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Writer's pictureLiz Busby

Call for Submissions: “Around the World in Mormon Lit” Short Story Contest

Please help us spread the word about a writing contest for Mormon writers from any country and working in any language!

Over the past seven years, the Mormon Lit Blitz contest has helped connect Mormon readers and writers by featuring pieces short enough to read on a bus ride or at the end of a lunch break. During that time, we’ve published short stories set in Brazil, India, Mexico, Germany, and Spain as well as the United States.

Our readers want more. A group of donors have funded a contest to feature short stories with Mormon characters set in different places around the world, with a few stories to be published for each continent. For this contest, we’ll accept stories up to 2,000 words in length written in any language.  There will be a $100 prize for the audience’s favorite story and a second $100 prize to recognize the top story originally written in a language other than English.

The deadline for the contest is December 31, 2018. Authors may submit up to three short stories to the contest. Please email stories to everydaymormonwriter@gmail.com. Authors should include their name, contact information, the title of each story, and the country in which the story is set, in the body of the email.

For this contest to succeed, we need your help to share this call with Mormon writers around the world. Submissions in any language are acceptable: the Call for Submissions is currently available in Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, and German as well as English.

Frequently asked questions:

What language will the finalists be published in? 

The stories chosen as finalists will be published both in their original language and in English. If they wish, writers may submit their own translations of their story, or permit our volunteer judges and translators to evaluate and translate their story.

Do I need to be from the country I write about? 

No. Authors can write about any country but should be familiar through experience and/or study with the country they depict. We encourage writers, whenever possible, to share drafts with someone native to any country they write about.

Can I submit my story if it is longer than 2,000 words? 

No. Stories need to be edited down under 2,000 words to qualify for the contest.

Are there any restrictions on submissions in terms of genre? 

No. Stories can have elements of romance, mystery, science fiction, fantasy, or any other genre. They may take place at any time in the past, present, or future. The only restrictions are that they need to feature a setting in a specific place on earth and depict Mormon experience in some way.

Are there any regions writers should avoid? 

No. Because many Mormon short stories have been set in and around Utah, the finalist slots for North America will likely go to stories set in other North American countries or elsewhere in the United States, but a surprising and engaging story from Utah could still capture judges’ attention. We also expect to favor stories of Mormons who live in a given country, as native residents or immigrants, over stories centered on missionaries, but could be surprised by a missionary story that really allows its setting to shine.




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To learn how you can support this and other Mormon literary contests, visit www.patreon.com/mormonlitlab

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