Open Call for Writers: Contemporary Legends

We are inviting creative writers based in the UK to submit an original contemporary legend. 

Inspired by Women Who Run With the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estés, this project explores storytelling as a living, ever-changing process. We are interested in stories that evolve through retelling, interpretation, memory, and new perspectives. 

We are looking for contemporary legends that engage with womanhood, femininity, and queer experiences in all their complexity. These stories may draw on folklore, myth, personal experience, cultural memory, speculation, or entirely new imaginings. We welcome diverse voices, perspectives, and approaches to storytelling.

Following the open call, a selection of texts will be paired with visual artists, who will create new artworks in response to the chosen stories. Together, the text and artwork will form part of a public exhibition exploring the relationship between storytelling, interpretation, and visual translation.

What We're Looking For

We invite original contemporary legends that:

Explore feminine and/or queer figures, identities, and archetypes.

Draw inspiration from folklore, mythology, oral storytelling traditions, or contemporary life.

Embrace storytelling as a process of retelling, adaptation, and reinterpretation.

Offer a distinctive voice and perspective.

There is no single definition of what a contemporary legend should be. We encourage experimentation and welcome a wide range of narrative styles.

What Happens Next

Selected stories will:

Be published on the project's digital platform.

Be shared with a visual artist, who will create an original artwork in response to the text.

Serve as a point of departure for the artist's creative reflection and interpretation.

Be presented alongside the resulting artwork as part of a public exhibition.

To further explore storytelling as a living practice:

Selected stories will be recorded as audio pieces, either by the author or by a reader chosen by the author.

Authors may also be invited to participate in a live retelling of their story as part of the exhibition programme and related events.

The exhibition will present each work as a dialogue between writer and artist, highlighting how stories continue to change as they move between voices, mediums, and perspectives.

Eligibility

Open to 25+ writers based in the United Kingdom. 

Emerging, established, and first-time writers are all encouraged to apply.

Submission Guidelines

Length: 800–1,200 words

Language: English

Format: PDF

One submission per writer.

The work must be original and unpublished. NoAI-generated submissions are advised to submit.

Shall we also requires audio recording in addition to the text?

Submission Fee

This project is currently self-funded and receives no external funding.

To help cover administrative and organisational expenses associated with reviewing submissions and delivering the project, a submission fee of £25 applies.

All other aspects of participation in the project are free of charge.

Deadline 31 - 08 - 2026
How to Submit

Please send your submission as a PDF to:

Please include:

• Your name

• A short biography (up to 100 words)

• The title of your story

• Your contact details

We look forward to reading stories that travel, transform, and take on new life through retelling.