The Fairtales: Essays: "The ordinary life" Fee: eur €5.00

When did an ordinary life stop feeling enough? And did it ever?

Today it seems everything around us celebrates ambition, careers, extraordinary experiences and a film-like life.

Amidst it all, the question remains: Are we still beaneath our ambitions and still chasing the same ordinary things like love, purpose, belonging or has the definition or ordinary changed completely?

Perhaps even the most extraordinary lives, given sufficient time, become ordinary?

For this edition of our Modern Life series, we invite essays that explore the idea of the ordinary life.

We don't look for a definitive answer, but rather for perspectives and observation, a clever presentation and a fresh way of seeing modern life.

The deadline for this contest entry is July 31st. We will announce the shortlist within five to ten weeks of the contest's close. All writers will be notified when the results are final.

We will award EUR 50 to the winner and EUR 25 for the runner up. All entries will be considered for publication.

Guidelines:

• Non-fiction essays
• Only ONE submission per writer
• Up to 1000 words
• We only consider unpublished work —we do not review reprints, including self-published work (even on blogs and social media). Reprints will be automatically disqualified.
• Simultaneous submissions are okay—please notify us and withdraw your entry if you find another home for your writing
• All entries will also be considered for publication in The Fairtales
• Double-space your submission and use Times New Roman 12 (or larger if needed)
• We only read work in English, though some meshing is warmly welcomed.
• AI-generated or -assisted submissions will be automatically disqualified
• The Fairtales holds first serial publication rights after publication. Authors agree not to publish, nor authorize or permit the publication of, any part of the material for three months following The Fairtales first publication. For reprints, we ask for acknowledgment of its publication in The Fairtales first.