First Prize: $75, plus a best-selling memoir signed by the author * Second Prize: $50
Honourable Mentions
Deadline: Monday, August 25, 2008
Winners will be announced in September and invited to read their stories -- or have them read --
at a Memoir Writers Social and fundraiser for the Alzheimer Society of Toronto,
to take place at the historic Blacksmiths Bistro in Unionville.
Prize-winning stories will be posted at www.daysroadwriters.blogspot.com
Theme: Summer Days
Your chaise may be longue … but life is short. Get writing!
What better time to remember and write about summer memories – whether one year ago or sixty – than while you’re enjoying the quiet of the cottage, taking a break from gardening or other hot-weather fun, or relaxing on vacation. Use techniques from fiction, such as dialogue, to make your true-life story come alive. Immerse your reader in your memory
. It may be joyful, tragic, romantic, poignant, dramatic, bittersweet, or humorous. Write honestly, write bravely. Remember that an effective memoir doesn't just describe a memory, it reveals how an experience affected you at the time, and how, in some way, it changed you.Length: (NEW!) 1,000 words maximum (four pages typed, double-spaced)
Entry fee: CDN$10 per story
Print your name and the title of your submission clearly on the cheque, made out to
Allyson Latta,
and mailed to
Days Road Writers’ Workshops,
12-16715 Yonge Street, Suite 207, Newmarket, ON, L3X 1X4
If you prefer to be billed & pay online through PayPal, please indicate this in your submission e-mail.
E-mail your entry (do not mail with your cheque) as a Word attachment to lattamemoirs@gmail.com
Subject line should read: "Summer Days" Memoir Writing Contest : [Title of entry].
In the body of your e-mail, include your name, address, phone number, and word count.
Notes: Self-published writers are eligible, but those who have had a book or story collection professionally published are not. Previously published stories will not be considered. No substitutions or revisions will be accepted after submission. Only winners will be notified directly, but please watch the Days Road Writers' Workshops blog for announcements.
Submissions will be reviewed by the following panel of judges:
Stacey Lynn Newman, novelist, book coach and former literary publisher
Cathy Witlox, editor, writer and grammar/writing instructor
Cheryl Andrews, adult educator and memoirist
Allyson Latta, literary editor, writer and writing instructor
Other questions? Contact Allyson at lattamemoirs@gmail.com