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Do you love reading BookTrib? Would you love writing for BookTrib even more? Here’s your chance! We are launching our first official writing contest where emerging writers and those who thought about writing will have the opportunity to compete for a position as a BookTrib Contributor for 2018!

The contest will open on December 1, 2017 and entries can be submitted on our website through the end of January. The Top Five entries will be published on our website, and the authors will be interviewed individually for a live-video chat with member of our staff about their entries and writing experience. The Grand Prize is a 12-month stint as a Booktrib Contributor.  There will be TWO Grand Prize winners.  The winning entry will be published on our website in addition to three original pieces a week. These pieces can be reviews, interviews of list of suggested reds, just like you see published on BookTrib, daily.  This is a unique opportunity to build your writing portfolio, earn bylines, and help us spread our knowledge and love for books. What a great time to begin that writing project you’ve always dreamed of and have it read by published writers and authors of books!

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The BookTrib Writing Contest was inspired by author Kathleen Hill’s memoir She Read to Us in the Late Afternoons: A Life in Novels, which chronicles major life events in the context of books Hill was reading at specific points in her life and lessons she learned from both of those books and life experiences. An exclusive interview with Hill for BookTrib will be published this Friday, December 1, the first day entries will be accepted for the contest. Hill, BookTrib’s Senior Editor, Aisha K. Staggers and two guest judges, Walt Gragg and James R. Hannibal will decide on the five finalists and pick the Grand Prize Winner from among these.  The final day for entries is January 31, 2018. The winner and runners-up will be announced in February 2018.

We are looking, specifically, for narratives in the style of Hill’s book that connect memories life incidents to a specific book that invokes said memory each time one reads it or hears the title.  For example, if reading Lord of the Flies brings to mind a middle school crush who lived for that book while your English class was reading it— write about that.  This is your chance to connect your past and present to the books that make our lives special.

We’re looking for clear, eloquent writing.  Writing style is up to the author, but it should be written as memoir only.  Your voice is your own and we hope you will show that in your work. Your contribution could be a chapter from a larger manuscript, a short story, or just a stand alone piece. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination, but all work must be original not published or under consideration elsewhere. Winners and contestants will retain all rights to their work.

To fully understand the kinds of pieces we are seeking, check out Kathleen Hill’s book.  Also, read these tips on memoir writing by The Write Practice.

For more information, contest rules, guidelines, and entry requirements, please check out the contest page on December 1, 2017 and join an hour-long dialogue on Facebook with our Senior Editor, Aisha K. Staggers on December 7, 2017.  She will be offering suggestions that will help you become more competitive and improve your chances of writing a winning entry. For specific questions and inquires, email: [email protected]. Rules and regulations apply, contest is open to all U.S. residents 18 and over. Contributors are not offered payment or salary, but are given access to all the tools regular BookTrib contributors are given, including the benefit of our social media reach to assist in establishing their writing career.

 

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Genre: Memoir, Potpourri
Aisha K. Staggers

Aisha K. Staggers has been writing since middle school. She had her first major publication in her local newspaper's entertainment section while a sophomore in high school, a publication in another state paper followed. Aisha has been contributing to various paper, magazines and textbooks for over 15 years. In addition to her time as an instructor of social sciences in higher education, Aisha has served as a director of education and policy research centers, and on the staff of legislative commissions. Aisha previously served on the Executive Board of the CT Young Democrats Women's Caucus and has remained active in politics and public policy. She is an alumni of Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, CT and Fisk University in Nashville, TN where she earned Bachelor's and Master's Degrees, respectively, and completed the South Carolina Education Policy Fellowship Program in 2008. Currently, Aisha is Senior Editor for BookTrib, a division of the literary public relations firm, Meryl Moss Media. In addition to her own work, Aisha will be writing the liner notes for an upcoming Prince tribute album and contributing a chapter to a 2018 scholarly work on Prince and the Minneapolis Sound.

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