100 words about 5 minutes of your life, on the theme of AWAY. Interpret any way you\u2019d like. Submit up to five entries.<\/p>\n
Send us your 100-word piece about five minutes in your life and we\u2019ll consider it for publication. Guidelines:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Piece should be 100 words, formatted as one paragraph. Not 99. Not 101. Title, which is not part of 100 words, should be 15 characters maximum, including spaces.<\/p>\n
\u2022 There should be one identifiable moment (approx. five minutes) that\u2019s the crux of the piece.<\/p>\n
\u2022 We don\u2019t publish:
\n\u2014retellings of dreams
\n\u2014retellings of things you imagined
\n\u2014retellings of things you saw without any reference to you\/your response (we want you in the piece!)
\n\u2014erotic memoir
\n\u2014pieces containing graphic violence
\n\u2014pieces from the perspective of abusers
\n\u2014poetry or fiction, though we are interested in poetic prose and memoir masquerading as fiction
\n\u2014pieces which overtly promote a theological or political ideology
\n\u2014pieces in which you tell us someone else\u2019s memory as told to you
\n\u2014pieces that contain hate speech
\n\u2014slurs.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Each piece should be formatted without line breaks;
\none block of text, not multiple, short paragraphs.<\/p>\n
\u2022 -We are receiving many (beautiful) submissions about the last time a writer saw a beloved person, about putting a pet to sleep, and about the quiet moments in the morning before the day starts. Due to the high number of submissions on these themes, these pieces are less likely to receive acceptances. We challenge you to take risks with your voice, your structure, your chronology \u2026 anything that might set your piece apart.<\/p>\n
A panel of contest readers will read\/score pieces. The top ten pieces will be sent to Contest Judge Karen Zey\u00a0<\/a>who will choose the winner as well as two runners-up. All top ten pieces will run in\u00a0Five Minutes<\/em>.<\/p>\n The winner will receive 2\/5 the contest entry fees, or $2 per entry. If 2 people enter, the fees will add up to $10 and the winner will receive $4. If 100 people enter, that amount will be $500 and the winner will receive $200. [Boring explainer: Submittable keeps $.99 per $5 entry. Five Minutes keeps $2.01 per entry. Winner wins $2 per entry.]<\/p>\n