Call for Submissions: Society for Humanistic Anthropology 2017 Ethnographic Fiction and Creative Nonfiction Competition

The Society for Humanistic Anthropology is pleased to announce that we are opening our annual writing contest for Ethnographic Fiction and Creative Nonfiction. We celebrate the use of creative literary prose genres to explore anthropological concerns, and we encourage you to share your previously unpublished work with us.

As a guideline, ethnographic fiction and creative nonfiction use literary elements to bring stories to life and engage the reader. Whether fiction or nonfiction, these creative prose pieces reflect insights about the real world seen through an anthropological lens or reflecting an anthropological sensibility (related to any field of anthropology).

Submissions should not exceed 20 pages typed double-spaced, and need to work as stand-alone stories. There is a limit of one submission per applicant. Submissions must be previously unpublished and not currently under consideration elsewhere.

We do expect contestants to be affiliated with the field or practice of anthropology and/or ethnography in some manner. There is no entry fee for this competition.

Submission deadline is June 1, 2017.

Please email your entry as two pdf documents to: shafictioncompetition@gmail.com

The entry should consist of two files:

  • Your story (double spaced) with title but without the author’s name (anonymized), PLUS an extra final page with a statement of no more than 400 words that answers the question “how is this piece anthropologically informed and in what ways has your background in the field contributed to it?” This statement will be taken into account as the judges make their award selections.
  • A separate cover page with your full name, title of your submission, mailing address, email address, and institutional affiliation (if applicable).

JUDGES: Julia Offen (Fiction and Creative Nonfiction Editor, Anthropology and Humanism), John Wood (Professor, University of North Carolina Asheville), and Katrina Daly Thompson (Professor, University of Wisconsin Madison)

Winning entries and honorable mentions will be recognized in a ceremony at the annual meeting of the American Anthropological Association in Washington DC 11/29/2017 – 12/03/2017.

Winning submissions will be considered for publication in the Society’s journal, Anthropology and Humanism. All winners will receive a certificate, and the first place winner will receive an award of $100.

This entry was posted in Calls for papers. Bookmark the permalink.