The Motherhood Short Story Competition 2014

About the Competition

The Motherhood Short Story Competition has been founded by Egyptian writer Mahmoud Mansi, the founder of The Forgotten Writers Project, and in cooperation with the Being Feminist. Therefore, we – (Being Feminist & The Forgotten Writers Foundation) are honored to launch this global project together. The chief purpose behind this competition is to bring feminism and humanism as lively movements to be part of the social everyday life in a form of art.
We want the “audience” to start interfering along with the “activists” in a “common project” that would reach a wider range of people or reach new categories that are indifferent towards demonstrations.
It is very important to start approaching the world through different methods, especially through art, as art is a source of affection, inspiration, creation, and documentation.

Introduction to Motherhood

Motherhood is a very enigmatic and cavernous notion that has been overlooked by different races. It has become part of a routine, just one of those universal life-cycles that we learnt to live with, without questioning. In this short story competition, we long to explore this inscrutable “Motherhood” and the connection we may feel with it. We want to tackle the mystery that exists in our everyday life and have a closer look at it through literature.

Guidelines

Write a story ranging from 1000 to 3000 words, first narrative, about your relationship with “Motherhood”. You are the protagonist of your story! We want to know what you associate with the concept – your thoughts, your philosophies, your conflicts, your experiences, your trauma, your liberation. We want to know about the relationships and moments that have defined your ideas of “Motherhood”. This can be your relationship with your “mother”, a parent of any gender, a manager, an elder sister, a friend, Mother Nature, with the universe, with God… etc. You could talk about the joys you draw from “motherhood”, the struggles for coping with the pressures associated with “motherhood”, about being denied “motherhood” because of your gender identity or your sexual orientation, about choosing to never experience “motherhood” or about fighting all odds to be a “mother”. The stories can be fiction or non-fiction, and with any number of characters, however the story should mainly revolve around the protagonist and her/his/hir perception and relationship with Motherhood as a person or entity and as a totem.
Story submissions must be in English and we – not only accept – but strongly encourage translated original stories as well. This is a global issue and a global event, and we do urge writers from every part of the world to be part of this, so even if you do not write in English, feel free to write with your original language and find a translator who believes in the message of the completion, then kindly submit to us the story with your name and the name of the translator.
Stories must be original and especially written for this event, as the timing is very important to have a detailed overview on the current Motherhood concept, and then share it with you in one book when published.
There is no age limitation for writers, it is simply open for anyone and everyone, and the writer is free to express through any genre and style of writing, nevertheless we do aspire for creative, new, pure and deep ideas.

Other Guidelines
• It is possible to use illustrations as figures, pictures and drawings if you are a painter.
• It is possible to include your own poetry within your story.
• It is NOT possible to use quotes from other writers.
• You are free to choose any genre of horror, fantasy, politics, romance, or any other one.
• Numbers must be written in (words) except if it was a date-year / ex: 1996 – Seven years old.
• Please do not use (&) instead of (And).
• You may submit up to 3 stories.

Judging
• The winning stories will be chosen on the degree of creativity and the novelty of the idea. Strange and unusual ideas are strongly recommended.
• The depth of the text, characters, places, scene etc.
• The metaphors and similes used.
• The beauty of the writing style and dialogues if there are any.
• The ending of the story and how powerful it is.

Awards
The winners will receive their Award Certificates along with the Publication of their work in one Book.
In the near future we will be working on translating the book into many languages including the home countries of our winners of course.
We do not offer monetary prizes because in a monetary world we seek those who still have a noble cause to struggle for with the intention of making the chance and feeling the honor. That’s why we do not want the mercenary side of our writers. Although money is essential to all of us for survival, but what we as human beings need now and in this era is far more cavernous.
After the deadline is over and we start working on the judging process, we will have more details about the date and exact whereabouts of the Award Ceremony which is going to be held in India.

Submission Guidelines
• All stories are sent via email.
• Word Document: Font must be Times New Roman, 12, Margins Justified and Pages Numbered.
• The Title of the story must be centered in the middle of the page, bold, and size 12.
• Do not mention your name inside the word document due to judging purposes.
• Save the word file with your: Name, Title and Country.
• Please include in the email message these details; Your (Home Country, Resident Country, Address, Mobile Number, Profession).
• Kindly email your stories to: Motherhood_story_competition@hotmail.com , write in the title: Submission – Your Name – Your Country – Your Story Title.
• For questions email: Motherhood_story_competition@hotmail.com , write in the title: Questions – Your Name – Your Country.
• For journalism & media collaboration please use the same email and write in the title: Media – Name of your Newspaper/Organization – Your Country.

Submission Period
We honorably accept submissions starting from The New Year, 1st of January 2014, until 1st of September 2014.

Conclusion
This is not only a literary competition, or a workshop to challenge yourself and others, but it is more like a spiritual connection between individuals from different parts of the world. This is a beginning for long term relationship to serve the Nature we live within, and try inspiring others to fathom the universe around and within us.

For results of the 2012-2013 Feminist Competition: Women’s Domination, click here.
The Book of the Winning Stories of our First Competition: Resurrection of Ancient Egypt

About the Organizers:

Being Feminist:

Being Feminist was started as a page on Facebook in April, 2012. Within just a year the page has managed to garner the support of more than 36,000 members. Currently, Being Feminist also has a blog on WordPress which gives an opportunity to various writers to engage with their feminism(s) in a more sustained manner. Being Feminist believes in acknowledging and validating subjective opinions and multiple identities and works with an intersectional approach.
Links:
Facebook
Feminist India: A page focusing on India under Being Feminist
Twitter

The Forgotten Writers Foundation:

Founded after the Egyptian revolution by Mahmoud Mansi to blend international social causes with art. It does so by releasing international story competitions on topics that were not discussed before by literature, especially the contemporary one. The work is published along with an analysis that is made on the stories submitted from each country.
Click here to connect on Facebook.