Raving Dove, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, is pleased to announce the first annual Evolve Beyond Violence Nonfiction Essay Award.
Prizes
First Prize: $1,000 U.S., publication at Raving Dove, and publicity
Three Honorable Mentions: Publication at Raving Dove
Submission Period
Entries will be accepted between March 1, 2008, and September 1, 2008.
Entry Fee
Raving Dove members ($15, tax deductible in U.S.) are welcome to participate. Click onto membership for more information. There is no additional fee.
Content Guidelines
Nonfiction essays between 600 to 800 words max will be eligible with sentiments that reflect one or more of the following themes:
Anti-war, anti-violence, human rights, peace. Your essay can either depict the tragedy of violence and war, or the hope that one day we can evolve beyond it.
Please submit entries that are original, written by you, unpublished, and unrecognized in any other competition. Your writing should be thought-provoking and paint a moving portrait of our static human condition. Have you had first-hand experience with violence or war? Have you witnessed the physical or emotional fallout on its participants or loved ones? Do you have thoughts about war from a historical point of view? Do you know of someone who has worked tirelessly to perpetuate non-violence? Do you dream of a better world for the generations who follow us? We will consider a wide range of subjects that touch on the aforementioned themes, but political essays directed at one particular person or entity will not be considered.
Entries will be judged equally on excellence of writing and the ability to effectively communicate one of the aforementioned themes.
Number of Essays Permitted per Writer
One
Who Can Participate
Raving Dove members are eligible to enter. We encourage submissions from published and unpublished writers, students, educators, members of the international community, past contributors to Raving Dove, and all those who feel strongly about a world without violence. Family members, friends, and affiliates of Raving Dove, Moss Editing, The Writing Bridge, and essay judges are not eligible.
Official Competition E-Mail Address:
ravingdove @ gmail.com (do not insert spaces)
Feel free to send your essay either in the body of the e-mail or as a Word attachment. Please do not send regular journal submissions to this address. See our submissions page for Raving Dove's standard guidelines.
To Be Included With Entries
Full name, address, and primary e-mail address, only. Indicate the title of your essay in the subject line of your e-mail. Please do not send bios or credentials with your competition essay. Information of this nature will be requested after winning entry and honorable mentions have been chosen.
Simultaneous Submissions Allowed
You may submit your essay simultaneously to this contest and to other contests and publishers. Please notify us immediately if your essay is published elsewhere, or wins an award in another contest.
Judges
Raving Dove's editor and board of directors will serve as judges. Total number of judges: five.
Announcement of Winners
Winners will be announced at www.ravingdove.org on October 21, 2008. A press release with the grand prize winner's name and essay will be submitted to the winner's local newspaper, TV station, and radio station, subject to approval of winner. (Raving Dove cannot guarantee press coverage.)
Publication of Winning Essay and Honorable Mentions/Publishing Rights
Participants give permission for the winning entry and honorable mentions to be featured on Raving Dove's Web site from October 21, 2008, to February 21, 2009. Raving Dove will acquire one-time, first North American and Internet rights. This means that we will not accept previously published work, including work that appears on Web sites, blogs, online publications and e-zines. Should the winning essay and honorable mentions be used in other venues after the close of the competition, mention of Raving Dove would be greatly appreciated, though not required.
Rename this Award in 2009 in Memory of a Loved One
See Essay Sponsor on our membership page.
Copyright
Author retains copyright to submission.
Questions
If you have any questions about this Award, feel free to send an e-mail to ravingdove @ gmail.com (do not insert spaces). Correspondence is generally answered within 48 hours.
Privacy
We respect your privacy. Raving Dove does not and will never give personal membership or contestant information to third parties.
Raving Dove's Nonprofit Mission Statement
Raving Dove serves as an online literary journal dedicated to sharing thought-provoking writing, photography, and art from around the world that opposes the use of violence as conflict resolution, and embraces the intrinsic themes of peace and human rights. Raving Dove is published online three times each year. It enriches the reader by way of exceptional, meaningful literature and art, and communicates the artistic, humanitarian insights of the contributing writers, photographers, and artists through worldwide visibility on the Internet.
Raving Dove® is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and a registered trademark at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
