literary – Alexis Marie Chute

When I write, I create, edit, submit and forget. It’s a process that works since I am a super busy artist/photographer/writer/mom/wife/renaissance woman extraordinaire. The forgetting part is handy since I don’t waste time biting my nails wondering if I have a rejection letter city hopping its way to my mailbox.

So you can imagine I was wonderfully surprised to discover that my creative non-fiction piece, “Goodbye and Goodbyes” made it onto the long list of the PRISM international 2013 Non-Fiction Contest long-list. Wawsa! This news made me smile!

The long-list of 15 pieces of writing has been officially announced today. The short-list will be announced tomorrow, Tuesday January 15 and the grand prize winners and runners up the following day, Wednesday, January 16. It will be a whirlwind three days and I have already begun my nail biting now that the race is on. I may have no nails left by Wednesday but I can’t wait!

A little bit about PRISM International:

PRISM international is a quarterly magazine out of Vancouver, British Columbia, whose mandate is to publish the best in contemporary writing and translation from Canada and around the world.

The submissions for this competition go through two rounds of blind judging before the final verdict is decided by the final judge, Andreas Schroeder.

Here is the long-list finalists! Congratulations to all writers! What a feat! It is truly an accomplishment to get this far and I am thrilled to be listed amongst these fellow creatives.

– ‘Sans Everything’ by Cullene Bryant

– ‘An Excerpt from Horse Camp’ by Jonarno Lawson

– ‘Queasy’ by Madeline Sonik

– ‘Salt Spring Sprouts n Seeds’ by Stephanie McKechnie

– ‘When you finally know me’ by Trisha Cull

– ‘Nine Bouquets from Nine Sailors’ by Eve Joseph

– ‘People and Cow of Good Fortune’ by Leonard Neufeldt

– ‘I Thought I Knew You Emily’ by Madeline Nattrass

– ‘Click: Immortality’ by David Alexander

– ‘The Skeleton Coast’ by Zara Callmann

– ‘The Breaking Wave’ by Laura Trethewey

– ‘Habibi’ by Maisie Jacobson

– ‘Goodbye and Goodbyes’ by Alexis Marie Chute

– ‘Narrative Supplement’ by Carolyn White

– ‘Vanishing Point’ by Heather Tucker

I will put out another Writing Update on Tuesday and Wednesday to announce how the competition plays out!

The 2012 Olympics will be followed up with another competition requiring the highest form of mental athleticism; it is the 35^th Annual 3-Day Novel Contest which will take place over the September long weekend. It is called “The World’s Most Notorious Literary Marathon” and I have registered and paid my dues. The contest is less than a month away and my mind is already swimming with characters, lost in in exotic locations, and formulating an ambitious plot for the 72 hour race.

The challenge: write a complete novel in three days.

Challenge: accepted.

How am I feeling about this intense competition? Nervous but excited. I am antsy to begin and am already visualizing how the long weekend will play out. Will I sleep in my desk chair? Have a reserve of non-perishables and water mere arms reach away? The biggest challenge will be my newborn.

Yes, that’s right; I am embarking on this grueling competition with a two month old. He may get the best of me while I am in the grove of a scene OR could provide the needed break every two hours forcing me to stretch my legs and take a breath. I foresee us both spending the weekend in the office and doing the dance of feeding, sleeping and writing together. He may offer valuable advice at 4 in the morning. It’s a good thing I am already accustomed to waking at all hours to feed him. All I can say, we’ll see how it goes!

I will be tweeting as the contest progresses so follow me on Twitter (@_Alexis_Marie) to stay abreast of the action.

You can learn more about the 3-Day Novel Contest at: http://www.3daynovel.com/

Wish me luck! Hopefully I can finish and share my completed work in the not too distant future!