Community Solidarity
The Center for Fiction National Teen Storyteller Contest

About The Contest

The Decameron Project is once again partnering with The Center for Fiction for a National Teen Storyteller Contest. Young writers, ages 13-18, are encouraged to submit their best work on the theme of Community Solidarity for a chance to win publication to the CFF’s Short Story Dispenser, online publication on both our website and the CFF’s website, and more. 

One of the most prominent themes of Toni Morrison’s masterpiece, Beloved, is community. The evils of slavery destroyed families and isolated people from their communities. The characters in Beloved form their own communities for support and the theme is explored beautifully throughout. We invite young writers to explore the theme of Community Solidarity in original short fiction. The theme can be broadly interpreted or in direct response to the novel Beloved. The stories should be between 300-1000 words. Submit your story through the CFF Short Edition portal by clicking here (you will need to create a Short Edition account) between June 1st, 2022 and June 25th, 2022. Winners will be announced in July!

The three winning stories will be uploaded and available through our Short Story Dispenser, located in our bookstore, in addition to being published on The Center for Fiction and Decameron Project websites. Winners will also receive a bookstore gift card and Center for Fiction Tote Bag.

  • The first-place winner will receive $100 bookstore gift certificate, and a CFF tote bag.
  • The second-place winner will receive $75 bookstore gift certificate and a CFF tote bag.
  • The third-place winner will receive a $50 bookstore gift certificate and a CFF tote bag.
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Final decisions regarding winners and finalists will be made by The Center for Fiction staff. The Center for Fiction reserves the right in its sole discretion to disqualify any entries that do not follow the contest rules or contain lewd, obscene, defamatory, or hateful content.

 

Rules and Eligibility

  • Submissions accepted until July 29th
  • Submissions may be poetry or prose
  • Participants must be between the ages of 13 and 18 at the time of submission
  • Submissions can be anywhere from 300-1000 words
  • At this time we can only consider stories written in English