⏳ Weekly Writing Contest | April 13: The Local Unknown
Submit your entry to this week’s guest judge, author Alastair Humphreys, by Friday, April 18, 5pm BST / 12pm ET
Welcome to the Weekly Writers' Hour Contest!
This week's challenge invites you to step outside your front door and explore the overlooked corners of your neighborhood.
*PLUS* We’re also hosting a 24-Hour Writing Sprint this month—and you’re invited! Read more below.
PROMPT
The Local Unknown: Take a walk within just a few hundred meters radius of your home. Write about what you observe in the genre of your choosing.
Unpublished pieces of 500 words or less in any genre are eligible.
Submissions are due by Friday, April 18th, at 5pm BST / 12pm ET.
Keep reading for more information on prizes and FAQs – plus an introduction to this week’s guest judge, author and adventurer
.Happy writing!
The Writers’ Hour Magazine Team
Meet Our Guest Judge:
Alastair Humphreys is a National Geographic Adventurer of the Year, a blogger, author, speaker, and film maker.
Alastair tells stories to encourage people to live more adventurously every day, to engage with and care for the natural world, and to take action –begin!– with curiosity and enthusiasm. His books, podcasts, talks, films, blogs, and social media content provide information and inspiration about why and how you can live more adventurously. He produces a monthly newsletter with the highlights of the blog, forthcoming speaking engagements, and a bunch of interesting links.
Website: alastairhumphreys.com
Twitter and Instagram: @al_humphreys
This prompt was inspired by Alastair’s book, Local.
A Note from Alastair
I set out today to walk around the block where I live and try to notice something new.
My hope is that I can persuade you to try the same thing.
It's not a literal city block, though there’s certainly enough to notice on one for a lifetime (see Alexandra Horowitz’s On Looking).
Instead, I walked the one-kilometre grid square that frames my house on my local Ordnance Survey map.
Needless to say, I know this square kilometre well. Would I find anything new?
Here are a few tips if you'd like to try walking around your home and noticing new things:
If you live in the UK you can find the grid square you live on here. I printed out a screenshot to help me navigate (though I also have the OS app.) If you're not in the UK you can use MapMyRun or – simpler – just head out the door any wing it!
I tried to stick to the perimeter of my grid square, but wasn't too strict about it. I walked around fields rather than through them, for example. Please do the same! Here are a few tips on how to roam responsibly, even when trespassing gently.
The hardest and most important thing is learning to pay attention! Put your phone away (except when Merlin or Seek are being your friendly teachers). Don't listen to headphones. Slow down – a toddler is a brilliant accessory for learning how to be curious if you can borrow one. Teach yourself to be interested in everything – literally everything! That pebble you just kicked? It's millions, maybe billions of years old – that's amazing! The late Sir Terry Pratchett once gave a lecture on ‘The Importance of Being Amazed about Absolutely Everything’, which feels like a fitting mission statement.
How to Submit:
Submissions should be made through our online submission platform, Submittable, and formatted as a Word Doc.
For more details, please read the full Contest Guidelines.
The winning entries will receive:
First Prize:
$65 USD (£50 GBP)
Publication in Writers’ Hour Magazine
3-months of London Writers’ Salon Silver Membership (£79 value)
Commemorative Writers’ Hour trophy mug
Second Prize:
Publication in Writers’ Hour Magazine
1-month of London Writers’ Salon Silver Membership (£29 value)
Third Prize:
Publication in Writers’ Hour Magazine
FAQs:
What genres can I write in?
All genres - fiction, nonfiction, poetry, etc - are welcome.Is there a word limit?
Your piece must be 500 words or less. Pieces that exceed this will not be considered. There is no minimum word limit.Do I need to submit in a specific format?
Please follow the instructions outlined in the Contest Guidelines.When is the deadline to submit?
Submissions are due by Friday, April 18 at 5pm BST / 12pm ET / 9am PT. Submissions received outside this window will not be considered.When will the winner be announced?
The winner will be contacted via Submittable, and the winning entries will be published in Writers’ Hour Magazine by Saturday, May 2nd.Can I submit a piece I’ve already published?
Only previously unpublished pieces are eligible for this contest. (Published means anything that has already been made publicly available in print or online.)Can I use AI tools (like ChatGPT) to help write my contest submission?
No. We do not accept any AI-assisted writing for contest entries. All submissions must be the author’s original work and human-generated. Use of AI will disqualify you from this and any future contests.
Is there a fee to submit?
No, there is no fee to submit. However you must be subscribed to Writers’ Hour Magazine in order for your submission to be considered.
Congratulations to the winners of On Tenterhooks!
We are thrilled to share the contest results for the week of March 23. Writers were invited to explore a moment of intense anticipation. Special thanks once again to our guest judge,
, author and co-founder and editor of Banshee literary journal and its publishing imprint, Banshee Press.First Place: Unread by
EustaceSecond Place: Tina’s Window by
Third Place: The Thirty Two Directions by CD Collins
Congratulations to the winners, and thank you to everyone who participated. It’s a pleasure to share these pieces with you, and we can’t wait to see what you create this week.
PS - ✍️🌏 24-Hour Writing Sprint (April 25-26)
On April 25th, we're hosting a 24-Hour Writing Sprint. You're invited!
Whether you're meeting a deadline, breathing new life into a draft, or planting the seeds of a brand-new project, do it alongside a global community of supportive writers, all writing together for 24 hours of creative momentum.
Join us for 1, 2, or all 24 hours. RSVP here.
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