The Rachel Funari Prize for Fiction
In celebration of women’s voices, Lip is launching the Rachel Funari Prize for Fiction.
This is a themed fiction competition, open to all ages and genders. Rachel Funari, the namesake of the competition, was the founding editor of Lip. Tragically, Rachel went missing in 2011, while on holiday in Tasmania. We are launching the prize in her honour, because she was determined to better the lives and opportunities for young women.
As Lip is a feminist magazine, the theme of our competition is ‘Herstory’, a play on the word ‘history’ and with a focus on women’s stories. And ANYONE CAN ENTER!
All entries must be:
- original pieces of writing.
- previously unpublished, unperformed, and not entered into any other competition.
- up to 2000 words.
We’re looking for creative, insightful fiction that addresses the theme in any kind of way. Our competition will be judged by Lip chief editors and a panel of esteemed judges:
Clementine Ford (feminist speaker, writer and radio broadcaster)
Karen Pickering (host of Cherchez La Femme and organiser of SlutWalk Melbourne)
Kat Muscat (Editor of Voiceworks)
Sophie Cunningham (writer, editor and Chair of the Literature Board of the Australia Council)
Zoe Dattner (Creative Director of Sleepers Publishing and General Manager of SPUNC)
We will reveal prizes within the next month, but for now we can promise you they include libraries of Australian contemporary literature, opportunities to work with members of the publishing community and monetary rewards!
Entries are now open, and they close midnight on Thursday 28th February. The winners will be announced at an event in April. Winning entries will be published in a special print edition of our magazine and online at our website.
This prize is proudly supported by Express Media, Writers Victoria, Sleepers Publishing, Spinifex Press and Scribe Publications.
For more information about the prize, please contact Amy and Ruby at [email protected].
Happy writing, Lipsters!
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FAQs
How much does it cost to enter? How do I pay?
It costs $5 to enter. You can pay via PayPal or Direct Debit to Lip Magazine. (And if you choose Direct Debit, be sure to attach your transaction receipt to the entry email.)
Paypal: pay to [email protected]
Direct Debit Details:
Acct name: Lip Magazine
Act No: 270604
BSB: 033067
+ please send us a copy of the receipt if possible
How many times can I enter?
One entry only per person will be accepted.
How do I enter?
Entries should be emailed as Word document attachments to [email protected] with the subject line ‘competition entry’, and contain the following details: name, age, postal address, mobile number, email address and preferred method of payment. By entering this competition, you are agreeing to the following conditions:
1. Lip may publish your work and/or part of your work online and/or in print, should your entry win or place in the competition.
2. Your entry follows the rules, listed here again: original writing; previously unpublished, unperformed, and not entered into any other competition; up to 2000 words.
I already write for Lip. Can I enter?
Entries will be judged blind, so yes, Lip writers can enter. However, editorial staff are ineligible.
What is the theme, please?
Hi Linda,
The theme is ‘Herstory’, a play on the word ‘history’, with a focus on women’s stories.
Does ‘anyone can enter’ include blokes?
Absolutely!
Sorry, see that is answered above.
Hi there,
Just wondering if there are any special formatting requirements for submissions/entries?
Cheers,
Francine
Hi Francine,
Thanks for contacting us!
We have no formatting requirements, but double spacing and a simple font would be best! Also, don’t bother writing any contact details into the word doc (just include them in your email) because we’ll be deleting them for the blind judging process.
Ruby x
Great, thanks heaps Ruby 🙂
If I write my ‘herstory’ there is a good chance the judges will know who I am. Does that matter?
Hi Mary,
All entries will be judged blind.
I love that the logo for the comp looks a lot like Rachel’s hair!!
Are there any more details on how to pay entry fee via PayPal or Direct Debit?
Head to our ‘Shop’ page and add the entry to your cart, then head to ‘check-out’ when the page refreshes. Let us know if you have any issues!
If you’d prefer to use direct debit, email [email protected] for the bank details.
Good luck in the comp!
I am an Australian living in Europe – am I still eligible to enter? So many competitions stipulate that the writer must be living in Australia. All my stories are about Australia, but I just live somewhere else now!
Thanks,
Karen
Hi Karen,
There are no limitations as to who can enter this competition. This includes location and ethnicity — you can enter! Best wishes in the comp.
Hello,
I am an international student majoring in writing and literature in a university in Australia. I am also currently having new membership of Victoria Writer. I am going back to my home country overseas by May 2013. I wonder if you could tell me whether I am eligible to join this fiction competition.
I will look forward to hearing from you. Thank you.
Sincerely
Leni
Hi Leni,
Yes, you’re still eligible to enter. Good luck!
There is something wrong with the small press industry when you have to pay to enter a competition and the submission has to be exclusive, never been published.
How do you justify that?
If you are using the money to print future issues, don’t you think it’s a bit crass setting up this competition just to get money for printing costs? It’s a little offensive.
If you’re not using it for printing costs, how can we be assured you won’t be using the money to pay for all the prizes? Recycling our money, so to speak?
Hi Sarah,
Thanks for raising your concerns.
Lip is a not-for-profit organisation, run by a staff of volunteers who all love writing, feminism and literature. We wanted to run this fiction prize as a way to commemorate Rachel’s huge and lasting contribution to women’s writing and women’s stories.
The reason why we have an entry fee is two-fold – yes, we will be using the funds to supply prize money for the competition. We wanted to offer a monetary prize, and as an independent organisation with very little in the way of funds, an entry fee seemed like a good way to gather the funds to reward really excellent writing.
Any extra funds raised from the entry fees will go towards hosting the awards ceremony, and will cover costs such as venue hire, and any refreshments etc. Undoubtedly, there won’t be enough for all those costs, so the rest will be covered through what funds we do have, or out of our own pockets.
Apologies if you think that’s ‘crass’, but I personally feel it’s a big step above using the funds to pay our own wages, or anything along those lines.
We have kept the entry fee very low to ensure that it doesn’t act as a barrier to submissions, and you’ll find that the requirement that entries be previously unpublished is fairly standard across the writing industry.
Unfortunately, publishing a magazine isn’t free, and nor is running a fiction competition. However, the value it offers to emerging writers is pretty important, in our opinion.
Thanks again, and I hope you’ll still consider entering.
Zoya Patel
Editor-In-Chief
Sarah,
Curious – where would you expect the money to go, otherwise? It’s incredibly commonplace for competitions to request both previously unpublished and exclusive entries, not to mention charging a fee.
I would expect my entry fee to go towards the prize money or towards publishing. I don’t see it as being at all crass or offensive. In fact, I’m pleased to pay the entry fee because it’s going TOWARDS supporting and developing writers. It’s the nature of the writing industry.
I think you’re quite out of touch.
Hi!
I wish to enter the competition but am unable to pay using the instructions given… when I got to the shop page, it just shows me the current stories.
Can you please advise if there is a problem (or if the problem is just me!).
Thanks,
Sarah
Minor issue with our shopping cart at the moment as we’re having our website rejigged. Direct debit details below 🙂
Acct name: Lip Magazine
Act No: 270604
BSB: 033067
+ please send us a copy of the receipt(to [email protected])
Thanks Sarah, and good luck!
Jo
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