Writing to Win: July 2025
Anatomy of a Prompt Plus Contests, Fellowships, Residencies, Awards for Opportunities for Playwrights, Writers of Poetry, Non-fiction, Fiction, & Creative NonFiction
Welcome to Writing to Win, Place, or Show.
Students often ask how I approach a prompt so I thought I’d share my creative process.
ANATOMY OF A PROMPT
Let’s use the prompt provided by PlayGround Experiment’s 7th Annual Faces of America Monologue Festival. The submission window opens July 5th and closes August 25th.
https://www.theplaygroundexperiment.com/foa-submissions
Your task, if you choose to accept the challenge, is to include the word “To Be Announced” somewhere in your two-minute monologue. Yes, two-minutes.
Step One. Brainstorm what does “To Be Announced” mean to you. How have you heard it used? How have you used it? Flight arrivals and departures, contest winners, Senate bills, performing art venues, and so on. I’m looking for uses of the prompt that make sense, resonate, and doesn’t feel too far-fetched or inorganic because our goal is to draw the reader in. I’ll call this the constancy or logic test.
Step Two. Once I’ve assembled a list of good working possibilities, the element of surprise takes over as my guide. I’m looking for a use or application of the phrase/word that offers surprise, passes the “surprise” test. Does this use of the prompt lead to a surprising discovery and land somewhere you didn’t expect? We are creative storytellers, “playing” with audience expectations. It’s a delicate balance, resonating and surprising our readers/audience.
Step Three. A lot of thinking is writing. So while I’m deep in thought, I re-read the rules. Over and over. So many opportunities state that if you don’t respect the rules, you’re out. PGE’s rule #2 states your monologue should reflect America’s incredible diversity. As I go over my possibilities of word applications, I also go over who is speaking, and why? Does the choice of speaker add to my element of surprise?
True, many times, we don’t know where we’ll land until we just start flying off the seat of our pants, so Step Four: write. Write freely. Write until your hands and brain hurt. Write until you feel stuck. Don’t worry about the two-minute rule yet.
Step Five. Go over what you’ve read. Share with your writing group, or a writer you trust. What story is emerging and most captivates you? Did your story propel the narrative forward and land somewhere surprising? Rewrite with a sharper focus on that story.
Step Six. Two-minute monologues are 250-300 words depending how fast you talk, but when in doubt, cut. Notice that is rule #1. Anything deemed over two minutes will not be considered. www.wordstotime.com
Here’s hoping what works for me helps you. I’ve been in this festival twice, and three of my students have, too. It’s a lot of fun. Happy writing!
And now, for the ….
OPPORTUNITIES TO WIN, PLACE, OR SHOW
Please note that some opps in previous posts are still open.
Academy for Teachers, Stories Out of School, Flash Fiction Contest, Sept 7
$1000 and publication in A Public Space is given annualy for a work of flash fiction about teachers and school in which the protagonist or narrator is a K-12 teacher. 6-499 words.
https://www.academyforteachers.org/program/stories-out-of-school-flash-fiction-contest-2026
American-Scandinavian Foundation Translation Awards, Sept 15
$2500 and publication of an excerpt in Scandinavian Review is given annually for an English translation of a work of poetry, fiction or creative nonfiction written in a Nordic language.
https://www.amscan.org/fellowships-and-grants/
Cali Catalysts, July 11
Grants up to $7,500 awarded to California Changemakers
https://www.cciarts.org/cgi/page.cgi/cali_grants.htm
CCI Quick Grant, July 15
$600 microgrants to California Artists
https://www.cciarts.org/quick_grant.htm
Faces of America 7th Annual Monologue Festival, July 5-Aug 25
See above.
https://www.theplaygroundexperiment.com/foa-submissions
Granum Foundation, Prize, Aug 1
$5,000 given annually to a poet, fiction writer, or creative nonfiction writer to support a completion of a manuscript in progress. Three finalists awarded at least $500 each. Translation Prize of at least $1,500 also awarded.
https://www.granumfoundation.org/granum-prize
Harvard University, Radcliffe Institute Fellowships, Sept 11
$78,000 fellowships each for poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers. Fellows expected to reside in Cambridge, MA or surrounding Boston area Sept through May.
https://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/radcliffe-fellowship
Maine Arts Commission, Submission window July 23-Sept 3
$5,000 fellowships for ME poets, fiction writers, creative nonfiction writers, or writer working outside these categories who is a resident of ME and has lived in ME for at least one year.
https://mainearts.maine.gov/Pages/Funding/Individual-Artist-Fellowships
Oregon Literary Fellowships, Aug 8
$3,500 fellowships for OR writers of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction. Includes Women Writers Fellowship and one Writers of Color Fellowship. Two Career Fellowships of $10,000 each awarded to writers who demonstrate exceptional talent.
https://literary-arts.org/about/programs/oba/fellowships/
Slice of Time in Quincy, MA, July 14
One-Act Plays. Playwrights of all ages, new or experienced, we invite you to capture something unique in Quincy's 400 year history (from 1625 to today). Have fun, get creative, & blow us away!
https://friendsofrga.org/news/f/call-for-one-act-%E2%80%9Cslice-of-time-in-quincy%E2%80%9D-plays
Spooky 2025, Aug 3
One Act Plays, 3 characters or less, 8-10 pages, Mystic Players Revival, $75 stipend
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeNFuiNNSxAFLfI-31iGVZnlKFIkJ5_taoOrD-wgi1obu27Qg/viewform
Storyknife, Artistic Residency, July 1- Aug 31
Applications for women writers. I have been here, loved it, and highly recommend.
https://storyknife.org/how-to-apply/.
University of Iowa Press, Submission window July 1- Aug 31
Two prizes of publication given annually for debut collections of short fiction.
https://uipress.uiowa.edu/resources/prospective-authors/iowa-short-fiction-award