The World’s Climate, the Heart’s Weather: Creative Writing in the Anthropocene

“Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true:

That even as we grieved, we grew

That even as we hurt, we hoped

That even as we tired, we tried.”

― Amanda Gorman

A Writing Competition

We live at a moment when a reasonable fear of global apocalypse haunts us all. Whether we feel hope or despair -- or hope in despair -- the climate crisis affects our heart’s weather.

The Office for Sustainability, the English Department, and the Climate Change Working Group seek submissions about how the planet’s emergency affects the inner life, the psychology and imagination, of a global citizen. In this first annual creative writing competition on climate change, we encourage poets, fiction writers, essayists, and playwrights to submit original work.

WMU undergraduate and graduate students are welcome to enter the competition. We encourage submission from students in all majors and departments.

Prizes*:

First Place: Undergraduate & Graduate winners $500.

Second Place: Undergraduate & Graduate winners $300.

Third Place: Undergraduate & Graduate winners $100.

Judging:

Entries will be blind reviewed by WMU faculty and graduate students. The final round will be judged by Liz Jensen, a world famous climate fiction writer. Liz is a founding member of Extinction Rebellion’s Writers Rebel, a literary movement using words and actions to highlight the climate and ecological emergency. She is one of the leading international writers articulating the role of storytellers and the climate crisis. And, she recently spoke to the Kalamazoo Climate Crisis Coalition on the Role of Climate and Ecological Fiction.

Content Submission Guidelines:

Guidelines

Deadline:

Works must be submitted as .pdf files by Friday, April 1 by 11:59 p.m. to wmu-sustainability@wmich.edu.

For more information, contact Samantha Atkins, samantha.j.atkins@wmich.edu.

*Prizes will be offered as scholarships.

Frequently Asked Questions (last updated Feb. 1, 2022)

Q: Is the competition restricted to enrolled WMU undergraduate and graduate students?

A: Yes

Q: Can I only submit one piece in one genre? Or can I submit multiple pieces if they differ in genre?

A: Multiple submissions will be accepted in more than one genre, but not more than one piece per genre. For example, you may submit one fictional short story and one nonfiction essay, but you may not submit multiple short stories, or multiple essays.