WRITERS ON MEDIUM
Cash Prizes Contest To Celebrate Parasol Publications One-Year Birthday
We have a lot to celebrate, with great editors and writers
This month, we’re celebrating Parasol Publications’ one-year birthday with a writing contest and prizes!
A year ago, I made the decision to open The Narrative Arc
The learning curve was tremendous. While some publishers on Medium are tech wizards, that is a moniker that doesn’t apply to me.
In the space of a week, I hadn’t mastered Canva (a graphics site you really need to learn about if you’re a publisher), but I’d figured it out. Now I had a way to create graphics for my pubs. The first efforts weren’t great, but by golly, it was a start!
The Narrative Arc was born.
In the last year, we have received and published stories from some of the most amazing and creative writers on Medium. The Narrative Arc is the home for memoir and personal essays. We love edgy writing — vulnerable, honest, authentic writing that goes deep.
Shortly after opening The Narrative Arc, I launched The Wind Phone, a pub for grief and loss. I’ve noticed over the years that most writers — especially newer writers — have an origin story of sorts they need to write and publish first. A story of huge loss or an obstacle that pushed that writer to create, in words, their life.
The Wind Phone concept derives from a Japanese gentleman who created a phone booth in a meadow, so he could talk to his deceased cousin. Since the creation of that first phone booth, the notion of the wind phone has become ubiquitous. So, we launched our own space to write about grief and loss.
Soon, another pub was launched — In For a Penny. On Medium, we often frown on listicles, but Penny is a place that encourages them! We love an intelligent listicle, annotated with anecdotes and ideas. Ten places you must visit in Malaga, Spain! Five ways to cook cod! Seven movies that will make you laugh! In For a Penny has been that place, and while it may seem a natural place for the AI bots to assemble, we’re proud to say that we edit strongly in Penny. Nothing formulaic for us!
The Parasol Publications site is a place for new writers to the Medium platform. I wrote a series of articles, ‘how to’s’ and ‘what not to do’s.’ I keep our pub collection there too, so new writers can see our publications and their opportunities as they grow into strong writers. Our editors all work for Parasol.
We are a writing collective. Editors for Parasol are chosen on the basis of their writing abilities, and most thrive working in collaboration with other strong writers. We maintain guidelines with our team; we can’t keep editors on staff who are absent, so if you’re interested in joining us, please be aware!
Seen on Screen became part of Parasol Publications. This pub, run by Christine Schoenwald, is for articles about television, movies, anything you might watch on screen! We value Christine greatly for her diversity as a writer, editor, publisher, and performer. SOS is part of our magic!
Travel Memoirs has recently been added to our publication family. Publisher Darren Weir owns and runs this pub. As a retired TV producer and world traveler, Darren’s a ‘shoe-in’ for this pub. We’re excited to note that his publication is getting a lot of strong attention from all the right people. Come on by!
Another new pub for us is Imogene’s Notebook, our fiction and poetry site. Natalie Gasper, a poet and writer I’ve worked with for years, will be leading this pub. I’ll work with her as we get our feet wet. We’d love to have your fiction and poetry! It will take a while for us to find our way, but we look forward to your work.
The Contest
Enter up to TWO stories. Here are the rules.
Themes you may choose from — these are loose notions. Play with any of these ideas.
- Something from nothing — creation
- Beginnings
- Birthday or anniversary parties that went well, or not!
- A time you put yourself out there; a time you took a chance
- A time you had to think on your feet and become flexible, or experienced a situation that challenged you
Next, Tag your story as follows: ParasolFirstYear
Kicker: PARASOL PUBS (Note: kicker in all caps, please!)
Length: No less than four minutes and no more than seven minutes
Attach at bottom: a story from The Narrative Arc that you have enjoyed in the last year! Choose wisely, as there are such great stories. No more calls to action.
More: You must follow The Narrative Arc, Travel Memoirs, and Imogene’s Notebook to join.
Prizes
First prize: $100 dollars
Second prize: $50 dollars
Third prize: $25 dollars
Honorable mentions at the Publisher’s whim!
Submit your Writing Contest Entries to The Narrative Arc by November 25th. Our winners will be announced on December 1st!
Thank you from your team at Parasol Pubs! Also, thank you to Ellen Eastwood for editing help with this essay. I appreciate you! Thanks to Conni Walkup Hull for editing help too.
Debra G. Harman, MEd. | Christine Schoenwald | Darren Weir | Conni Walkup Hull | Kit Desjacques | Ellen Eastwood | Kim Kelly Stamp | Chevie Hanssler | Vidya Sury, Collecting Smiles | Lucinda Munro Cook | Natalie Gasper
