Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest

The Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest (BLFC) is a tongue-in-cheek contest that takes place annually and is sponsored by the English Department of San José State University in San Jose, California. Entrants are invited "to compose the opening sentence to the worst of all possible novels" – that is, deliberately bad. According to the official rules, the prize for winning the contest is "a pittance".

History

The contest was initiated in 1982 by Professor Scott Rice of the English Department at San Jose State University and is named "in honor" of English novelist and playwright Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, author of the much-quoted first line "It was a dark and stormy night." This opening, from the 1830 novel Paul Clifford, continues floridly:

"It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents, except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness."

The first year of the competition attracted just three entries from on-campus, but it went public the next year, received international media attention, and attracted 10,000 entries. There are also now several subcategories, such as detective fiction, romance novels, Western novels, and purple prose. Sentences that are notable but are judged not quite bad enough to merit the Grand Prize or a category prize are awarded Dishonorable Mentions.

Prior winners of the award include Gary Dahl, inventor of the Pet Rock, in the 2000 contest.

Winning entrants

Year	Author
2009	David McKenzie Federal Way, Washington
2008	Garrison Spik Washington, D.C.
2007	Jim Gleeson Madison, Wisconsin
2006	Jim Guigli Carmichael, California
2005	Dan McKay Fargo, North Dakota
2004	Dave Zobel Manhattan Beach, California
2003	Mariann Simms Wetumpka, Alabama
2001	Sera Kirk Vancouver, British Columbia
2000	Gary Dahl Los Gatos, California
1999	Dr. David Chuter Kingston, Surrey, England
1998	Bob Perry Milton, Massachusetts
1997	Artie Kalemeris Fairfax, Virginia
1996	Janice Estey Aspen, Colorado
1995	John L. Ashman Houston, Texas
1994	Larry Brill Austin, Texas
1993	Wm. W. "Buddy" Ocheltree Port Townsend, Washington
1992	Laurel Fortuner Montendre, France
1991	Judy Frazier Lathrop, Missouri
1990	Linda Vernon Newark, California
1989	Ray C. Gainey Indianapolis, Indiana
1988	Rachel E. Sheeley Williamsburg, Indiana
1987	Sheila B. Richter Minneapolis, Minnesota
1986	Patricia E. Presutti Lewiston, New York
1985	Martha Simpson Glastonbury, Connecticut
1984	Steven Garman Pensacola, Florida
1983	Gail Cain San Francisco, California

Collections

Six books collecting the "best" BLFC entries have been published:

• It Was a Dark and Stormy Night (1984), ISBN 0-14-007556-9
• Son of "It Was a Dark and Stormy Night" (1986), ISBN 0-14-008839-3
• Bride of Dark and Stormy (1988), ISBN 0-14-010304-X
• It Was a Dark & Stormy Night: The Final Conflict (1992), ISBN 0-14-015791-3
• Dark and Stormy Rides Again (1996), ISBN 0-14-025490-0
• It Was a Dark and Stormy Night (2007), ISBN 978-1-905548-60-6

An audio cassette of the winning entries in the BLFC was also released:

• It Was a Dark and Stormy Night (1997), audio cassette, ISBN 1-57270-045-9.

There was no known CD version of this audio cassette as of October of 2009.

See also

• Purple prose
• Lyttle Lytton Contest, a derivative favouring extremely short first sentences
• Bad Sex in Fiction Award run by Literary Review magazine
• Bookseller/Diagram Prize for Oddest Title of the Year

External links

• Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest web site
• Lyttony of Grand Prize Winners
• "From Worst to First: Literary Award Marks the Pits of Prose" Chronicle of Higher Education News blog (2007)