Write a story involving Talking in Tongues, and a thorn. $3000 grand prize.

Talk, talk, talk. The noise is everywhere, all around you. But one voice whispers clearly in your ear, speaks through your mouth. You shouldn’t understand, but you do, and you’re not sure how you feel about what it has to say…

Mystics speak in languages they never learned. Children snarl guttural sounds as they sleep while priests chant divine verse. Whispers, wails, and warnings—listen close to the utterance of the universe. The shaman communes with spirits through voice and dance. The programmer dictates with key and code. Our machines hallucinate in zeros and ones. If we find a cosmic cipher among the stars, do we answer it or ignore the call? Grimoires, glyphs, and gibberish dictionaries. Drums beat a rhythm understandable across cultures, and the painter creates a dialogue between brush and canvas louder than a thousand words. But beware, lest your own voice betray you and your dreams fill with lies. The translator chooses what to interpret or conceal. Communication is a blessing, but tread lightly—the power of understanding can be a heavy burden to bear.

This contest invites you to explore Talking in Tongues, whatever that means to you. Fantasy, contemporary, romance, crime. All genres are welcome.

Submissions close October 31st at 11:59 pm EST. Contest only open to new writers.

We are keen to encourage quality, so suggest writers to check their stories before submitting using Prowritingaid. They have free and paid versions and are the best writing software we know to help improve grammar, readability and check for repetition, ‘sticky’ sentences and suggest alternatives.