Writer’s Digest: I won! So what’s the problem?

          Ok, so here’s the problem. I won something in this competition (their big one, the one I’ve never placed in before). And then I got an e-mail that said something like, Again, congratulations on your winning entry. Here’s how you access your free subscription, free this, free that, and so on. Again? I DIDN’T GET THE FIRST E-MAIL! 

           No mention of dollar amount (each prize is worth at least a little bit of money). No mention of placing. I could be anywhere from first to tenth, so, in theory, out of thousands of entries, at least I’m tenth…I think. 

          Now, to top it off, I entered one poem, one short story, and one creative nonfiction piece, and they didn’t say which one placed either. They also gave me a download of the seal above so I could have it on my site, but again, no news about which prize. I’m going crazy, and I really, really hope they haven’t made a mistake and sent an e-mail to me that belongs to someone else.

           Really.

          I e-mailed back, but because it came from their competitions e-mail, I’m not sure how soon (if ever) I may hear back. The original rules said winners would be contacted before October 19th. I certainly didn’t expect anything this early. Hoax, or real? The waiting is killing me…

To be continued…