Deadline: October 31, 2024
About the competition
Write a story involving Talking in Tongues, and a thorn. $3000 grand prize.
Talk, talk, talk. The noise is everywhere, all around you. But one voice whispers clearly in your ear, speaks through your mouth. You shouldn’t understand, but you do, and you’re not sure how you feel about what it has to say…
Mystics speak in languages they never learned. Children snarl guttural sounds as they sleep while priests chant divine verse. Whispers, wails, and warnings—listen close to the utterance of the universe. The shaman communes with spirits through voice and dance. The programmer dictates with key and code. Our machines hallucinate in zeros and ones. If we find a cosmic cipher among the stars, do we answer it or ignore the call? Grimoires, glyphs, and gibberish dictionaries. Drums beat a rhythm understandable across cultures, and the painter creates a dialogue between brush and canvas louder than a thousand words. But beware, lest your own voice betray you and your dreams fill with lies. The translator chooses what to interpret or conceal. Communication is a blessing, but tread lightly—the power of understanding can be a heavy burden to bear.
This contest invites you to explore Talking in Tongues, whatever that means to you. Fantasy, contemporary, romance, crime. All genres are welcome.
Submissions close October 31st at 11:59 pm EST. Contest only open to new writers.
Competition guideline
The competition is open to anyone worldwide (excluding Quebec) aged 13 or older. In order to enter the contest participants must be members of ElegantLiterature.com and in a membership tier that allows contest entry.
A participant must also be considered a “new” or unpublished author. Anyone who has met or exceeded the following criteria is disqualified from entry:
- traditionally published a novel of greater than 40,000 words
- self-published a novel of greater than 40,000 words and sold 100+ copies
- sold four or more works of short fiction to markets paying 8c/word or greater
- read the whole guideline and submit your poetry entry here.
