http://www.smartpopbooks.com/contestSmart Pop/Dollhouse Essay ContestWe love Dollhouse. And we know from Buffy and Firefly that Joss Whedon fans are across-the-board smart, insightful, and involved.
So we’ve teamed up with Jane Espenson, Dollhouse writer and Mutant Enemy veteran, to put out an essay anthology on Dollhouse composed entirely of fan-written essays. Everyone, novice to seasoned writer, is eligible to enter; the only requirement is that you are fan of Dollhouse! (Okay, and that you live in the US or Canada, unfortunately.)
Write a great essay on Dollhouse, send it to us, and your essay could be published in a Smart Pop book edited by Jane.
Eighteen essays will appear in the final book, but in addition:
* One grand prize winner will get $1000
* Three first prize winners will get $250
* Fourteen other winners will get $100
What do I do?Write a 3000 to 4000 word essay that says something fresh, funny, and/or insightful about the television show Dollhouse. Then send it to
smartpopcontest@gmail.com by February 1, 2010.
BenBella’s staff will read all essays and send our favorites on to Jane Espenson for final judging.
What’s Smart Pop, and what do you mean by “essay”?BenBella’s Smart Pop series is a line of smart, engaging essay anthologies on pop culture properties. Read a few of our free daily essays and spend some time clicking around our site to see what we mean!
Our idea of a great essay is one that brings something new to its subject: new insight, a new angle, new information. It’s smart but not jargon-y. It can be serious or tongue-in-cheek, formal or informal, but is always written for other fans—there’s no need to explain who Echo is, or to extensively recap episodes.
One warning: Make sure your essay doesn’t violate copyright. In other words, don’t write from “within” the Dollhouse universe (entries from Topher’s secret diary aren’t allowed), and keep quoting to a minimum. Short, relevant quotes used to support your argument are encouraged; quotes included solely for their own sake are not!
When will the winners be announced? And when does the book come out?Winners will be announced by April 1, 2010. The book will be published in fall 2010.
Rules for EnteringYour essay must be your own original, unpublished work. Entries must be in a text document attached to an email, with the subject line “Smart Pop Dollhouse Essay Contest.” Both text document and email must include your name, the essay’s title, your email address, and an alternate way to contact you.
