Sunday, July 3, 2016

Writing Competition: 2016 Proximity Personal Essay Prize

We are excited to announce the launch of the 2016 Proximity Personal Essay Prize (Judge: Paul Lisicky) and the 2016 Proximity Narrative Journalism Prize (Judge: Bronwen Dickey). Winners and runners-up will be published in our prize issue, themed INSIDE / OUT.

Guidelines & More at our website.

* ** PLEASE NOTE: Although we do not accept previously published work, we do make exceptions for BOOK EXCERPTS from books slated for publication or published no more than three years ago.

Prize Issue Theme: INSIDE | OUT
Issue Editor: Maggie Messitt


Deadline: August 1, 2016

Who is inside and who is outside? This is a question that can resonate for writers on every level: the literary, the social, the political. A respected poetry anthology grapples with an insider who controversially poses as an outsider. An American presidential election is awash in words like ‘walls,’ ‘them’, ‘us.’ Hundreds of thousands of people are trying to reach new countries by boat, by foot, by whatever means, unwanted and unsafe in both their homes and their destinations.

We’re interested in true stories that push our understanding of what it means to be INSIDE and what it means to be OUTside. Where do you feel IN and where do you feel OUT, and what does this even mean? Show us where you’re lost, you’re unknown, you’re on the outside looking in–or deep-dive into spaces in which you’re deeply known but can see the barriers that creates for others. We’re not looking for perfect pictures; we’re looking for authentic and complex portraits of personal experiences being INSIDE | OUT in America and beyond. Take us inside issues, cultures, and sub-culture; push and play with form; find unique ways into unique subjects.

And don’t forget: Proximity seeks a strong sense of place, so keep that in mind as you send us your essays, images, reportage, and multimedia around the theme INSIDE | OUT.

Maggie Messitt, Editor

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