CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FINAL WINNERS ANNOUNCEMENT!
We still love Truth and we are still damned serious.
That’s why, we are launching our second annual
“#MeToo Trigger Warning Non-Fiction Essay Contest!”
What’s more, our judge is the formidable Tracy Strauss!
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Named by Bustle as one of eight women writers with advice to follow, Tracy Strauss is former essays editor of The Rumpus and winner of the Barbara Deming Memorial Fund Award for nonfiction. Her debut #MeToo-themed self-help/relationships cum memoir, I Just Haven’t Met You Yet: Finding Self-Empowerment in Dating, Love, and Life, will be released by Skyhorse Publications in May 2019. I Just Haven’t Met You Yet portrays Tracy Strauss’s dating history and her journey to dismantle the effects and stigmas of an abusive past, break free of destructive relationship patterns, and ultimately conquer her fear of truly being seen by the world, flaws and all. A contributor to Glamour’s sex and relationships column, Tracy has appeared on television as a relationship blogger for the Huffington Post. She has published #MeToo-related nonfiction in Salon, Ms. Magazine, the Huffington Post, and other publications. She currently teaches writing at the New England Conservatory, as well as Grub Street in Boston, and has taught memoir and essay writing workshops with Writers Digest University. In 2018, she was a guest writer/speaker on the topic of “#MeToo: The Challenges and Triumphs of Writing and Publishing the Unspeakable,” at Goucher College’s Center for Geographies of Justice, Women, Gender and Sexualities Program. Her article, “#MeToo: Crafting Our Most Difficult True Stories,” was featured in the September/October 2018 issue of Poets & Writers Magazine. Learn more about Tracy at her website: http://www.tracystrauss.com, and connect with her on social media: Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads.
I Just Haven’t Met You Yet can be pre-ordered here, as well as via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound, and wherever books are sold.
[su_divider]ABOUT THE CONTEST
Now and forever, the theme for the #MeToo Trigger Warning Nonfiction Essay Contest is Sexual Violence and Domestic Abuse. As in, have you or someone you know survived sexual harassment, assault, rape or abuse? Perhaps you are married or related to a survivor and you’ve witnessed the emotional journey that is so rarely spoken of. If so how did it change you? How does it affect your daily life? Where has the effects of violence led you in your life? We want to know. You were strong enough to get through that, and your story matters. Why? Because Memoir is a movement. Our jam. Our way of cultivating global consciousness. And few issues today require more enlightenment than the way sexual trauma can affect us as a person, a family, a society. Sexual violence is a public health, human rights and social justice issue. So, here’s your chance to use your voice to Change the Culture. You are not alone. Memoir Magazine stands with you! Together we can shatter the silence and end sexual violence. Your essay may be humorous, sad, upsetting. It can be one paragraph long, or several pages. It’s all up to you, but most of all it should be your untold truth expressed in your unique voice.
The First Place story receives $500 + publication in Memoir Magazine, and a note from our judge on why the story was chosen. Second Place wins $200 and Third place wins $100.
Pseudonyms are totally allowed. No judgement.
We look forward to reading your work!
GUIDELINES:
- Submissions are now open until midnight on April 30, 2019
- Open to all writers. Men, Emerging writers, and ALL underrepresented voices are encouraged to submit!
- 3000 word max.
- $20 to enter.
- NonFiction only.
- Multiple and simultaneous submissions are allowed, but please notify us if your story is accepted elsewhere.
- Previously published work is allowed.
- International submissions welcome.
- All contest entries shall be considered for standard nonfiction publication in Memoir Magazine.
“Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light.”
-Helen Keller
[su_box title=”JANUARY IS HUMAN TRAFFICKING AWARENESS MONTH” box_color=”#f622e2″]*We dedicate our 2019 contest to Rachel Lloyd, founder of Girls Educational & Mentoring Services (GEMS), the first and only organization in New York for empowering commercially sexually exploited and domestically trafficked girls and young women aged 11-24; According to Rachel’s harrowing memoir “Girls Like Us” 70-95% of them were sexually abused as children, making them easy targets for exploitation. Herself a survivor, Rachel is an exceptional human being working to turn survivors into leaders. Through cultural change, advocacy, training, and survivor leadership, GEMS is committed to shifting public perception and policy.GEMS’ unique Victim, Survivor, Leader™ program model is the gold standard for organizations serving trafficking victims and survivors across the country. They co-wrote—and helped pass—the NYS Safe Harbor for Exploited Youth Act: the first bill in the nation to stop the criminalization of commercially sexually exploited children.To directly support GEMS or take part in their Survivor Leadership Training go to: https://www.gems-girls.org/[/su_box]
* The inspiration for our contest, in 2006, Tarana Burke founded The #MeToo Movement to help survivors of sexual violence, particularly young women of color from low wealth communities, find pathways to healing. Using the idea of “empowerment through empathy,” the Me Too movement was ultimately created to ensure survivors know they’re not alone in their journey. Find out how you can directly support The Me Too Movement here: https://metoomvmt.org/