The Susan Wittig Albert
Life Writing Competition
June, 2008
SCN is proud to announce its ninth annual lifewriting competition, named in honor our founder, best-selling mystery writer Susan Wittig Albert.
Topic: This year's topic focuses on evolution and growth. Here are some wise words to help you get started:
"We do not grow absolutely, chronologically. We grow sometimes in one dimension, and not in another; unevenly. We grow partially. We are relative. We are mature in one realm, childish in another. The past, present, and future mingle and pull us backward, forward, or fix us in the present. We are made up of layers, cells, constellations."
—Anais Nin
Evolution and growth happen when we take risks or face up to challenges in order to achieve our dreams. We invite you to write about a point in your life in which you evolved and grew in one dimension or another. What happened? When? Where? Who was involved? How did this growth change you? Was your life transformed for the better? Or not?
We invite you to write the story of evolution or growth in your own life.
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Awards: One prize of $75, one prize of $50, and two prizes of $25 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 $15 entry fee, which can be paid online or by check (send to the address below).
- One entry per member, please. To be eligible, your entry must be unpublished (we define a "published" piece as one that has been reviewed and accepted by an editor).
- 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
.
- If you have internet access, you must submit your entry to us electronically by using our online form [see below], or by sending it in an email, as a Word attachment or copied into into the body of your email. 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 email or PayPal) NO LATER THAN midnight July 7, 2008. It is unfair to writers who observe these rules to ask for an exception.
Notification: Winners will be notified by August 1, 2008.
Three Ways to Enter:
- Preferred method: Use our online form
- Email your entry to
- Snail mail your entry to
Life Writing Competition
Story Circle Network
P.O. Box 500127
Austin, TX 78750-0127
(NOTE: we ask that you mail your entry to us ONLY if you do not have email!)
Winning Entries of Last Year's Contest: