Stories Out of School Contest 2021 ($1000 Cash Prize and more)

The Academy for Teachers is currently accepting flash fiction submissions for its Stories Out of School Contest. They want “honest, unsentimental stories about teachers and the rich and complex world of schools.”

Summary

Target Group: Anyone above 18 (age)
Deadline: September 1, 2020
Mode of Application: Online
Prize: $1000 + Publication
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About the Contest:

Because “teachers seldom appear in fiction”, the Stories Out of School Contest was created by the Academy for Teachers to honour rich and complex stories about teachers and schools.

The judge for the contest this year is Jonathan Lethem, who is the author of eleven novels, including The Fortress of Solitude, Chronic City, The Feral Detective, and Motherless Brooklyn, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award and last year became a major motion picture starring Ed Norton.

Previous judges include Susan Choi, who judged the contest in 2020 and selected Jennifer Kaplan’s “Field Trip” as the winner; Cheryl Strayed, who judged in 2019 and selected Santian Vataj’s “A Brief Description of Mister Kuka” as the winner; and Karen Russell, who judged the prize in 2018 and selected Walker Rutter-Bowman’s “Craft” as the winner.

Eligibility

• You don’t need to be a teacher to submit.
• Anyone who is above the age of eighteen can submit.
• There is no submission fee.

How to Submit

• Submit a short story of between 6 and 749 words.
• The story’s protagonist or narrator must be a K-12 teacher.
• The story must be previously unpublished.
• Formatting: 12 pt, Arial font, double-spaced.
• The document must be a PDF file.
• Your submission should not include any personal information.
• Each writer can only submit one story, and once.
• Submissions should not be sentimental and education jargon should be avoided.
• The deadline for submissions is September 1, 2020.
• The winners will be announced in January 2021.

Prize:

• The winner will receive $1000 and the winning story will be published in A Public Space.
• The runners-up will receive a subscription to A Public Space.

Click here to submit your entry.