solely by the present U.S. administration). Deadline for submissions is June 15, 2007, which doesn’t leave much opportunity for indecision on the part of potential contest entrants. Winning entries are to be chosen by Crime and Suspense subscribers, and are scheduled to be announced “no later than July 14, 2007.”

Read more about the contest here.

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Speaking of stories set in Washington, D.C. ... Garth Risk Hallberg, at The Millions blog, assesses the dismal state of political fiction, and laments that the present Bush administration (“arguably the worst administration since Nixon’s”) will likely engender no masterwork that illuminates its moral failures for the masses. Which reminds me of an excellent piece Christopher Lehmann wrote in The Washington Monthly a few years ago, “Why Americans Can’t Write Political Fiction.” All of this might be useful to those people considering submitting stories to the Crime and Suspense contest.