Add significance — today!
By:
October 9, 2009
I’m thrilled to announce the Significant Objects Story Contest. In partnership with the editors of Slate, Rob Walker and I (who are running an experiment called Significant Objects) invite submissions of a 500-word story featuring the object pictured above (a barbecue sauce jar) by next Friday (Oct. 16) at 5 p.m. All stories must be submitted to Slate (details below). The winning entry will be published on both websites — and, of course, on eBay, where it will serve as the item description for the BBQ Sauce Jar. Proceeds from the eBay auction will go to the story’s author.
Here’s your chance to join the likes of William Gibson, Curtis Sittenfeld, Nicholson Baker, Myla Goldberg, Colson Whitehead, and many other talents who’ve transformed an insignificant (or shall we say: pre-significant) object into a significant one.
Slate explains the contest parameters here:
You’ll write a short story (500 words or fewer) in which this object plays an important role. (Please do not make reference to the fact that the object is being sold on eBay, and do not mention the penny that appears in the photo for scale — the story’s plot should be independent of the project’s context.) The stories must be e-mailed to Slate (slatesignificantobjects@gmail.com) by Oct. 16 at 5 p.m. Please also tell us your full name and the city and state you’re writing from. All submissions may be quoted — and attributed to their author — in a follow-up article on Slate announcing the winning entry.
Please click on the link above to read the contest entry at Slate before you start writing. And then start writing!