Introducing the Geist Tobacco Lit Writing Contest—submit before September 1, 2014 to win cash prizes and publication in Geist. Read on for more details.

It calms, soothes, relaxes, smells great, tastes better; loosens muscles, heightens focus; makes you look older, makes you look cooler; dulls taste buds, shortens your breath; yellows teeth, blackens lungs; cripples your heart, fries your brain, and of course, it kills you. To the cigarette, for all that it does, it is time we pay tribute.

Since the dawn of time, writers have sought their muse at the bottom of a pack of cigarettes, hunted for meaning in a few fleeting drags. It is the sacred ritual, the scratch of pen on paper, match on strike pad, ink and carbon, write and roll; inhale, exhale, think, compose.

Cancer, strokes, birth defects, heart attacks, hypertension, and now $1000 in cash prizes: Tobacco has it all.

For inspiration, check out Notes from the Ashtray, the official Geist Tobacco Lit blog.

How it works:

Write some tobacco lit. True or false, and any genre—we’re not picky, as long as it’s an original work. Just make it 500 words or less. See our FAQ for the nitty-gritty.

Prizes:

First Prize: $500

Second Prize: $250

Third Prize: $150

Honourable Mention: $100

All winning entries will be published in Geist and on geist.com.

Entry Fee: $20

Includes a one-year subscription to Geist, Canada’s favourite literary magazine. International entrants will receive the digital edition.

All additional entries are $5.

How to Enter:

ONLINE: Click here. You will be prompted to upload your story and pay your entry fee.

BY MAIL: Send submission with a cover letter (including name, mailing address, phone number, email, title of entry and a note about how you found out about the contest) and a $20 entry fee to:

Geist Editorial Board

210-111 West Hastings Street
Vancouver, BC  V6B 1H4  

Entries without an accompanying cover letter or entry fee will not be accepted.

Deadline: Entries must be postmarked no later than September 1, 2014.

Check out the Tobacco Lit Writing Contest FAQ here.

Still unsure? Please email geist@geist.com or call 604-681-9161 with your queries.

THE FINE PRINT

Winning entries: Geist takes first serial rights for print and non-exclusive electronic rights to post the text at geist.com. All other rights remain with the author.

All publication rights for non-winning entries are retained by the entrants.

Geist contests are open to all entrants except Geist staff, contract employees, board members and executives of the Geist Foundation. 

– See more at: http://www.geist.com/contests/tobacco-lit/tobacco-lit/#sthash.B5sgAwnh.dpuf

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