Bet Tuppi’s Fortnightly Writing Challenge

Hi all!

Following the success of our inaugural Ancient Near Eastern Historical Fiction competition (the shortlisted and winning entries can be found on this website) the team at Bet Tuppi press wanted to create a more regular format.

Every fortnight we will give you a theme/person/topic/artefact to base your story on and all you need to do is use your imagination to come up with some fantastic ideas.

Entry is free (just post your stories in our reddit thread).

Head on over to our Reddit Page here: https://www.reddit.com/r/BetTuppiPress/comments/p0kkpg/bet_tuppis_fortnightly_writing_challenge_first/

You can also share any story you write about the Ancient Near East to our Reddit Page and one of the judges will take the time to give you feedback!

Two winners will be chosen: ‘The Community Favourite’ and ‘The Judges’ Favourite’. Both will receive a £5 prize!

‘The Community Favourite’ will be the story that receives the highest net ‘upvotes’.

‘The Judges’ Favourite’ will be decided on by the judges at Bet Tuppi Press (we especially like originality and good use of the source material)

Both stories will be published on our website.

The Challenge:

For this competition we want you to write a story based on cylinder seals!

Here is an image of a cylinder seal:

Cylinder seals were used as a way of authenticating receipts, as a kind of signature on clay envelopes, or as personal adornment.

Here are a few resources for you to learn more about these amazing artefacts:

https://cnx.org/contents/hj0fKLrZ@1/Cylinder-Seals-and-the-Development-of-Writing-in-Early-Mesopotamia – Academic article on cylinder seals

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpZYCOFAI_4&t=1s – Video from the Met Museum

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WJRYkd4e2U – Lecture by Sidney Babcock

https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/W_1873-0901-1 – British Museum Cylinder seals

Rules:

• The entry must be your own original story
• Entries must not exceed 5000 words
• Only one entry per person please (if you want to share your other stories feel free to post them to our general reddit thread!)
• The winners will retain all rights to their work following the initial publication of the short story on our website

Have fun!

– Matthew Parkes