First Line Literary Contest
Wednesday, February 1 – Tuesday, February 28, 2023
Berlin-Peck invites you to compose your best original opening line to an imaginary novel!
February 1, 2023
Events > First Line Literary Contest
Event Information
When
THIS EVENT HAS ENDED
Wednesday, February 1
to Tuesday, February 28, 2023
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Contest
Ursula K. Le Guin once said: “First sentences are doors to worlds.” Here’s your chance to write your own!
Berlin-Peck invites you to compose your best opening line to an imaginary novel. You can write on any topic or genre, as long as your sentence is original and makes us want to read more!
It was a dark and stormy night…
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.
Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small, unregarded yellow sun.
Submit a Sentence!
Compose your best opening line to an imaginary novel. Any topic or genre is acceptable, as long as your first sentence is original and pulls us in, leaving us wanting to read more.
Rules
- Participants must have a library card.
- Ages 14 through adult can participate.
- Entries must be submitted by the deadline of February 24, 2022.
- Submissions will be judged by a blind review panel.
- Participants may submit multiple entries but can only win one prize.
- Submissions must be one sentence in length, with a maximum of 300 characters.
Prizes
The winner will receive bragging rights, a reading-themed pin from our All-Year Reading Contest.
EVERY participant will receive a custom bookmark with their best sentence. Multiple entries are allowed, but each participant will receive one bookmark. This year’s winning line will be listed on the back of each bookmark!
Judges will pick a winner anonymously, without seeing who submitted the sentence.
The winner will be announced in early March.
Inspiration
Check out the phenomenal entries from previous years: 2022
Looking for inspiration to help write your first line? Check out these famous first lines!
- 83 Opening Lines Of Famous Books That Will Make You Want To Read Them Now
- 100 Best First Lines from Novels
- 15 of the best first lines in fiction