Graphic: The Fifth Annual Brno Short Story Writing Contest. Credit: Peter Tuleja.
Written by Jakub Švanda.
Brno, Mar 1 (BD) – If you’re a lover of all things literary you cannot miss out on the fifth annual Brno Short Story Writing Contest whose deadline has just been announced for May 16th. You still have plenty of time to sit down and make the jurors cry, laugh, and think about your beautiful story.
You can enter the contest for free and win generous prizes. It’s 6,000 crowns for the first place, 3,000 crowns for the second place and 1,000 crowns for the third place. On top of that, there are honourable mentions published on the contest website alongside the winners, so even if you don’t win, your story can still get noticed.
In previous years, the theme of the contest was usually limited to Brno, but this year it’s broadening its scope with the theme “Where I am Local”. You can approach the theme from many directions and it’s up to you to show the jurors what you see behind it.
If you’re not certain whether the contest is for you (perhaps you’re not a native English speaker or perhaps it’s your first time even writing a story) worry not. While the jurors will look at the story, characters, and how the theme is employed, bad grammar won’t disqualify you. As long as your story is in English and it’s shorter than 2,500 words (and it complies with the contest’s rules), you’re good to go.
And who are the jurors, you ask? Some you may have seen or met, like the co-founder of the Expat Centre and a long-time leader in the local expat and Masaryk University communities, Don Sparling, or Anna Formánková, a translator and a book editor at MOBA Publishing House, and if you’re a student at MUNI, you may have met Tomáš Kačer, a teacher in the Department of English and American Studies at MU and a translator. There’s Lee Adams, the co-founder of both the Brno Writers Group and the Brno Short Story Writing Contest and Theo Singleton, a member of the Brno Writers Group who finished second in this contest in 2017.
While it may seem like there is still a lot of time before May 16th hits, now is the perfect time to get a story brewing. If you want to know more, go to the contest website, or visit the Facebook page. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to email brnowritersgroup@gmail.com.
The contest was made possible by the kind media sponsors of Brno Daily (brnodaily.com) and the Brno Expat Centre (brnoexpatcentre.eu).
