[UPDATE] Transparent Narrative Writing Contest, Grand Prize: $300 + Free Tuition to MatadorU

Thanks for the shout, DM, – fond memories of Vientiane. Thinking back though, I realize that I left out the most important part of the story…why I was rushing to Laos in the first place (in the words of Steve Zissou, she didn’t really love me).

I think completely transparent narrative is even rarer than we think.

great to hear from you tim.

just so ppl know, the line excerpted as an example of transparent narrative came from tim patterson and tom gates’ piece: http://thetravelersnotebook.com/notes-from-road/tim-and-toms-excellent-adventure-part-1-cashews/

i had no idea about the backstory there.

but i think you’re right, the truly transparent pieces are rare.

kind of stoked to see what people submit in the contest.

Likewise – this is a really cool contest, and smart of y’all to build in some social media obligations!

Ah, very interesting. I like a good challenge! *pondering story idea…*

Can we submit previously published material?

thanks for the comment desiree.

previously published material will not be considered for the contest with the exception of stories / posts published on a personal blog.

Very exciting – thanks for providing such a great opportunity!

That’s awesome! This is a wonderful opportunity for writers.

This is great! It is truly an exciting contest and the prizes are even more exciting!! I was just toying with the idea of joining the MatdorU Travel Writing Program and have even sent a query to the school! I am already a Matador member and I’d like to know if I can enter this contest.

thanks for the comment and the enthusiasm bhagyalakshmi.

this contest is definitely open to all matador members.

the only ppl not allowed to participate are those of us on staff.

I have sort of a hairy “previously published” question. A piece I’d like to submit was written for a friend to post on his personal blog (I was not paid for this commission). The piece has not appeared on said blog yet. Can I submit it? If I submit it, can my friend ever post it to his site, or is this a matter of copyright? He is open to me doing whatever else I want with the piece, if that matters.

it’s all good. go for it.

Thanks!

Hi! Excuse my ignorance but what exactly is “b. a link to your tweet / Facebook “like”?
Ana

Im not a twitter user so… im a bit confused, how do i send you a link to my “tweet”? same question as Ana i guess…

if you’re on twitter, and you RT this contest, you can go back and copy the url of that particular tweet. it’s found in the little date / time line directly below the tweet.

just replied to ana. – every tweet has it’s own link or url address that you can find in the line just below the tweet, where it gives the date or time the tweet was made, for example “2 hours ago.”

just replied to ana. – every tweet has it’s own link or url address that you can find in the line just below the tweet, where it gives the date or time the tweet was made, for example “about 15 hours ago.”

hey is it only 4 americam or anybody else can join it??/

open to anyone.

Quick question – what if we refuse to join twitter? Can we still submit an entry? I will “like” this post on fb all night long but I have twitter jitters.

you can still submit. thanks for liking on fb.

gud to know..
thks

Great contest idea David. I’m looking forward to seeing all the other entries. I hope that you’ll publish a bunch of them. Since it is a little bit of an open style, it will be very interesting to see how it is interpreted by a wide range of writers.

All the best,

Vago

Just entered!

I’d love to see the range of submissions too. I imagine you might receive many fantastic stories.

Deadlines that are listed as EST when the rest of the nation is on DLST is a tad – only a tad – annoying. Is it asking too much of editors to be accurate in laying out ground rules, and to use the current time setting (EDT)? At the moment we are on Daylight Saving (not SAVINGS, by the way!) Time, and listing Standard time is a tad confusing.

Perhaps it’s just a habit to list “standard” time, but it gives a negative impression to the reader.

RSH

VERY INSPIRATIONAL