Call for 2014 Entries
Tips from Ms. Mentor—aka Emily Toth, TW Contest Judge
Do You Love to Give Advice?
There’s never a shortage of people to tell you where to go and what to do there. If they’re witty and wise, these sages may be advice columnists like Miss Manners, Carolyn Hax, and Ms. Mentor—the judge who will award the first TW Prize for Writing Advice in 2014. Here are some tips from Ms. Mentor and the TW editors:
Length: 800 to 1,500 words (tip: 1,200 words is just right).
Deadline: October 1, 2014.
Submissions: Click here to enter today.
Format: It can be a question-and-answer column or an opinion piece. You can write about problems you know (“I have this friend who has this problem”), or make up the questions, or adapt someone else’s dilemma (“I woke up this morning and discovered I’d become a cockroach. What should I wear?”).
Topic: Advice about writing issues will have the most impact in Talking Writing—for obvious reasons. Regardless, Ms. Mentor is eager to see interesting problems with lively, well-written solutions. She likes advice that’s concise and precise and incisive. It needn’t be good advice to follow, but it should be zesty or wickedly memorable.
Q: May I submit more than one advice column, under different pseudonyms and using different personas?
A. Yes.
Q: Can I write an advice piece about sick cats or how to survive a tornado?
A: Yes, but it will help to connect it to writing (tip: the judge loves cats).
Award: The winner of the 2014 TW Prize for Writing Advice will receive $250 and publication in Talking Writing. Bonus: TW editors will consider all contest entries for publication.
Judge: Emily Toth has been writing the “Ms. Mentor” academic advice column for the online Chronicle of Higher Education since 1998. Her "Nothing but the Toth" column is also a regular feature at Talking Writing.
Q: Is there another prize category this year?
A: Yes. You can also submit entries for the 2014 TW Prize for Flash Nonfiction, judged by Dinty W. Moore of Brevity Magazine.
Q: Where will I find more information about TW's annual contests?
A: Go to the TW Contests page or to Talking Writing at Submittable.
Q: Why does TW run writing contests every year?
A: To spotlight wonderful digital literature and first-person journalism—and to support Talking Writing. TW is an independent, 501(c)(3) nonprofit run by dedicated volunteer editors and board members. Your contest submissions allow them to continue publishing a very unusual digital journal. Thank you!
Recent Columns by Emily Toth
- “Academic Novels for Fun and Profit” (Chronicle of Higher Education, June 2, 2014).
- "What Bad Families Can Do for Writers" (Talking Writing, Spring 2014).
Art Information
- "Happy Girl Hopscotch in Strawberry" © D Sharon Pruitt; Creative Commons license.
