Narratively Is Beyond Excited to Announce Our 2024 Memoir Prize!
Submissions for our third annual Memoir Prize are now open. Read on to learn about the four-figure cash prizes, who our bestselling memoirist guest judge is and more.
Update: The 2024 Narratively Memoir Prize has closed and the winners have been announced! You can learn who they are here.
It’s that time of year again: Narratively Memoir Prize time, and we could not be more excited! We started the Memoir Prize two years ago now, not quite knowing what to expect but hoping at least to read some great stories. We ended up being totally blown away each year by, not only the amount of submissions we received (over 500 and 700 respectively!), but by the caliber of the stories. The pieces we awarded each year were truly exceptional, from 2022 grand prize-winning story, “Murder to Middle School” by Laura Green-Russell to 2023’s winning essay, “Chaos and Noise: One Man’s Harrowing Stint in Solitary Confinement” by Christopher Blackwell — plus all the finalists in the years combined. We’re so grateful to everyone who has trusted us with their words so far. Thank you!
Now, for everyone else with a personal essay to share (or one that you’ve been thinking about), we’ve got some good news. Starting today, Monday, October 28, 2024, through Thursday, December 19, 2024, we are accepting submissions for the 2024 Narratively Memoir Prize. Do you have a thrilling essay you’ve been sitting on but aren’t sure what to do with? Is there an epic event in your life that you’ve been meaning to write about but haven’t yet? A wild story you regale your friends with every time you get together that you’re finally ready to put to paper? If you answered yes to any or all of these, then this is for you!
As in previous years, we’re on the hunt for revealing and emotional first-person nonfiction narratives from unique and overlooked points of view. The winning submission will receive a $3,000 prize and publication on Narratively, and two finalists will win $1,000 each, along with publication as well. We also have a dream guest judge on board to help us select our grand prize winner and two finalists (more on that below!).
Who is Narratively?
We’re a storytelling platform and production company that supports indie journalists and storytellers and celebrates humanity through true, authentic and diverse character-driven content. We publish our original stories on Narratively.com and often with top publishing partners across the globe, and we adapt our favorites into TV, film and podcasts with leading partners from Amazon Studios to Warner Bros. Television. We’re immensely proud and excited to do the same with our 2024 Memoir Prize winners! (You can learn more about Narratively’s mission and business model here.)
Who’s judging my story?
Entries will be judged on a rolling basis in four rounds: the first three by experienced Narratively readers and staff, and the final by our incredible and generous guest judge, critically acclaimed writer Jami Attenberg (read our interview with her here)!
Jami Attenberg is the New York Times bestselling author of 10 books, including The Middlesteins, All Grown Up, the recently published A Reason to See You Again and a memoir, I Came All This Way to Meet You: Writing Myself Home. She is also the creator of the annual online group writing accountability project #1000wordsofsummer, which inspired the USA Today bestseller 1000 Words: A Writer’s Guide to Staying Creative, Focused, and Productive All Year Round. Jami has also written for The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, The Sunday Times, The Guardian and others. Her work has been published in 16 languages. She lives in New Orleans.
So, what do I win?! In addition to publishing their work on Narratively.com and including it in a special 2024 Narratively Memoir Prize Digital Collection, we’ll award the top three writers the following cash prizes:
Grand Prize: US$3,000
Finalist: US$1,000
Finalist: US$1,000
What are we looking for, exactly?
Narratively’s first-person stories offer intimate takes on unusual personal experiences, pursuits and passions. Across everything we do, our absolute focus is on supporting fresh and underrepresented voices. We want an honest, in-depth glimpse into your life and, through that, a world we and our readers might not have access to otherwise.
So, how does this work?
Our competition period opens at 9 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on October 28, 2024, and closes at 9 p.m. EDT on December 19, 2024. Enter your eligible piece via our dedicated form on Submittable by uploading your submission and paying a US$20 entry fee within the prize submission period. Or, become a Narratively paid subscriber and get free entry to this and all Narratively prizes.
Why do we charge a fee?
Your entry fee will allow us to compensate the people who are enabling us to effectively and fairly evaluate every single prize submission — from our freelance readers to our prize editors, copy editors, fact-checkers, visual editors and producers.
How do I enter for free?
If you’re already a paid subscriber, first of all, thank you for supporting indie journalism! Second of all, just email us at prizes@narratively.com to request the subscriber-only free submission link.
What should my entry look like?
As with all Narratively stories, submissions should be composed of vivid, active scenes, unique characters and an engaging narrative arc. We have a few rules to follow, but encourage maximum creativity within these guidelines. The best way to get a sense of what we’re looking for is to read the stories on the list of examples we love below. (Full formatting info is available on our Submittable form.)
Here are a few examples of first-person Narratively pieces we love:
Welcome to America’s Most Elite Girls Boarding School. Let the Hazing Begin.
My Bizarre Reign as New York’s King of “Virgin Russian Hair”
I Was Taught to Hate My Lesbian Neighbors. They Took Me In Anyway.
Diary of a Bachelor Who Suddenly Became a Solo Dad to a Teenage Girl
How I Wrote Myself into a Real-life Romantic Comedy — That Turned into a Survivalist Thriller
My Coming Out Story, Starring a Priest, an Animal Sacrifice and Ricky Martin
Your piece should be:
Ready to publish — no pitches accepted
In the 2,000 to 7,000-word range
Nonfiction
Written in the first person
Original and previously unpublished as a written work in a major publication
Written in English, although translations are acceptable
You should be:
Eighteen years of age or older on or before 9 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on October 28, 2024
Not employed by, related to or sharing living quarters with Narratively staff or our guest judges
To answer your questions:
We will accept simultaneous submissions (meaning you also can submit your entry to other outlets during our open prize window), but writers must notify us if their piece is accepted elsewhere.
We will accept multiple submissions from a single author, but each story must be submitted and paid for individually.
We will accept stories that have been previously published on personal blogs and websites.
We will permit adaptations from other media (podcasts, scripts, etc.) with disclosure.
This competition is open to anyone, including past and current Narratively contributors. (Current and former Narratively editors, however, are ineligible.)
The grand prize winner and finalists will be required to sign our standard contributor agreement.
These are a few of the key points in our agreement:
You retain print publication rights, should you pursue a book version of your story now or in the future.
Narratively has the right to pursue TV and film projects based on the work. These projects could be either unscripted/documentary or fictional (inspired by your story).
Revenue from any TV or film projects is shared with contributors.
We publish Narratively Out Loud, which features read-aloud audio versions of all Narratively stories, so the contract also gives us the rights to produce those.
Also please take a look at our FAQ page here. For full Prize eligibility and rules, click here. Still have questions? Email us at prizes@narratively.com.
We can’t wait to be invited into your world. Best of luck!
I subscribe to Narratively. I just submitted my memoir, but still required to pay $20. That's supposed to be waived, but I have no idea how that works.
I want to enter your 2025 writing contest.
Could you let me know when you'll start asking for submissions?
Thank you,
Linda Klein