Hello, and welcome to transliterations' very first contest! For those of you who are new to us and what we do, here's a quick rundown: transliterations aims to promote and prompt literature in translation. We're not just talking from French to English or English to Chinese here; we're talking translation between different languages, different mediums and different art forms. In the past two months, we've encouraged writers to work from traditional art, photographs and even Google Translate to create new literature. Now you can too--and even better, you can win things for doing so!




You will need:

One (1) good piece of music
One (1) piece of paper
One (1) writing implement
One (1) brain (optional)


Choose a piece of music which you are attached to in some way. It doesn't have to be instrumental, but your job will be that much easier if it is--and if you do choose a piece with vocals, make sure that the lyrics aren't going to try and invade what you're creating.

As you listen to the piece, start drawing on the paper. It can be a line, circles, pictures, you name it, as long as it could reasonably be called a map of what you're hearing. Maybe every time the music gets louder, a line on the page goes higher; maybe you press the pen harder when the music is fast, or draw more elaborate shapes as the music becomes more complex. The point is, once you're done, you'll have a visual representation of everything you noticed going on in the music.

Now, take your map--and the music, too, for reference--and write something out of it. Where the music was soft, your poem will be soft. Where the music was slow, your story will linger rather than speed through the action. You can be as creative with these comparisons as you like, as long as the piece of literature you end up with represents the map in the same way the map represented the music. This will be your finished product: not just an emotional response to what you heard, but a translation of music into a different art form.

1. Submissions will be accepted until April 1st. You must be a member of transliterations to enter; this is not the case for our prompts, but there's a first time for everything.
2. Submit your finished work to transliterations' Musical Maps Contest folder; include a nod to us in the artist's comments so we're all on the same page. A link to the piece of music you chose and/or a copy of your map are encouraged but not essential.
3. Entries will be judged by the transliterations crew: Amberlouie, fyoot, ikazon, Quemaqua and myself. Results will be announced approximately two weeks after submissions close.
4. All literary genres, strengths and lengths are allowed. We like to see people bending the rules!

Poetry, First Prize

One (1) 3 month premium membership from Halatia
One (1) really big favour from zebrazebrazebra*
One (1) critique from Amberlouie
Two hundred (200) points
News and journal features

Prose, First Prize

One (1) 3 month premium membership from Halatia
One (1) really big favour from zebrazebrazebra*
One (1) critique from Halatia
Two hundred (200) points
News and journal features

Honourable Mentions and Runners-Up

One hundred (100) points
News and journal features


*Really big favours are what you get when poor people run contests--in short, you can choose to ask one favour from me, be it critique, collaboration, a gift piece, helping you promote your pet project, doing your homework, whatever. Maybe not that last one.



What are you waiting for?