Throwback: 1st literature competition of the German Ovarian Cancer Foundation
After the last great successes of the German Ovarian Cancer Foundation and the DIWA community on fashion (“Fashion show size hero) and singing (“Singing against ovarian cancer”), the Foundation is now launching a new campaign:
The “Literature competition of the German Ovarian Cancer Foundation on life and joy of life”
French author Jules Renard said: “Writing is just a way of speaking without being interrupted.” Therefore, the German Ovarian Cancer Foundation and the DIWA (“Du, Ich, Wir, Alle”/ “You, I, We, All”) community are calling for authentic texts to be written and submitted in all areas of life that directly or indirectly touch on the topics of ovarian cancer, life or joy of life. The authors’ different perspectives are interesting – whether they are patients, relatives, friends, therapists or simply observers. The invitation is open and is directed at literary experts as well as anyone interested in the subject.
Professor Dr. Jalid Sehouli, doctor, scientist focusing on ovarian cancer and writer himself, initiated this campaign and says: “Writing means entering into dialogue, quite consciously, with oneself and with the great opportunity to get into conversation with other people”.
The “dialogue with others” is not only possible through writing and reading, but can also work by dealing with literary texts written by people with similar problems, life themes and philosophies. The texts can have a so-called biblio-therapeutic effect. A linguistic area can be opened to one’s own feelings through “own” or “other peoples” texts. The authors Susanne Diehm and Jutta Michaud (SUDIJUMI) describe how such an expanding self-perception can support patients in the important clarification of existential questions of life and lead them out of solitude after the diagnosis of cancer.
Therefore, the German Ovarian Cancer Foundation wants to publish a selection of the texts submitted by affected women, relatives, friends and companions in a special edition.
For the literature competition of the German Ovarian Cancer Foundation this means:
Not only classical literary criteria will be used for evaluation, but also the feelings and thoughts that the text awakens and it’s potential to provoke dialogues with oneself and other people. Every person has the ability to express himself in writing and every text has its justification – sometimes it is just a helpful experience report and sometimes literature is created. Everything can, everything can be.
The texts selected by the renowned jury are later compiled in a printed anthology and also made available to ovarian cancer self-help groups. We ask for the consent of the authors in advance.
Selection Criteria
Formally, you should adhere to the following criteria:
- Thematically all aspects affecting ovarian cancer
- All genres possible, short stories, prose or poetry, but also a chapter from a novel is allowed or other creative forms
- In German language
- Scope: up to ten typewriter pages
Jury Members
- Nina George
- Dr. Elke Leonhard
- Moritz Rinke
- Patricia Riekel
- Wolfgang Kohlhaase
- Prof. Dr. Jalid Sehouli
- Irene Dische
- Anita Frauwallner
- Susanne Diehm
- Prof. Dr. Michael Tsokos
- Dr J. Vinzent
- Dr. Robert Crossbow
Terms of Partizipation, EligIibility and Exclusion from Participtation
You want to submit a text for our literature competition? Then simply send your print pdf together with information about you as author to presse@stiftung-eierstockkrebs.de.
Works of all genres are permitted – but short stories are particularly suitable. The text submitted for participation may not be or have been the subject of a publishing contract or an option right of a publisher.
The participant must be the sole author of the text. The prize is organised and sponsored by the German Ovarian Cancer Foundation.
The deadline for entries is April 15, 2018.
The entries will be made available to the organisers and jury members for the purpose of organising and selecting the prize. Please also let us know whether – if your text is selected – you would like to read it on May 13, 2018 on the occasion of World Ovarian Cancer Day or whether you would like to have it presented by a prominent author.
The organizer reserves the right to exclude a participant if, within the scope of the literature prize of the German Ovarian Cancer Foundation, he/she publishes or makes public statements that violate the law and/or are otherwise offensive (in particular insults, improper provocations, racist or ideological defamations, pornographic or sexist statements or illustrations).
Prize & Winner’s Notification
The winners of the competition will be determined by the jury at the end of the participation period. Three texts will be awarded.
1st prize Reading trip for two to Berlin, Leipzig or Frankfurt/Main
2nd prize Voucher for “professional writing coaching” worth 400 EUR, sponsored and carried
out by the writing experts of SUDIJUMI
3rd prize Valuable author and literature packages from renowned publishers
Furthermore, great book prizes are waiting for our shortlisted candidates.
The shortlisted candidates will also be included in the anthology, which will be printed by a renowned book publisher after the award ceremony and will receive an author’s copy free of charge. The winners of the German Ovarian Cancer Foundation Literature Award will be announced on May 13 on World Ovarian Cancer Day 2018 at the “Writing against cancer” event at Gendarmenmarkt in Berlin. The winning texts will then also be read in public with great media attention by celebrities or the authors.
Data Privacy
Personal data of the participant (e.g. name, e-mail address, address) will only be collected, stored and processed for the purpose of carrying out the literature prize of the Ovarian Cancer Foundation, i.e. to notify the winner. In addition, the name of the winner and information about his or her life (“Information about the author”) will be published on the websites of the German Ovarian Cancer Foundation and the Facebook page DIWA as well as other communications to the media and interested third parties. Other data about the participant (e-mail address, address) will not be passed on to third parties without the participant’s explicit permission. The participant can revoke his permission at any time with effect for the future.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the supporters of the literature competition, among others:
