When art kills chances

How frustrating is this:

I get to write my first rejection letter today. The story was submitted to a contest for teenage writers that I'm running, I like it, I wanted to include it in the anthology being published of the short-listed entries but it ends with a cliff-hanger. Good for a novel, not good for a short story.

I contacted the author by phone to ask if the scene was finished as he mentioned that it was actually the beginning of a novel, and if it was to send the conclusion along and told him why. His answer: He wants it to stay as is.

Well, his choice, his art, but it won't be included in the anthology as is. Silly boy.

When I see all the people here at AW who work so hard at their craft and compare this lad's lack of response to what I consider a reasonable request, the mind boggles.

Jamesaritchie said:

Very typical, unfortunately. But I wouldn't say a cloiffhanger ending should automatically kill a short story. I don't like them, but quite a few literary stories get away with it.

Click to expand...

Quite true, and I wrestled with the decision for quite some time, especially as these are not seasoned writers I'm dealing with. I based the decision on the fact that they're unknown writers, I'm an unknown small press, it's the first real effort out in the world for all of us... The frustration I felt at not being able to read the rest of the scene might detract more from the book as a whole than it added, for readers taking a chance on us.

Oh, and perhaps I should add, it's not a literary collection, it's all the different facets of fantasy, from a delightfully 19th century ramble to a very powerful dark horror-fantasy mix that I think is the best of the bunch. (And I don't tend to like horror.)