“All Roads Lead to Home” Young Writers Contest

Any questions can be directed to Country Roads’ Arts & Entertainment Editor Jordan LaHaye at jordan@countryroadsmag.com.

To enter, writers should submit a 300-word pitch for a nonfiction essay or work of long-form journalism to jordan@countryroadsmag.com, briefly describing: 

• Your story and proposed angle 
• Why you are the best person to tell this story 
• Any interviews or research you plan to conduct 

Along with your pitch, please attach or link to any writing samples from previous work (published or not). 

Submission:

September 30, 2019

Writers under 25 years old who have lived in and/or are currently living in Louisiana or Mississippi

This fall, Country Roads magazine invites emerging writers from Louisiana and Mississippi to share their perspectives of the region as “home,” through works of non-fiction and long-form journalism.

The ways to write about home are boundless, and we encourage writers to explore various forms and interpretations in telling this story. Bring us into your particular corner of Louisiana or Mississippi; investigate a question you’ve always held about the place you grew up; explore your roots, your history, your culture from the perspective of place. Not from the region? Tell us about your experience moving here, the ways you’ve carried your previous home into this new environment, or the ways you haven’t. Examine here as home through the lenses of music, food, myth, landscape, history, a particular person, or a personal experience. 

Here are a few of our favorite home-centric stories in Country Roads: 

• Reflections 
  In his monthly column, our publisher James Fox-Smith frequently writes about his home life in St. Francisville, his childhood in Melbourne, Australia, and the experience of being an Australian-American living in South Louisiana 

• Reasons to Get Back to Lake Charles
  Managing Editor Lucie Monk Carter’s look at her hometown's boom

• A Man's Home Is His Castle
  Arts and Entertainment Editor Jordan LaHaye’s reminiscence of a castle from her childhood 

• From Cedar to Cypress
  Caroline Gerdes’ account of her family’s immigration from Lebanon to Louisiana, with a focus on the culinary traditions that emerged

• The Nature of Home
  Dr. Patrick Greiffenstein muses on “home” through the lenses of migratory birds in Audubon Park

• The Shed
  Where Ed Cullen goes when the world is too much

Pitch Guidelines:

Deadline:

Eligibility:

What’s next:

The Country Roads editorial team will judge all entries and select four finalists to expand their pitches, with editorial support, into stories ranging from 1200–2000 words for online publication in Country Roads. From the finalists, one winner will be selected for print publication in the December 2019 “Hearth & Home” issue of Country Roads. 

Awards:

The “All Roads Lead to Home” Young Writers Contest Winner will receive a cash award of $200, while the three other finalists will receive awards of $100.

About Us:

Country Roads is a cultural reporting publication providing coverage on Louisiana, the Mississippi Delta, and the Gulf Coast. Published continuously since 1983, Country Roads magazine provides content to enrich our readers’ understanding and experience of this region’s events and festivals, travel experiences, cuisine, history, arts, and folklore.  countryroadsmag.com