⏳ Weekly Writing Contest | February 9: Roots

Submit your entry by Friday, February 14, 5pm GMT / 12pm ET / 9am PT

Artwork by Emma Winterschladen

Welcome to the Weekly Writers' Hour Contest!

This week's challenge invites you to explore the unseen, the foundational, the things that ground us or entangle us—whether in nature, family, history, or identity.

Prompt: Roots

This week, write a piece inspired by roots. Interpret the theme in any way that resonates with you—literally or metaphorically.

Unpublished pieces of 500 words or less in any genre are eligible for this contest.

Submissions are due by Friday, February 14th at 5pm GMT / 12pm ET / 9am PT

Keep reading for more information on prizes and FAQs – plus an introduction to this week’s guest judge, Kathryn Tann, Co-founder and Editorial Director of Folding Rock Magazine.

Happy writing!
The Writers’ Hour Magazine Team

Meet Our Guest Judge: Kathryn Tann

Kathryn Tann is Co-founder and Editorial Director of Folding Rock Magazine. Her work has appeared in The Guardian, The Scotsman, Nation.Cymru, and Simple Things. Her debut essay collection, Seaglass, was published by Calon Books in May 2024. She also hosts and produces the This Place podcast, alongside her monthly Substack publication, Dwell.

About Folding Rock

Folding Rock is a new magazine publishing the very best creative prose from Wales – and beyond. The inaugural issue, "Roots", will be published in March 2025. Learn more and pre-order here.

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A Note from Kathryn:

Roots can take hold in myriad ways: in the places we are born, the ones we come from, and those we learn to call home. They bind us to our histories, our environment, and the people who surround us. Our roots embroider the bedrock of everything we do – for better or worse. They are the vessels that feed our future.

Our new magazine, Folding Rock, is laying its own first roots as a publication. The inaugural issue comes out in less than a month, and in it writers both new and established explore the shape and curious spread of life's foundations. From childhood reflections to creeping forests, each piece has interpreted this theme of 'roots' in an entirely different way.

And so, with all the hope and ambition of this new magazine in mind, I'd love to see is how you might take this theme - this foundation - and do something unexpected with it. Rather than write the obvious, tune into your creative instincts: use your imagination. Follow that thread in whatever unusual direction it wants to go, and push yourself to write the kind of piece you never have before. Gather up everything you've learnt so far - your experiences, stories, writerly wisdom - and weave into something new. The soil is fresh and ready for growth... so be brave! Make it something worthwhile. That's exactly what we'll be doing in these first exciting steps for Folding Rock.

Tip: See if you can avoid the word 'roots' altogether when you write your piece. You don't actually need it - trust me.

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.

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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

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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, February 14 at 5pm GMT / 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 entry will be published in Writers’ Hour Magazine by Saturday, February 29th.

• 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.)

• 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 Signs & Symbols!

We are thrilled to share the contest results for the week of January 19. Writers were asked to explore the language of symbols and reflect on how they shape our lives.

• First Place: On not romanticising your own life & just keeping your head down for once by Aliya Lewis

• Second Place: Angels by Caraline Shaheen

• Third Place: Moss by Priya Tripathy

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 - Write with us

Come work on your submission at Writers' Hour—our daily silent writing sprints—where writers from around the world come together to work on their projects. It’s the perfect environment to focus, share space with other writers, and make progress on your contest entry.