⏳ Weekly Writing Contest | September 21: Here and Elsewhere
This week's guest judges are Lauren Razavi & Eman Zabi from Borderless and Plumia. Submit your entry by Friday, September 26th at 12pm ET/5pm BST.
Welcome to the Weekly Writers' Hour Contest!
This week’s challenge invites you to explore the multiplicities of home, identity, and belonging.
👉 PLUS: On Tuesday September 23, we’re hosting a free 💯 100 Days of Writing Workshop to help you make the most of the final days of 2025. Read more below.
PROMPT
Here and Elsewhere: This week, write in the genre of your choosing about what it means to hold more than one home, more than one identity, more than one belonging.
Unpublished pieces of 500 words or less in any genre are eligible.
Submissions are due by Friday, September 26th, at 5pm BST / 12pm ET.
Keep reading for more information on prizes and FAQs – plus an introduction to this week’s guest judges, Lauren Razavi & Eman Zabi from Plumia and their publication, Borderless.
Happy writing!
The Writers’ Hour Magazine Team
Meet Our Guest Judges: Lauren Razavi & Eman Zabi
Lauren Razavi is a writer, political scientist, and expert on global mobility and governance. With a decade of experience at the intersection of technology, policy, and talent, she has advised governments, startups, and global organisations on the future of work and citizenship. She is the author of the book Global Natives about borderless work.
Eman Zabi is a strategist with a background in scaling mission-driven organisations. A graduate of Georgetown University and Trinity College Dublin, she brings expertise in entrepreneurship, AI and global mobility. At Plumia, she ensures initiatives run efficiently, supporting the team’s research, advocacy, and policy efforts.
About Borderless, a newsletter for global citizens
Whether you’re in Bali or Bucharest, Borderless helps you navigate the quirks of working on the internet and living across borders. Every week, the Plumia team handpicks the most interesting developments in the worlds of digital nomads, remote workers, expats, third-culture kids, and global citizens. With a dash of network states, global affairs, and internet culture thrown in to keep you entertained and informed.
A Note from Our Editorial Team
As you approach this week’s theme, consider the many ways “home” and “elsewhere” might live in your work. Perhaps it’s two countries, two languages, or two families. Perhaps it’s the way you move between public and private selves, or the tension of belonging to more than one community. You might write from memory, from imagination, or from the borderlands between.
There’s no single way to approach the prompt. The heart of this challenge is holding multiplicity: more than one place, more than one story, more than one you.
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, September 26 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, October 18th.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.
Congratulations to the winners of The Story You Carry!
We are thrilled to share the contest results for the week of August 31. Writers were invited to write about a story that stays with them. Special thanks once again to our guest judge, Will Storr.
First Place: Benny by Rebecca Combs
Second Place: Clara Mae by Kelsey Howard Writing
Third Place: The Lost Fortune by Katharine Kapodistria
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 in the next contest!
PS: 💯 100 Days of Writing Workshop
Join us on Tuesday September 23 for our free 💯 100 Days of Writing Workshop to help you make the most of the final days of 2025. 👉 Register to reserve your spot.
PPS: ✍️ Write with us daily at Writers’ Hour
Come work on your submission at Writers' Hour—our daily silent writing sprints—where writers around the world gather together to write. It’s the perfect environment to focus, share space with other writers, and make progress on your contest entry.
🔒 Paid Subscriber Perk: Editorial Feedback Lottery
This week, three paid subscribers will be chosen at random to receive personalized feedback from our editorial team on their contest submission.
How to enter the feedback lottery:
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