⏳ Weekly Writing Contest | May 18: Eulogy for an Object
Submit your entry to this week’s guest judge Kathryn Koromilas by Friday, May 23 at 12pm ET/5pm BST
Welcome to the Weekly Writers' Hour Contest!
This week's challenge invites you to memorialize something lost—an object that once held meaning, memory, or magic—and give it the farewell it deserves.
PROMPT
Eulogy for an Object: Write a eulogy for something that has disappeared from your life—a childhood toy, a family home, a lost letter, a technology now obsolete.
What did it witness? What did it hold for you? What part of you disappeared when it did? Let this be a love letter, a farewell, an honoring.
Unpublished pieces of 500 words or less in any genre are eligible.
Submissions are due by Friday, May 23rd, at 5pm BST / 12pm ET.
Keep reading for more information on prizes and FAQs – plus an introduction to this week’s guest judge,
.Happy writing!
The Writers’ Hour Magazine Team
Meet Our Guest Judge:
Kathryn Koromilas is a writer, educator and creative guide whose work explores the intersection of creativity, philosophy and therapeutic writing.
Kathryn holds a Master of Philosophy degree in Creative Writing and is currently undertaking an MSc in Creative Writing for Therapeutic Purposes, with a research focus on the role of beauty in therapeutic writing. Since 2019, she regularly hosts death writing programmes for anyone curious about exploring their personal relationship with death, loss and the beauty of transience.
Kathryn is also Head of Community at the London Writers’ Salon, as well as a writing coach supporting and nurturing a global community of writers.
Stay in touch by subscribing to her Substack, Metanoia Road.
A Note from Kathryn
I love the word eulogy, literally “good words” from the ancient Greek. Historically, eulogies were publically orated texts to praise an individual after their death. In modern times, eulogies are shared by family and friends during funeral and memorial services.
While eulogies often carry a sense of solemnity and reverence, what happens when we approach the form creatively—with emotional resonance, yes, but also with humour, irony, or surprise?
Here are a few tips to help you get started:
1. Start by making a list of ten objects that are no longer a part of your life. These could be:
Tangible: a childhood blanket, a wedding dress, a Walkman, a flip phone, a broken appliance, a pair of school shoes, the family car, a lost sock.
Intangible: a deleted playlist, a scent no longer encountered, a vanished neighborhood, a forgotten childhood memory.
Symbolic: an old key, a concert ticket, a piece of jewellery now lost.
2. For each object, write a few phrases or sentences about why it mattered to you. Don’t overthink it; just let the memories surface. If you’re a visual thinker, try mind-mapping or sketching too.
3. Scan your list and pick the one object that is most surprising or striking; the one you are most curious about.
4. Describe your object using all five senses. What did it smell like? What was special about its shape and colour? Did it make a sound when handled? What did it feel like to the touch? What did it taste like, literally or metaphorically?
5. Describe your object as a mythical or animal creature. The eulogy historically has an elevated or even mythical tone in its praise and celebration of the lost person. How might you elevate your object? This could be fun and bring in an ironic and humorous tone to your eulogy. Have fun!
5. Expand on this now by writing the timeline of this object’s presence in your life. Consider:
When and how did it arrive in your life?
What experiences did you share with this object?
What did it represent for you? Consider the broader themes of home, childhood, identify, love, connection, transience.
What impact did it have on your life? How did it touch you and others?
When did things start to change?
How did it disappear or “die”?
What is life like without it?
What memories linger today?
6. Now begin composing and shaping your eulogy. You may like to look up some famous examples of eulogies available online (such as the one for Princess Diana). Be inspired by the language, form and tone. Consider the form: you could write this as a speech, a letter or a poem. Consider your tone: you could adopt a humorous, poetic, vulnerable or formal tone.
7. Final considerations: By composing a eulogy, we engage with memory, meaning and impermanence. How would you like this to affect your reader? What do you want them to you learn about the object, about you, and about your emotional relationship with the object? What’s the takeaway?
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, May 23 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 6th.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 An Artist’s Coronation!
We are thrilled to share the contest results for the week of April 27. Writers were invited to explore a moment of creative becoming. Special thanks once again to our guest judge,
.First Place: Transcript of Crown & Coronations Podcast with Toby Crown and Poet Miriam Feye (Episode 1) by Sally Hewitt
Second Place: The Loooong Red Carpet to My Coronation by Scott Wolf
Third Place: A Life Made of Sentences (written in brown ink) by Rachel Desiree Felix
And congratulations to the winners of our 24-hour contest The Blue Hour!
We’re so happy to announce the winners of our second 24-hour writing contest. This challenge invited writers to write a piece set in the liminal space between night and day. The contest was judged by London Writers’ Salon co-founder Parul Bavishi.
First Place: How to Make Daycare Play-Doh Right Before Dawn by Adele Gallogly
Second Place: Hole in the Earth by Grace Lyde
Third Place: The Blue Hour by Sneha Subramanian Kanta
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.
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