Group-Sponsored Diversity Contest

Details

Publishers are looking for stories from underrepresented voices. Third Drawer Down invites you to write a story where your characters are diverse. Diversity comes in many forms such as race, culture, gender, sexuality, as well as mental and physical differences. We want your under-represented characters set in a story in the real world.

You as the author need to do your research if you are writing outside your experience. This cannot be a story dashed off in haste. Dig deep, look at your own biases so you can overcome those before you start, and avoid stereotypes. We must get a sense of your authentic, diverse character. Your plot should not be focused on the diversity of your character, which is part of who they are, but about living in their shoes in the midst of the story you tell.

Your story must take place within a 24-hour time frame. What might happen within 24 hours?

Entries need to be cohesive with a beginning, middle, and end. Words count must be between 500-3,000. Your story must be set in the real world but doesn’t have to be present-day, just no fantasy, sci-fi, magical realism, paranormal, horror or explicit sex, or graphic violence. For help, you can reference Vaseem Khan’s Diversity Project.

Prize money for this contest is provided by the Scribophile Writing Contest Prize Fund.

Winning entries

Winners have been announced! Log in to see them.

Prizes

Rules

• The main character must be an underrepresented voice and the story must take place in one day.

• Entries must be between 500-3,000 words per Scribophile’s count. Not under or over!

• Stories must be flash, or short story and must be complete. No poems or chapters.

• Your story should be real world, not fantasy, sci-fi, magical realism, or paranormal, horror based, overly violent or sexually explicit.

• Work submitted must not have been previously won or placed in any other contest.

• Work cannot be submitted to any other current Scrib contest.

• No previously published stories.

• Only one entry per member.

• Entries must have public visibility on Scribophile until winners are announced.

• You may post your work, receive critiques and edit until the deadline.

Submission guidelines

• Entry is free, but you’ll need 5 karma points to post your work to the contest. You can earn karma points, by writing critiques of work with other members.

• To post your work for this contest, check the box that says "Enter this work into the Group-Sponsored Diversity contest.” Your work will automatically be considered. The check box will be visible until the contest deadline, which is in UTC time.