FAST & FABULOUS FICTION WRITERS WIN

Laurel, MD - December 6, 2006 — October, the creepiest holiday of the year brought to the Internet an exciting way to discover new talent in the fiction genre. Echelon Press Publishing is hosting its Fast Fiction Writing Contest. The unique premise of this writing contest is to push writers to think outside the box and to go with their gut when developing the short stories. With a word requirement of 3000-6000 words, the notice goes out for writers to start their keyboards! They have two weeks to write and submit their original story adhering to a premise chosen by Echelon. A week after the announcement of the winner, Echelon publishes the winning entry in its E-book division.

Echelon Press chose the E-Book venue to spotlight these stories as it enjoys tremendous success with the publication of short fiction in electronic formats. The inclusion of Echelon titles at the online retail outlet, Fictionwise.com, boosted sales by nearly 200% in 2005. The independent publisher refuses to ignore the high demand for what some refer to as "Quick Fiction" and embraces the new technology sweeping the universe.

"Books have taken on a whole new life," says publisher, Karen L. Syed. "I love a paperback as much as the next reader, but there is something wonderful to be said for carrying 5-10 full-length novels on a compact, handheld reader when traveling or commuting."

To date, Echelon Press has announced and published two stories in the Fast Fiction Writing contest.

October 2006's Fast & Freaky contest winner was C.A. Verstraete with her chilling short "The Witch Tree." All Jimmy Grayson wanted was a place where he could sit on his porch and listen to ball games. What he found was a veritable hell on earth, ruled by a plague so vicious it threatened his very existence. Soon Jimmy is tormented by his own obsession to destroy those that torture him. Where will it all end?

November 2006's Fast & Fatal contest winner was Jamie Summers with a wickedly devastating tale "A True Friend." There are secrets…and there are secrets. Mike Winter's wife has the latter. When push comes to shove, there is only one person she can truly count on. But just how far is a true friend willing to go when called to duty? And is it worth the sacrifice?

In its E-Book division, Echelon offers a variety of genres, ranging in length from 1,000 to 100,000 words in a variety of electronic formats. Fictionwise.com has made the purchasing process for Echelon Press, and a multitude of other publisher's, titles extremely user friendly. Fictionwise.com also offers readers up to ten different formats to choose from, depending on their handheld reading device. E-Book sales account for just over 30% of Echelon's overall unit sales per month.

For more information, or to schedule events and interviews with Echelon Press, or any of its authors, please contact Karen Syed directly.

Echelon Press Publishing
Celebrating five years of unique stories for exceptional readers.