For our inaugural issue, the sine qua non is sponsoring two creative writing competitions with cash awards:
The winner in each category—(1) creative prose; (2) poetry—receives $500.
The two runners up in each category will receive $250 each.
If your work does not win a prize, it is still eligible for publication. If your work is selected for publication (non-prize winners), you will receive an honorarium of $50.
Winners and runners up will be recognized and published in the sine qua non.
The competition is open to all the sine qua non subscribers (subscription fee is $10).
The submission window will be open from October 15, 2024 to December 15, 2024. Due to resource constraints, we can only accept a limited number of submissions, and will close the candidate pool once that limit is reached so SUBMIT EARLY! However, if your submission is not received before the cutoff limit, it will be rolled over for consideration in our next competition—details to come.
PROMPT:
We are interested in prose and poetry that addresses any topic in a way that exhibits your unique perspective. We want to read about characters and places humming with life and situations that challenge our conceptions of the world or deepen our investment in it. We want to read pieces whose forms guide and enliven their content or upend our understandings of what forms can do. How you write affects what you write and vice versa. Surprise, unsettle, and amaze us. If you aren’t sure what to write about, remember that this is an inaugural issue, so consider some of the following suggestions: beginnings, newness, fresh starts.
Submissions summary:
creative prose
original and unpublished work
15 pages or less
double-spaced
standard 1" margins on all sides
short stories, flash fiction, creative non-fiction
one entry per person (you may enter a poetry submission as well)
multi-lingual submissions are welcome, but all submissions should be targeted to English-language readers
poetry
original and unpublished work
5 poems per submission maximum
ten pages maximum
each poem MUST begin on a new page
one entry per person (you may enter a flash submission as well)
multi-lingual submissions are welcome, but all submissions should be targeted to English-language readers
DO NOT submit the same piece to both categories. You are the author. Your intent determines which category best fits your text.
The Sine Qua Non