⏳ Weekly Writing Contest | June 8: Found Document
This week's guest judge is Erica Stern, author of Frontier: A Memoir & A Ghost Story. Submit your entry by Friday, June 13 at 12pm ET/5pm BST.
Welcome to the Weekly Writers' Hour Contest!
This week's challenge invites you to use an unexpected container to reveal something intimate, mysterious, or true.
*PLUS* Three paid subscribers will receive feedback on their submission. Read more below.
PROMPT
Found Document: Write a story, poem, or essay in the form of a found document. Use a nontraditional form like a police report, a weather forecast, a transcript of a voicemail, or a list of search history results. How does the form shape what is revealed?
Unpublished pieces of 500 words or less in any genre are eligible.
Submissions are due by Friday, June 13th, at 5pm BST / 12pm ET.
Keep reading for more information on prizes and FAQs – plus an introduction to this week’s guest judge,
, author of Frontier: A Memoir and a Ghost Story.Happy writing!
The Writers’ Hour Magazine Team
A Note from Our Editorial Team
This week’s contest ask you to work within a constraint.
Instead of traditional narrative, we’re asking you to write in the shape of something found—a document that wasn’t meant to be a story but, in your hands, becomes one. It might be a weather forecast predicting emotional turbulence. A report card laced with mischief. A list of search history results that maps a specific longing. A transcript, a product review, a field guide, a missed-connection ad.
As always, we’re looking for pieces that move us, surprise us, or help us see something familiar in a new light.
Meet Our Guest Judge: Erica Stern
Erica Stern is an essayist and fiction writer whose debut memoir, Frontier, is out now from Barrelhouse Books.
Her work has previously appeared in journals such as Mississippi Review, The Iowa Review, and Denver Quarterly, and has been named a finalist for the Noemi Press Book Awards and the Mississippi Review Prize, among other recognitions.
Erica has been awarded fellowships and residencies from the Vermont Studio Center, the Martha's Vineyard Institute for Creative Writing, and the Virginia Center for Creative Arts. She received her undergraduate degree in English from Yale and her MFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. A native of New Orleans, she now lives with her family in Evanston, Illinois.
🎙️ Join us for a free, live conversation with Erica about Writing Hybrid Nonfiction & Experimenting With Form:
🗓️ Thursday, June 12th at 5pm UK / 12pm ET / 9am PT
🎟️ RSVP Here (LWS Silver & Gold Members: RSVP Here.)
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, June 13 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, June 28th.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 Eulogy for An Object!
We are thrilled to share the contest results for the week of May 18. Writers were invited to memorialize something lost. Special thanks once again to our guest judge,
.First Place: End of the Line by
Second Place: Morris, My First and Only Crush by
Third Place: I will never ask you of anything (except to dream sweet of me)
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 - Write with us at Writers’ Hour
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.
PPS - 🌞 ‘Summer of Creative Joy’ is Back!
Our beloved summer program returns! Summer of Creative Joy is designed to help you reconnect with the pleasure of creating during the long, golden days ahead. Expect playful prompts, community check-ins, and the encouragement to follow your most joyful creative impulses. No pressure, just possibility. Kickoff: TBD, Mid-June.
👉 Join the Summer of Creative Joy Interest List
🔒 *New* 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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