Young writers in Yolo County are getting encouragement to put pen to paper and make magic—a cash prize and the chance of a lifetime.
The Magical Realism Short Story Contest is a free contest, open to all Yolo County high school students, boasts a $100 prize and the chance to meet and have your work read along with the work of young, published author Zuni Chopra.
Stories must contain magic in the real world, not fantasy, and must be no longer than 2,000 words.
“Writing prompts can inspire writers of all ages to sit down and craft a story, and contests like this one can inspire young writers to continue writing and submitting their work throughout their life,” Emily Hammond of Yolo County Libraries told The Dirt. “This contest is an excellent opportunity for emerging writers because the winning story will be featured at a live event as the “opener” for an established author, who will personally select the story from the finalists. While writing a story you’re proud of and enjoying the process is the biggest prize of all, this could be the first step in your writing career!”
In addition to the cash prize, the winner’s story will be read alongside an excerpt from teenage author Zuni Chopra’s novel The House that Spoke at the Veterans Memorial Theatre in Davis this Spring.
Zuni Chopra is a 22-year-old Indian author with four published works. She released her first collection of poetry at the age of 9 and her debut novel, The House That Spoke, at 15. She is most interested in magical realism and blurring the lines between our reality and our imagination. Her favorite authors include Neil Gaiman, Madeline Miller, T.S. Eliot, and Lewis Carroll.
She is currently an undergraduate at Stanford University, pursuing a BA in English with a concentration in Creative Writing. If you attend this free public event, you will get to listen to a professional actor read from Chopra’s novel and then hear Chopra talk about her work, her process, and more during the Q&A, where questions from the audience are welcome.
Find out more about Chopra and her work on her website: https://www.zunichopra.in/. For more information about how to register for the event, check the Yolo County Library’s website (https://yolocountylibrary.org) or Facebook (www.facebook.com/yolocountylibrary.org) and Instagram (@yolocountylibrary) feeds.
Deadline for submission: Jan. 20, 2024 at 11p.
Hosted by: Yolo County Library, Yolo County Library Foundation, and Stories on Stage Davis.
Head to tinyurl.com/yolowritingcompetition for more information.
