So it's Valentine's Day here and I'm off to buy shoes to go with my posh frock for my fancy dinner because blue moons just come around sometimes, but I thought I'd pop in to remind you that there's approximately forty-eight hours left to submit something for the contest. So to all you stragglers, you revisers and last-minute magic-makers, you photo finishers: pull all the stops out, stop arsing about and get those entries in. Think of it as a Valentine's gift to words.

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At the request of participants and for the sake of my own failing sanity, the Modernising Myths Contest will be extended by ten days. This means that the new deadline is February 15, giving you until the day after Valentine's Day to complete your entry--and if you still need more time, I suggest cancelling your Valentine's Day plans and finishing it then. Because we all know you love writing more than you love your partner. And if they're reading over your shoulder, I'm sorry, but they had to know sometime.

If you're still having trouble finding a myth, I am more than happy to throw suggestions your way. For best results, give me some idea of the pantheon or area you're interested in, otherwise you're liable to end up with whatever I happen to find hilarious at that moment. And please, harass your friends. Don't just tell them, tie them to a chair and put a pen in their hand. Help us get the word out over the next ten days and I will personally go down on one knee and propose to you.

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There's just ONE WEEK LEFT to enter this competition. I see a lot of arses that need prodding, and I've used the English spelling so we can all be absolutely sure that I'm not talking about donkeys. I do not endorse the prodding of donkeys in any way. Anyway, if you've got a myth, get writing, and if you haven't a myth, come to me and I'll give you one. Then you can get writing. It's time to knock this non-donkey-prodding party into full swing!

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It's been one year since transliterations was founded with the express aim of promoting and prompting literature in translation; a year full of macros and music, of sculptures, structures and seriously weird films, of so many amazing people doing such amazing things that I couldn't hope to summarise it all here. We've run two contests in that time, one with a musical theme and one with a photographic theme, and we can't think of a better way to celebrate our anniversary than by kicking off with a third. This contest sees us returning to our roots with some old-fashioned literary and cultural translation, and gives you the opportunity not only to put a new spin on the old stories you love but also to win some outstanding prizes. Read on!



You will need:

One (1) myth of ancient or medieval origin
One (1) computer or notebook
One (1) brain (optional)

We've all read myths from various ancient cultures before, whether they be stories of warrings gods, creation myths or that one about Zeus turning into a golden shower (and I have to say, even as a kid that had me wondering.) I've never met anyone who didn't at some point in their schooling go through an Ancient Greek/Ancient Rome/Ancient Egypt phase, whether it was before or after the dinosaur phase or, for the really imaginative kids, concurrently. So what is it that draws us to the the mythological? When these stories first came into being, they were mechanisms to explain the world, oral traditions and lines of continuity between generations. Centuries or millennia on, we are utterly disconnected from the culture these myths represent--and yet they continue to fascinate us. Is there something in them that remains relevant across cultures and times? Here at transliterations, we've thought of a way to find out.

Choose one myth from a culture that particularly attracts you. Anything before 1AD is fair game, as are Norse and Celtic myths from the Dark and Middle ages, Chinese and Japanese myths from any era and cultural stories such as those of the Native Americans or Australian Aboriginals. Biblical stories are out, as is anything Arthurian, but we'll probably accept anything else. Anyway, once you have your myth, your first step is to take it apart to really find out what makes the story tick. Does it represent an archetypical character, setting or plotline? Is the myth itself a metaphor for a process in nature or society? If you took the myth out of its contextual culture, what would remain?

It's that last question which is most crucial, really. Because what we want you to do is translate the essence of your chosen myth to a contemporary setting--any time and place within the last say, five years. Get creative with it; if you've chosen a myth from the Greek pantheon, don't just set it in Athens (unless you turn the gods into economic protestors, which could actually be pretty fun). Try and choose a backdrop which will enhance the power of your chosen story. And don't feel obliged to translate the full myth, either. This is particularly relevant for poets; rather than retelling the whole story, think about capturing just one or two elements which make that myth unique. Atmosphere is just as important as content.

Place and character names can be retained and changed as you see fit. The basic storyline must remain the same, which means no changed endings or new plot points. Everything else is up to you, save for one final recommendation: make your source material proud!

1. Submissions will be accepted until February 5th, and you must be a member of transliterations to enter. You can enter once for poetry and once for prose, but all entries must be written specifically for this contest.
   
2. Submit your finished work to the transliterations' Modernising Myths Contest folder. Don't forget to include a nod to us in the artist's comments, as well some information on the myth you chose!
3. Entries will be judged by the #transliterations crew: Amberlouie, cogongrass, fyoot, ikazon and myself. Results will be announced approximately two weeks after the contest closes.
4. All literary genres, strengths and lengths are allowed. We like to see people bending the rules!

Poetry, First Prize

One (1) copy of Anis Mojgani's Over The Anvil We Stretch from Amberlouie
One (1) Anubis, God of the Dead Plush from Memnalar
One (1) print of your choice from Halatia
One (1) 3 month premium membership
One (1) critique from zebrazebrazebra
Two hundred fifty (250) points
News and journal features

Poetry, Second Prize

One (1) copy of James Proimos' 12 Things To Do Before You Crash And Burn from PinkyMcCoversong
One (1) 1 month premium membership
One (1) critique from Amberlouie
Two hundred fifty (250) points
News and journal features

Prose, First Prize

One (1) copy of Etgar Keret's The Nimrod Flipout from zebrazebrazebra
One (1) Anubis, God of the Dead Plush from Memnalar
One (1) print of your choice from Halatia
One (1) 3 month premium membership
One (1) critique from ikazon
Two hundred fifty (250) points
News and journal features

Prose, Second Prize

One (1) copy of James Proimos' 12 Things To Do Before You Crash And Burn from PinkyMcCoversong
One (1) 1 month premium membership
One (1) critique from fyoot
Two hundred fifty (250) points
News and journal features




Contests and prompts like these rely on the support of the community to thrive. Anyone who's ever run a prompt or a contest knows how hard it can be to get the word out, especially with so many different things already going on--if you want to feel like a tiny speck among giants, I always say, either become an asteroid or start a group on dA. So I ask you, please do what you can to support us: favourite this news article, link it in your journal or to your friends but most of all, think about the the prompt and consider entering. We can't do it without you. Not that we'd want to, anyway--you're the people who make it so much fun!