Local ‘writers/riders’ submit your entries for BART’s short fiction contest June 1
SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA, CA (May 25, 2022) — BART will celebrate its 50th anniversary this September. To help mark the occasion, they have announced their first-ever short fiction contest: BART Lines.
BART Lines will shine a light on the literary voices that make the Bay Area unique, diverse, and creative. Riders keep BART moving and so BART wants to highlight the best writing that the region has to offer and showcase it in our stations.
Starting June 1, BART will seek (very) short stories of 7,500 characters or less that revolve around the theme of “Motion.”
What does “motion” mean to you? How does it change you? Impact narrative? Transform? Whether it’s a BART ride that made a lasting impact or an (e)motion(al) tale of struggle and triumph, they want to read your interpretation of “motion” across themes, genres, and settings.
Finalists will be selected by a panel of Bay Area literary icons, including Daniel Handler, Ingrid Rojas Contreras, Ishmael Reed, JK Fowler, and Annalee Newitz.
Bay area writers/riders
Authors ages 18 and up with a mailing address in one of the five counties where BART operates (San Francisco, San Mateo, Alameda, Contra Costa, and Santa Clara) can submit their stories.
Judges will select thirty finalists and each will receive a $200 honorarium. The finalists’ stories will be available to read on the Short Édition website. BART’s four Short Édition Short Story Dispensers, will also have the stories. The dispensers currently exist at Balboa Park, Richmond, Pleasant Hill, and Fruitvale stations.
Contest submissions open June 1 at 12:00 am PST. They will close on or before June 30 at 11:59 pm PST. The submissions page will close after 400 submissions, so get your work in early. Finalists will also be invited to participate in a reading at a BART station with Litquake in October.
BART will explore hosting a writing contest for youth writers ages 18 and under next year.
Happy writing, riders.
Questions? Email BART storyteller Michelle Robertson at michelle.robertson@bart.gov