Requirements

Format

Length: Up to 2,000 words

Stories must be previously unpublished.

Stories must be written in English.

All submission materials should include the writer’s first and last name in the file name (e.g. “LAST NAME_FIRST NAME.docx).

For examples of storytelling at its finest, check out The Moth, Story Corps, and Modern Love.

Requirements

Your story must be true.

How you tell your story is up to you, but facts are facts.

Your story must be yours.

We are looking for firsthand accounts — not works of journalism. Stories should be written in first person point-of-view. Pseudonyms are prohibited. (For tips on how to handle sensitive information, see our FAQs.)

Your story must be specific to 2020.

A story about finding your life partner is heartwarming, but not the right fit for this book; however, a story about finding your life partner during quarantine is a perfect fit. 

Your story must be focused.

We recommend writing about a specific event, experience, or emotion from 2020. We do not recommend summarizing the entire year in your story.

Your story must be a narrative. 

Narratives have a beginning, a middle, and an end — though not necessarily in that order.