Have you ever read a great (or possibly not so great) work of literature and been disappointed by an ending that might have been more…shall we say…uplifting, affirmative…happy?

Do you harbor suspicions…that the Capulets and the Montagues might have worked things out, that Romeo and Juliet could have gotten into a longer term relationship? That, if Rochester had hired a sharp lawyer and annulled his first marriage (he was tricked, right?), he and Jane might have gotten together much sooner and avoided all that unpleasantness about the fire? That Sydney Carton might actually have gone on to far, far better things?

Face it: even the greatest of authors and their works might have benefited from a more positive outlook. Now you can help to right things, by entering the “Happy Tales” literary contest…

Contest rules: take any literary work with a sad, disturbing, or negative ending and supply a happy, affirmative, uplifting, humorous ending. The new ending must more or less parody the idiom, style, atmosphere, and so on, of the original. Entries will be judged on the bases of humor, insight, and quality of parody. Entries should be no more than ten pages in length and may be submitted on paper or via email. Entry (postmark) deadline: September 30, 2008. Decisions of the contest judges are final.

Award: $200 cash money and the prestigious, coveted, etc., Nahum Tate Cup. Entries, including the winning entry, may be read and praised and/or ridiculed by contest judges in a public session of the Humanities Montana Festival of the Book, October 23-25, 2008, Missoula, MT. Winning entries will be weblished at the Festival website or published in other media. Entries become the non-exclusive property of the Montana Festival of the Book.

Send entries to Happy Tales, Humanities Montana, Festival of the Book, 311 Brantly, Missoula, MT 59812-7848, or to info@humanitiesmontana.org.

Hey, a sudden epiphany might have lifted Anna Karenina from her problems; the train might have missed….

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*Some tales are happy ones, others are blue/ It’s the way you write the tale that counts/ Here’s a happy one for you/ Happy tales to you/ Until we meet again…. (apologies to the late Dale Evans-Rogers).