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SCN is proud to announce its thirteenth annual lifewriting competition, named in honor our founder, best-selling mystery writer Susan Wittig Albert.
Topic: This year's topic focuses on solitude. Here are some wise words to help you get started:
Greta Garbo's trademark statement was "I want to be alone." Some years after she made this statement, she offered this clarification: "I never said 'I want to be alone.' I only said 'I want to be left alone.' There is all the difference."
Greta was comparing two different approaches to solitude. This year let's consider the place that solitude has in our lives. Here are some words to get you thinking and, of course, writing.
Solitude is the salt of personhood. It brings out the authentic flavor of every experience.
—May Sarton
Being solitary is being alone well. Luxuriously immersed in doing of your own choice, aware of the fullness of your own presence rather than the absence of others.
—Alice Koller
I'm the kind of woman that likes to enjoy herself in peace.
—Alice Walker
Fond as we are of our loved ones, there comes at times during their absence an unexplained peace.
—Anne Shaw
What a lovely surprise to discover how un-lonely being alone can be.
—Ellen Burstyn
(Thank you, Pat LaPointe, for this topic.)
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Awards: One prize of $100, one prize of $75, and two prizes of $35 each. Winning stories will be published in a special section of the September Story Circle Journal and will be featured on the SCN's award-winning website. Upon the judges' recommendation, other entries may be published in later issues of the Journal and in other SCN print or on-line publications.
Rules:
- You must be a dues-paying member of Story Circle Network to enter.
(To join, use our online membership form; you can pay online or mail your check to the address below.)
- There is a $25 entry fee, which can be paid online or by check (send to the address below).
- One entry per member.
- To be eligible, your entry must be unpublished. We define a "published" piece as one that has been reviewed and accepted by an editor, either for a print or an online publication. For the purpose of this contest, blog posts are not considered "publications."
- Winners of previous competitions are not eligible. If you have previously won this competition and would like to volunteer to serve as a judge, we'd love to have you! Please email contest at storycircle.org.
- If you have internet access, you must submit your entry to us electronically by using our online form [see below]. If you do not have access to a computer, mail your entry (typed and single-spaced, on 8.5 x 11" paper). If you do not have access to a typewriter, we will accept entries that are clearly handwritten in dark black ink.
- Each entry must be titled, and no longer than 1200 words (count actual words, or use the MS Word word-count function). Put the actual word count under your name/address. Entries that are longer than 1200 words will be rejected.
- Be sure that your name and address appear on your entry (these will be removed for the judging process). Include a 100-word bio to be published with your entry if you win. Winners' stories must be available for publication; however, if you wish your story to be published anonymously, we will remove your name. Keep a copy of your entry.
- By submitting your story, you are giving Story Circle the right to publish it in the Journal, in its other print publications, and on its web site. However, authors retain copyright.
Criteria and Judging: The judges look for entries that are fresh and original, tell a compelling story in a clear and authentic voice, are responsive to the topic, and have been polished and proofread for presentation in the competition. The most successful submissions are rich in evocative detail and avoid generalizations and abstractions. Entries will not be returned; evaluations will not be available. The judging team will be made up of Story Circle Facilitators and published authors.
Deadline: Your entry and your entry fee must both be postmarked (if by USPS) or date stamped (if online) NO LATER THAN midnight June 30, 2012. It is unfair to writers who observe these rules to ask for an exception.
Notification: Winners will be notified by August 1, 2012.
How to Enter: All contest entries should be made via the web form, here. The contest opens on May, 1, 2012.
Hard-copy Submissions: Please send us your contest entry via the web form. If and only if you are really unable to submit your story electronically, you may submit your story by mailing us a paper copy. Hardcopy submissions should be sent to: Life Writing Competition,
Winners of Previous Years' Contests
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