The Piton Noire Dominica Sci-fi/Fantasy Writers Collective has launched a new contest for writers from the Commonwealth of Dominica and the diaspora.
The Piton Noire Dominica Sci-Fi/Fantasy writers contest is open to all Dominicans ages 16 and up, to both first-time writers and published authors.
Stories must be either science fiction or fantasy, and the top three judged stories will be awarded $100 U.S for 1st place, $75 US for 2nd place and $50 US for 3rd place.
According to Co-Founder Lionel Levy, The Piton Noire Collective was formed to encourage Dominican writers to explore the sci-fi/fantasy genres.
“Our mission is to create a unique Dominican body of work that speaks to afro-futurism, while simultaneously preserving and building on the island’s mythologies and folklore. We’d like Dominicans to begin to imagine the future and their place in it, not just as users of technology but also as the producers of it. This contest is designed to spark that type of critical thinking,” he said.
Meanwhile, fellow Piton Noire co-founder Ronald Deschamps says there may be positive outcomes from developing Dominica’s sci-fi/fantasy literature.
“Piton Noire has been created to encourage and nurture writers from the Nature Isle, in order to create a body of work in those genres. Sci-fi/Fantasy is very popular world-wide and can possibly lead to tourism related products and events for Dominica such as sci-fi conventions and seminars that can attract international visitors. We will be partnering with other writers groups, and community groups based in Dominica, to help promote those genres,” he explained.
The Piton Noire Dominica Sci/Fi Fantasy Writers Contest will run from November 1st 2016 to February 28th, 2017.
Stories can be submitted via email to [email protected].
Interested writers can look up contest rules and other information on facebook at www.facebook.com/groups/pitonnoire.
Winning entries will be included in the annual Piton Noire Anthology.
Wtf $100 first prize. I’m brokes and could afford that.were is the incentive i know money is not everything but surley they can do better than that.
Now this is something constructive coming from Dominicans in the Diaspora.
However, while I know who Ronald Deschamps is, I am not familiar with any Lionel Levy, unless she/he is related to the Leevys in Dominica. I know Ms. Leevy, and have great admiration for the work she has done in the literary field, so kudos if it is one of them.
As anaon stated below, Piton Noire needs to assure writers and submitters of intellectual rights. I work in the legal industry, and have witnessed quite a few cases of patent and copyright infringements. Therefore, it would be helpful if the directors address this issue.
Otherwise, I am all for it. I hope you guys can get the primary and secondary schools onboard.
Thanks for your support, Mr Osbourne.
Your comment is very much appreciated.
While this may look like a good initiative to encourage writers in Dominica, the whole matter appears vague and I would not encourage writers in Dominica to participate unless there is clarification.
Firstly, who owns the rights to the stories after it they are submitted and the writer wins? Does the rights automatically belong to Piton Noire or it remain with the writer?
Secondly, Piton Noire will be publishing an anthology annually of winning works. Suppose that anthology goes on to be a best seller (you never know) and goes on to make millions or it goes on to make a lot of money, how are winning writers going to benefit after they received the mere pocket change that is being given for their winning works?
Be careful writers. Writing is serious stuff and people make their living off it. IF you take your writing seriously, you should also look at all angles when it comes to your work.
Just to clarify…
Authors retain all rights to submitted and published works. More press releases to follow in the near future….
And yes, the prize money will not make anyone a millionaire or thousandaire. Winning stories will be published, and of course, there will be a wide audience for these published stories. Also, recognize that we are not charging for submissions. Lastly, anyone wanting to contribute to the prize money is most welcome.
The Piton Noire Collective is trying to contribute to the development of Dominica in our own “little” way.
Feel free to look up our Facebook group.
http://www.facebook.com/groups/pitonnoire