In 100 words: fiction contest that invites people from southern Chile to write about their experiences in the area

“Araucanía in 100 Words” is a short story contest organized by Fundación Plagio that together with CMPC asks residents of the Araucanía Region to write about local life. It has just issued its 2023 call for entries.

This Wednesday, August 9, the fifth edition of the short story contest Araucanía en 100 Palabras (Araucanía in 100 Words) literary contest was kicked off. It asks residents of the Araucanía Region in south-central Chile to paint a scene of the region in a maximum of 100 words.

The launch event featured a keynote speech by the writer, a native of the Region’s capital city Temuco, María José Ferrada, who presented her creative processes and called on attendees to be inspired by the region where she was born so they can create stories.

The volcanoes, the rivers, the countryside, the lake, the neighborhoods and family traditions were some of the elements that have given life to the 19,000 stories that Araucanía in 100 Words has received during its four years of history written by people of all ages in different districts in the region. This is a new opportunity to participate. The open call for this contest presented by CMPC and Fundación Plagio will go on until November 6.

“At Fundación Plagio, we’ve witnessed the tremendous creative capacity that exists in the Araucanía Region and felt the interest of people to offer their unique views on the region. We are opening more spaces in schools for children and youths to connect with their creativity and also contribute to this shared story about the places where they live. We hope that this year more people will get excited about writing and participating in the new edition of Araucanía in 100 Words”, said Soledad Camponovo, general coordinator of Fundación Plagio.

The jury of this new version is composed of the writer and journalist Alejandra Costamagna, the writer from Temuco, Diego Vargas, and the scriptwriter and cartoonist of Purén, a city in the Region, Bernardita Olmedo.

New Award for the Best Story of Remembrance

The 5th edition of Araucanía in 100 Words is premiering a new recognition: the Award for the Best Story of Remembrance for the top story that speaks to the historical memory and the past of the region and its inhabitants, in the context of the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the coup d’état in Chile. The winner of this new prize will receive a sum of CLP 250,000.

The other contest categories are the Senior Talent Award (over 65 years of age) and Young Talent Award (aged 13 to 18) who will each win CLP 250,000 and the Children’s Talent Award (under 12 years of age) who will receive a collection of books totaling a value of CLP 250,000. First Place will get CLP 1,000,000. There will be one winner for the Best Story in Mapudungun as well as two Honorable Mentions who will receive CLP 250,000 each.

The schools with the most stories

To encourage student participation, the Araucanía in 100 Words contest will also reward schools that submit the most stories. The winning educational establishment will be visited by a writer and win a collection of books worth CLP 250,000. Second place will get a book collection valued at CLP 200,000, and third place will get CLP 100,000 worth of books.

As part of this year’s open call, free creative writing workshops will be held in educational establishments throughout the Araucanía region in order to deliver writing tools to children and youths. One device to be used in the workshops will be “Creando en 100 Palabras” [Creating in 100 Words], a methodology developed by Fundación Plagio and Fundación Olivo to awaken creativity in the classroom and help students delve further into a story’s structure.

“Araucanía in 100 Words has been around for five years now. We at CMPC are proud of our contributions to the cultural development of this region through an activity that invites people to express themselves in written format. In its four previous editions, more than 19,000 stories were sent in, showing the people’s interest, be they adults, children or youth, in sharing their experiences or turning their personal lives into a story that can be read by many people,” said Gustavo Apablaza, CMPC Public Affairs Deputy Manager.

Book Giveaway

As part of the launch of the fifth edition of Araucanía in 100 Words, thousands of books with the 100 best stories from the last edition of the contest will be distributed free of charge. Those who want to get a copy can do so at the following locations while supplies last: Angol Cultural Center (Lautaro 101, Angol); Lautaro Cultural Center (Calle Antonio Matta 975, Lautaro); Fibra Local de Temuco (Arturo Prat 427, Temuco); Miralibros Bookstore in Temuco (Vicuña Mackenna 595, Temuco); Municipal Library of Temuco (Arturo Prat 42, Temuco); Vuelan los libros de Villarrica Bookstore (Urrutia 788 local 5. El Arrayán Gallery); Vuelan los libros de Pucón Bookstore (Arauco 312, corner of Urrutia, Pucón).