“WALLS ARE MATERIAL, AND THEY ARE SYMBOLS. THEY CAST SHADOWS AND CREATE SHADOW WORLDS. IN OUR LIVES, IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS, IN OUR POLITICS, WE KNOW WHAT DIVISIONS DO. EVERY DIVISION—METAPHORICAL OR REAL—IS A STORY.” – BETH KEPHART

Some calls for submission come from publications that have chosen a particular theme to focus on and illuminate. The Walls Between Us is a themed memoir contest sponsored by Juncture, a publication-and-workshop program. I learned of it thanks to my intrepid friend and fellow book enthusiast, Deirdre. Here is the call for submissions:

“We live in a world of infinite gradations and restless infiltrations. We live in a world of checkpoints, watchtowers, walls. We are free to go, or we are not. We are here, but never entirely there. We are fenced in or fenced out. We are on the move or we are hunkered down—stuck—behind a fortress of distance-making words: “Aliens.” “Illegals.”

“We are global. We are divided. Walls are material, and they are symbols. They cast shadows and create shadow worlds. In our lives, in our neighborhoods, in our politics, we know what divisions do. Every division—metaphorical or real—is a story. We invite you to tell a true wall story.”

Submission guidelines:

Seeking: True, previously unpublished memoiristic stories of between 300 and 3,000 words that speak to or illuminate the place of walls in our personal lives or world. Entries must be double-spaced and formatted with 12 pt. type and one-inch margins (no PDFs).

Submission deadline: September 17, 2018 (due by midnight); winning pieces selected by November 30th.

Prizes: $250 (1st), $75 (two semi-finalists), and twelve honorable mentions. All selected manuscripts will be published in an illustrated softbound book. All selected authors will receive two copies and additional copies will be made available for sale through online retailers. The Walls Between Us will be published in January 2019.

Entry fees and guidelines: $12 per submission, multiple submissions allowed; each submission requires a separate fee. International entries are accepted, but work must be in English. This is a blind contest. Simultaneous submissions are invited, but please notify Juncture if the story is accepted elsewhere. Winners will be notified through Submittable. Winning authors grant Juncture one-time print anthology rights. Copyright of the story will be maintained by the author, who can then publish the story elsewhere.

For more information, visit: http://junctureworkshops.com/contest/

If this theme strikes a chord with you, why not polish a piece until it sparkles? Write on!