Michael Martone
Our 7th annual Unclassifiable contest is open May 1st to July 31st.
Challenged by Diaghilev to astonish him (“Etonnez-moi!”), Cocteau responded with an “unclassifiable” ballet: music by Satie, sets and costumes by Picasso, book by himself. The year: 1910. In this age of branding and marketing, can such “unclassifiable” works survive? What is gained—or lost—when boundaries are blurred?
This contest is for unclassifiable works: works that blur, bend, blend, erase, or obliterate genre and other labels. Works of up to 5000 words considered. Judged by Michael Martone.
All submissions must be sent through Submittable (link below) and will be read blind, so please do not include your name or identifying material anywhere on the manuscript. The entry fee is $10, and the winner will receive $500. Only send us work that has not been previously published elsewhere.
2022 Winner
Emily Farranto, “Postcard of Delicate Arch”
Her winning work will be in Issue 45 of Arts & Letters.
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2022 Finalists
Tori Rego, “Erased Pink Eraser”
David McDannald, “Online Dating is the Devil Theorem”
Michael Martone’s most recent books are Four for a Quarter, Not Normal, Illinois: Peculiar Fiction from the Flyover, Racing in Place: Collages, Fragments, Postcards, Ruins, a collection of essays, and Double-wide, his collected early stories. He is also the author of The Blue Guide to Indiana, published by FC2Martone is the author of five other books of short fiction including Seeing Eye, Pensées: The Thoughts of Dan Quayle, Fort Wayne Is Seventh on Hitler’s List, Safety Patrol, and Alive and Dead in Indiana. His stories and essays have appeared in Harper’s, Esquire, Story, Antaues, North American Reviews, Epoch, Denver Quarterly, Iowa Review, Third Coast, Shenandoah, Bomb, and other magazines.
