Lit Let You Down?
Happy Tales*
Literary Contest
Have you ever read a
great** work of literature and been disappointed by an ending
that might have been more…shall we say…uplifting,
affirmative…happy?
Do you harbor
suspicions…that the Capulets and the Montagues might have worked
things out, that Romeo and Juliet could have gotten into a
longer term relationship? That, if Rochester had hired a sharp
lawyer and annulled his first marriage (he was tricked,
right?), he and Jane might have gotten together much sooner and
avoided all that unpleasantness about the fire? That Sydney
Carton might actually have gone on to far, far
better things?
Face it: even the greatest of
authors and their works might have benefited from a more
positive outlook. Now you can help to right things, by entering
the “Happy Tales” literary contest…
Contest rules: take any literary
work with a sad, disturbing, or negative ending and supply a
happy, affirmative, uplifting, humorous ending. The new
ending must more or less parody the idiom, style, atmosphere,
and so on, of the original. Entries will be judged on the bases
of humor, insight, and quality of parody. Entries should be no
more than ten pages in length and may be submitted on paper or
via email. Entry (postmark) deadline: September 30, 2008.
Decisions of the contest judges are final.
Award: $200 cash
money and the prestigious, coveted, etc.,
Nahum Tate Cup.
Entries, including the winning entry, may be read and praised
and/or ridiculed by contest judges in a public session of the
Humanities Montana Festival of the Book, October 23-25, 2008, Missoula, MT.
Winning entries will be weblished at the Festival website or
published in other media. Entries become the non-exclusive
property of the Montana Festival of the Book.
Send entries to Happy Tales, Humanities Montana
Festival of the Book, 311 Brantly, Missoula, MT 59812-7848, or to
info@humanitiesmontana.org.
Hey, a sudden
epiphany might have lifted Anna Karenina from her problems; the
train might have missed….
__________________________________________________________________
*Some tales are happy ones, others are blue/ It’s the way you
write the tale that counts/ Here’s a happy one for you/ Happy
tales to you/ Until we meet again…. (apologies to the late
Dale Evans-Rogers).
**or possibly not so great
