Talking Writing

 

The Talking Writing Prize is an annual contest that celebrates the diversity online of original, personally driven writing. For 2013, the two prize categories are flash fiction on any subject and creative nonfiction about family life and the meaning of family.

Judges: Joanne Avallon (fiction) and Lorraine Berry (creative nonfiction).

Deadline: All entries are due by October 1, 2013.

Prizes: The winner in each category will receive a prize of $250 and publication of the winning piece in Talking Writing.

Since its debut in 2010 as a nonprofit online literary magazine, Talking Writing has showcased personal essays, creative nonfiction, and other endangered forms of literary and journalistic writing.

TW editors believe strongly in building a community that promotes literary culture all over the Web—and the world. Previous issues have featured interviews with Jennifer Egan, Robert Olen Butler, Natalie Goldberg, and many others. TW also publishes fiction, poetry, and the work of visual artists and photographers.

All contest submissions will be reviewed by top Talking Writing editors and considered for publication in TW.

 

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General Guidelines

Submit contest entries at talkingwriting.submittable.com, selecting “Contest 2013: TW Prize for Fiction” or “Contest 2013: TW Prize for Creative Nonfiction” as the category. The $15 fee for each entry offsets administrative costs and supports ongoing publication of TW.

Enter as many pieces as you like, although each entry requires a separate submission and contest fee. (Please note that up to two flash fiction pieces can be submitted as one entry.) Simultaneous submissions are fine, too, as long as you notify us immediately if your story is accepted elsewhere.

We’ll consider unpublished works only, and all entries must be in English.

Include only the story title and page numbers on the first page and in the header. Author names, bios, and cover letters will not be seen by contest readers or judges until the winners have been selected.
 

Contest Categories

Fiction

We welcome flash fiction on any theme. Submissions will be judged by Joanne Avallon, a freelance writer whose work has appeared in the Norton Anthology of Microfiction and numerous other publications, including TW. Length: Submit no more than two stories of up to 1,000 words each.

Creative Nonfiction

We’re looking for creative nonfiction that expands our understanding of family dynamics and the meaning of family. Submissions will be judged by Lorraine Berry, a longtime teacher of creative nonfiction and a freelance writer whose work has been widely published. She is an associate editor at TW. Length: Up to 3,000 words.
 

Prize Information

Publication in Talking Writing

The winning piece in each category will be published in the Winter 2014 issue of Talking Writing. Winners will be listed on our Contests page and in our online newsletter, Talking E-News. We’ll also promote your story on Twitter, Facebook, and other venues. Talking Writing currently logs over 110,000 views annually from our audience of committed writers and readers.

Prize of $250

Each winner will receive a prize of $250, to be presented in December 2013.
 

Small Print

By submitting a contest entry, you agree that, if your piece is a prize winner or is selected for publication, Talking Writing will acquire First North American serial rights, the right to put it or portions of it on the TW website, and the one-time, non-exclusive right to include it in a Talking Writing anthology, should there ever be one. All other rights are retained by the author. You also warrant that your piece is an original work, is solely owned by you, and has not been previously published.

The images on this page are from an 1887 Japanese woodcut by Kamekichi Tsunajima titled “Ryūkō eigo zukushi” or “A Fashionable Melange of English Words.” The images are in the public domain and appear here via the Public Domain Review.

 

 

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Talking Writing is an independent nonprofit publication. No interest group has paid us to mention the reviewed items in this magazine. The opinions expressed by TW writers are their own.

Please note that while we value freedom of speech, we do not allow comments on our site that are personal attacks on our writers or other authors, particularly anything that could be construed as libel.

We do not guarantee the accuracy of outside links, especially after a TW issue has been archived.

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