A Contest for Memoir Writers

If you write memoir or like to write personal stories, here’s a competition for you.

Story Circle Network hosts the (10th annual) Susan Wittig Albert LifeWriting Competition.

This year's topic focuses on overcoming obstacles

In each life there are obstacles to be overcome. Sometimes we get caught up in the overwhelming fear that we just can't do it. Sometimes we may feel as though we are not equipped to handle what sits before us. But, once the obstacle has been tackled, we can look back and see that we did face that obstacle, we chose our path and we were able to overcome -- sometimes much to our own surprise.

Write about a time when you were faced with what you just knew was too much for you to overcome - a time when you felt totally ill-equipped to handle what life had thrown your way. Write about the ways in which you approached the situation, the fears you had to deal with, the twists and turns that you had to make to come to a resolution of the situation. Write about how and when you first realized that you did, indeed, have what was necessary to overcome your particular hurdle. Write about how doing so changed your life. Be sure to include what you learned about yourself along the way.

You must be a dues-paying member of Story Circle Network to enter. But you can join online, if you’re not.

There is a $20 entry fee.

To be eligible, your entry must be unpublished (we define a "published" piece as one that has been reviewed and accepted by an editor).

Awards: One prize of $75, one prize of $50, and two prizes of $25 each. Winning stories will be published in a special section of the September Story Circle Journal and will be featured on the SCN's award-winning website. Upon the judges' recommendation, other entries may be published in later issues of the Journal and in other SCN print or on-line publications.

Deadline is July 1, 2009