Deadline
Thursday, December 31, 2015
Categories
Entry Fees
There are no entry fees for this contest.
Prizes
Winners will receive a variety of prizes, including a small cash award (first place), books, DVDs and more.
Description
Tortoise and Finch Productions, LLC is pleased to announce its first nonfiction writing contest, “On Courage,” which will run from 9:00 a.m. (PST) on October 31st, 2015 until 11:59 p.m. on December 31st, 2015. There is no entry fee for this contest.
Each of the films currently in development or in release with Tortoise and Finch are focused, in some way, on courage. We are continually inspired in our work by the strength and bravery of the individuals we are privileged enough to speak with and interview, and this made us want to learn more about how others see and experience courage in their daily lives.
We decided to sponsor a writing contest on the topic of courage during National Domestic Violence Awareness Month because we have been especially moved over the past seven years by the incredible courage of those who have lived with and survived domestic abuse in its myriad forms. This is one small way of acknowledging how their courage has inspired us.
Courage comes in many forms. Sometimes it involves leaving everything you know behind, or letting go of someone or something you love, or of someone who—or something that—is not very good for you. Courage can involve great sacrifice, including the ultimate sacrifice of one’s life. Other times, it involves taking the risk of learning or trying something new, making a new home in a new place or pushing one’s self beyond physical or mental limitations to achieve a personal goal one has set for his or her self.
Courage can also involve the simple act of getting out of bed every day, or of smiling and trying to remain positive despite immense fear, suffering, pain or grief. It takes courage to face the loss of job, the loss of a place to live or the loss of a loved one—a partner, a parent, a sibling, a child. It takes courage to speak up for another person when they are being treated unfairly or unkindly. Courage can exist in saying that you are sorry to someone you have hurt. It can involve asking a loved one or a stranger for help when you know help is what you need. It can take courage to freely be who you are in this world and to treat yourself with love and compassion, even when others don’t.
No matter who we are or where we come from, we all experience fear, doubts and sad, frightening or challenging situations in our lives. How we choose to deal with these experiences matters for ourselves and for others. When dealing with the unknown, unexpected, uncomfortable, and unnerving, courage can be our most important resource. Sometimes it is the only resource we have.
So, we want you to tell us about what courage has looked and felt like for you. We want you to share with us a time in your life when you have had to develop, lean on or rediscover your courage. You can choose to tie your submission to any of the themes of our current projects—domestic violence, postpartum depression, love, serious illness, death and dying or aging as a woman—or not. It’s entirely up to you.
We wish you luck and we thank you for sharing a bit of yourselves with Tortoise and Finch through our first nonfiction writing contest. We look forward to reading your submissions.
Contact Information
For questions, please contact [email protected].
To learn more about the contest, the prizes being offered and the official contest rules, please visit http://www.tortoiseandfinch.com/oncouragecontest/.