The Honest Storytelling Challenge

Submit a story about honesty — fictional or based on your own lived experience — for a chance to win prizes. 

"The truth is rarely pure and never simple." —Oscar Wilde

The Honest Majority believes in the power of honesty for building better relationships, communities, and futures. In partnership with Plot Twisters, a game design collective dedicated to personal storytelling and positive self-reflection, we invite you to participate in The Honest Writapalooza — a month-long storytelling contest for reflecting on and writing about honesty from your perspective.

As we move into an increasingly connected, post-COVID world, the pursuit of critical thought and mutual understanding becomes more dire. This year has already proved incredibly difficult for many communities across the globe, putting many of us in a place where we are not only unraveling our cultural and political identities, but our personal stories as well. As both real-world and digital media produce more and more narratives for us to digest, the process of discerning where we stand becomes more challenging. Though this process can be harrowing, we want you to know that you are not alone.

Now is the time to reflect on the role of honesty in your life. Perhaps you have a story to tell about a past circumstance, or a hope about the future. This is an opportunity for you to explore your relationship to critical thought, truth, and understanding. We encourage you to dig deeply and share your observations.

Contest duration

July 1 – August 1, 2022

Submission requirements

Original work, no plagiarism. 

1000 words or less.

All writing styles and pictures are encouraged. If you use pictures, please add alt text for accessibility.

Keep private information private. 

Libeling others is not allowed.

You must identify yourself (no anonymous posts; you can use a pen name, but must be linked to a valid social media account of a real living person (no bots).

Winner selection

We anticipate selecting 5–8 winners across the following judging categories:

Funniest

Most insightful

Most surprising

Rubric

<insert rubric>

Eligibility

Worldwide

Prize

Cash prize (?)

The Honest Majority merchandise: shirt, mug, and sticker

Cross-publication of winning stories on The Honest Majority website, Plot Twisters website, and select indie publishers (TBD)

AI-generated prize creation

Or see the already submitted stories.

Check out our community forum!

We're a growing community and looking for support to create a greater organization around encouraging people to have more honest and effective interactions.