"Vergessen"
Short Story Competition 2024
And the Winners are ...
1st place: "Zersplittern" by Matthias Löwe
2nd place: "The Perfect Language Learner" by Constanza Quinteros Ortiz
3rd place: "Mitten in der Stadt ..." by Vanessa Hillemeier
3rd place: "Ad Portas" by Julius Noack
The short stories will be published in the winter issue of the UniKunstKultur magazine. The magazine will be published on October 1, 2024 and you can read the stories online here. If you prefer to read them on paper, we can also send you the magazine free of charge, just send us your address to: kultur@uni-muenster.de (Germany only).
News - April 8, 2024
Of almost 150 texts sent to us by 31 January 2024, 136 short stories were accepted into the competition. Never before have so many authors taken part in our short story competition. We are delighted to see so much creative energy on campus and are doubly grateful to our jury members for not being daunted by this enthusiasm.
In a first reading phase, a shortlist of 14 short stories was determined, which will be discussed in the final jury meeting at the end of April. Everyone is cordially invited to the public reading and award ceremony on May 15 at neben*an, Warendorfer Strasse 21-25 at 6 pm.
Announcement
What happens when we dare to forget? What happens when we forget to remember ?
In recent semesters, our university has been much about the past, memory and cultural heritage. But what if we imagine the opposite? What does „Vergessen“ mean? What do we lose or, perhaps, gain when we forget? Do we gain space for the new? What happens if we fall into oblivion? Or the hard drive, the thus believed permanent storage of memory, gets scrambled? Who can forget at all? These questions move philosophy, psychology, medicine, computer science, anthropology and many other fields of knowledge – and, perhaps, may also prompt your next short story!
Conditions of participation
For the 2024 short story competition, we seek prose texts driven by the keyword „Vergessen“ – a German title, for in German the word can be used both as a verb and as a substantive, and thus can cover a whole range of meanings. We welcome submission from students and staff of Münster University or students from other academic institutions in Münster. The texts must not exceed 7,500 characters (including spaces). Since the texts are to be submitted anonymously to the jury, author names should only be noted in the accompanying email. The winners will receive prize money totalling 1,500 euros.
Send your short story – in German or in English or both – as a PDF file (text 1.5 lines) by 31.01.2024 to: kultur@uni-muenster.de. The winning texts will be presented in an author reading in summer semester 2024 and will appear in print.
Regarding AI
In the ever-shifting landscape of storytelling and literary wizardry, we simultaneously tip our hats to the rise of ingenious technologies like ChatGPT. Embracing the novelty of AI, we are open to participants engaging with artificial intelligence, expecting a harmonious duet, exploring the enigmatic realms of memory, forgetting, and crafted tales under the theme of "Vergessen."
Now, for those who choose to work with AI, ChatGPT included, we say, "Bravo!" But a word of advice: use AI as your trusty sidekick, enhancing your narratives with a sprinkle of computational magic. However, dear participants, maintain the essence of your creativity, preserve the authenticity of your voice, and ensure your stories shimmer with originality. We're counting on your accountability, for within this collaboration, fantastical tales are born, and we eagerly anticipate the wonders you'll conjure.
The Jury
Dr. Thomas Bilda, Innovation Office, Winner of the short stories competitions 2020 and 2022
Gulsin Ciftci, English Department, Research Associate, Chair of American Studies
Dr. Ortwin Lämke, Germanistisches Institut, Centrum für Rhetorik, Kommunikation und Theaterpraxis
Dominik Renneke, Burg Hülshoff – Center for Literature, Dramaturg and Curator
Prof. Dr. Mark U. Stein, English Department, Chair of English, Postcolonial and Media Studies
Corinna Wolters, Masterstudent Culture Poetics / British, American and Postcolonial StudiesPrevious competitions
Short Story Competition 2022 "Green Tales"
Winning texts in the UniKunstKultur magazine [de]