Congratulations to the 2024 SCN Blog Contest Winners!

1^st place: Sharon Charde, Moving On

2^nd place: Janice Airhart, Eating Crow

3^rd place: Terry Repak, Starting a New Year With Beginner's Mind

 

Click each title above to read the entry.

Thanks to all who entered this year's competition and to the judges who read every entry with thoughtful attention.

 

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2024 Topic: SOMETHING NEW

This contest is now closed. 

Whether you’re a seasoned blogger or new to the craft, this is an opportunity to showcase your blog. We’re looking for posts written to a topic while remaining consistent with the style and format of your blog.

Open only to members of Story Circle Network. To join us, go here. 

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“Letting there be room for not knowing is the most important thing of all. When there's a big disappointment, we don't know if that's the end of the story. It may just be the beginning of a great adventure. Life is like that. We don't know anything. We call something bad; we call it good. But really we just don't know.”
~ Pema Chödrön, When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times

 

“If we stay where we are, where we're stuck, where we're comfortable and safe, we die there. We become like mushrooms, living in the dark, with poop up to our chins. If you want to know only what you already know, you're dying. You're saying: Leave me alone; I don't mind this little rathole. It's warm and dry. Really, it's fine.

When nothing new can get in, that's death. When oxygen can't find a way in, you die. But new is scary, and new can be disappointing, and confusing - we had this all figured out, and now we don't.

New is life.”
~ Anne Lamott, Help Thanks Wow: The Three Essential Prayers

 

"What a seductive belief—that one can start fresh simply by jettisoning one’s history, that one can leave all that is painful or unsavory behind."
~ Susan Rebecca White

 

"Never underestimate the power you have to take your life in a new direction."
~ Germany Kent

 

 

The post should be fresh and original, rich in detail, polished and carefully proofread, relevant to women’s lives, and responsive to the topic. Your blog should have a clear overall theme, be attractive, engaging, and consistently updated. Posts published on your blog between March 1, 2023 and February 24, 2024 are eligible to enter.

A quote relevant to the topic (one shown above or one of your choosing) must be included in the post as an epigraph and the post must grow out of the quote.

Prizes of $100, $75, and $50 will be awarded to the top three entries. The first-place post will be published in the Story Circle Journal and all winning blogs will be featured on SCN’s website.

Open for submissions from January 1 to February 24, 2024.

The competition is open only to members. Time to renew? Go to https://staging.storycircle.org/registration/.

Awards

One prize of $100, one prize of $75, and one prize of $50. The first-place post will be published in the Story Circle Journal and links to all winning blogs will be featured on SCN's website. Upon the judges' recommendation, other entries may be published in later issues of the Journal and in other SCN print or online publications. An award may be withheld if, in the opinion of the judges, no entry achieves the expected standard. The judges' decision is final.

Rules

• You must be a dues-paying member of Story Circle Network to enter. (To join, use our online membership form.)
• The $25 entry fee can be paid online or by check.
• One entry per member.
• To be eligible, your entry must be unpublished (other than on your blog, of course). We define a "published" piece as one that has been reviewed and accepted by an editor, either for a print or an online publication. 
• A quote relevant to the topic (one shown above or another of your choosing) must be included in the post as an epigraph and the post must grow out of the quote.
• Each entry must be titled, and no longer than 750 words. 
• Story Circle Network does not provide a platform for targeted political or religious argument, and such entries are not eligible.
• Story Circle Network does not accept work created (in whole or in part) using Artificial Intelligence (AI) generated text. Submissions found to be crafted using computer-generated text of any kind will be disqualified.
• Winners' posts must be available for publication in the Journal. 
• You must submit your entry to us electronically by using our online form [see below] and include a link to your blog.
• By submitting your blog post, you are giving Story Circle the right to publish it in the Journal, in its other print publications, and on its website. However, authors retain copyright.
• Prize winners in our writing competitions are ineligible to enter the same competition in the year following a win. You are, however, invited to serve as a jury member that year.

Criteria and Judging

The post you submit should be fresh and original, rich in detail, polished and carefully proofread, relevant to women’s lives, and responsive to the topic. Your blog should have a clear overall theme, be attractive, engaging, and consistently updated. See the 2023 winning posts below for examples.

2023 1st place: Lorinda Boyer for Starting Again
2023 2nd place: Julie McGue for Connections Matter
2023 3rd place: Gretchen Staebler for Connection to Home at Life’s End

Notification

Winners will be notified when the judging is concluded.

How to Enter

Contest entries should be made via the form below. (Available only while contest is open, only when logged in. To join, go here.)