In the Harry Potter universe, the child who would become Lord Voldemort was born on December 31, 1926 (don’t try and do the math…it doesn’t work). In honor of this fantastic fictional day, we want to see your stories about that pivotal moment when something sets your character on the path to the dark side. You have 1231 words. Entries may be in any of the speculative genres.

NOTE: Your entry should not in any way include the characters or settings from the Harry Potter universe, to do so would be a copyright violation and would invalidate the entry.

Click here to learn more about Tom Riddle/Voldemort.

Entries should be mailed to especbooks@aol.com as a .doc, .docx, or .rtf attachment no later than midnight on December 31st. Please include your name, story title, and contact information on your manuscript itself. If we cannot identify your entry from the file you will be disqualified. Multiple submissions are permissible, but reprints are not. Winning entry will be published on the eSpec Books blog and the winner will receive a free ebook copy of the eSpec Books title of their choice. Prize can be reserved for a future book if the winner already has the available titles.

Visit http://www.especbooks.com for a list of titles.