Where do you feel at home—or no longer at home—physically, spiritually, or culturally? How do you find community, or a sense that you’re a part of something larger than yourself? Are there places where you feel a sense of belonging, or alienation—or both? Tablet is seeking personal essays that wrestle with these questions.
We are looking for previously unpublished work by writers living in North America who have never published in Tablet before. No opinion pieces; these first-person essays should be about your life and your experience, and how your thoughts and feelings have evolved over time. For examples of successful Tablet essays in this vein, please read this, this, or this. Writers can be from any background or perspective, but there should be a reason why your piece belongs in Tablet Magazine, a Jewish magazine about the world.
Tablet editors will review all submissions and choose our favorite five, which we will edit with the writers. The authors of those five pieces will be invited to New York City to read their story in front of a live audience, and will receive a stipend toward travel and lodging. A guest judge will then select the winner from the finalists.
The winning selection will be published in Tablet Magazine and will receive $500. All other finalists will receive $100 for their work.
Length:
A completed essay—no excerpts—between 1,000 and 1,500 words.
Format:
Please send submission as Word document. Please include a 1-sentence bio, along with your name (no pseudonyms) and word count.
Timeline:
- April 15: contest opens
- May 15: contest closes
- June 15: finalists selected
- June 15 - July 15: finalists’ pieces are edited by Tablet’s editors
- Late July: Reading event in New York City; precise date/time/location TBD
- August: Winning piece will be published in Tablet Magazine