ILFU launches worldwide story contest

Posted: Wednesday Aug 05, 2020

The ILFU (International Literature Festival Utrecht) is launching a worldwide storytelling contest.

As of now the contest is open to entries. Stories in all shapes and forms (text, image, music, video, theatre, even insta-stories) can be entered from now until August 30 via https://www.ilfu.com/en/ . The winner will receive a prize of 10,000 euros. 

Contestants from Cities of Literature will compete for the main prize, of course, but also for one exclusive extra prize: a trip to Utrecht and a spot at the ILFU 2021 Festival (by that time, hopefully without any covid-restrictions...).

This year, the ILFU International Literature Festival Utrecht, taking place from 25 September to 3 October, will be launching the ILFU International Story Contest. On the theme of 'Rise', anyone aged 16 and over can submit a story in all possible forms, from prose and poetry to animation, Instagram stories, TikTok videos, music or theatre. The jury, consisting of Joke van Leeuwen, Sagid Carter, Manoushka Zeegelaar Breeveld, Sahand Sahebdivani and Dolores Leeuwin, will announce the winner at ILFU 2020. The main prize is 10,000 euros and a place at the ILFU in 2021.

How to compete:

1. Make a 3-minute story
The competition is open to stories in every conceivable form: prose, poetry, non-fiction, film, photography, animation and music, rap or theatre. The festival also looks forward to receiving TikTok videos, vlogs and crossovers between different disciplines. The only requirement is that stories must focus on the theme of 'rise' and not exceed 3 minutes (or 375 words of written text).

2. Upload your story
Visit: https://internationaleverhalenwedstrijd.ilfu.com/en_gb/
There you can create an account and upload your story. Anyone aged 16 and over can participate, for a fee of 4 euros per story. Stories can be submitted in Dutch or English until 30 August 2020.

3. Wait for the announcement
The jury will announce its top 30 at the start of the ILFU Festival 2020 (25 September). The winner will receive 10,000 euros in cash and a place to perform at the ILFU in 2021. The 30 best stories will be published online and runners-up could win various additional prizes. Contestants from Unesco Creative Cities compete for all prizes, but also for an additional, exclusive City of Literature-prize: a trip to Utrecht and a place at the ILFU 2021 festival!

We need stories!
This year's ILFU is all about the power of stories, keeping a finger on the pulse of our time under the motto 'We need stories'. The festival tells stories from all possible angles and in a wide variety of forms in order to understand and figure out the here and now, the past and the future. This turbulent year calls for new stories that touch, comfort, distract and relax.

About the ILFU
This year, the ILFU International Literature Festival Utrecht will take place from 25 September to 3 October, both at the TivoliVredenburg festival location and online. The full festival programme and all participating authors will be announced during the summer. Ticket sales for the initial programmes will be launched on 10 August. The first edition of the ILFU took place in 2018 and attracted more than 21,000 visitors.

For more information or additional material you can send an email to utrecht@cityofliterature.nl.