The 2024 Velvet Revolution Writing Contest

How Could any Revolution be Velvet?

The contest results are in and so is the anthology of selected works by entrants! Have a read of it here.

If you’re playing catch-up and wondering what the devil this contest was all about, here’s some background from earlier this year:

In commemoration of the upcoming 35th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, Anglo-American University has joined forces with Media:list and Paměť národa, under the auspices of the US Embassy in the Czech Republic, to host the 2024 Velvet Revolution Writing Contest.

With the guiding theme of “How Could any Revolution be Velvet?”, this competition calls upon contestants to reflect on the Revolution and its far-reaching impacts on both the individual and society. Participants may choose from three writing genres to best craft the narrative—essay, reportage, or short story—and may tell their own story, their family’s story, a friend’s, anyone’s, as long as it speaks to the enduring legacy of those epoch-making ten days in 1989. So get to writing!

Age Categories:

Up to 18
19 to 26

Genres:

Essay
Reportage
Short Story

Specifications:

Theme: Any topic related to the Velvet Revolution and/or its legacy
Must be original work
Maximum length: 9,000 characters (with spaces)
Language: English
The contest is open to students in all of Czechia and Slovakia.

Evaluation criteria:

Adherence to prescribed theme, scope, and chosen genre
Originality and artistic impression
Linguistic quality

Deadline:

Entries must be submitted by June 30, 2024.

Awards:

TOP prizes for each age category are as follows:

AAU Bachelor’s full scholarship
AAU Master’s full scholarship
Internship/study visit at Paměť národa

Up to ten of the top stories in each age category will be published in an anthology, with the winning authors being invited to a closing ceremony on the university campus.

*Winners will be announced in Fall 2024.

Selection Committee:

All pieces of writing will be thoroughly reviewed and assessed by members of the selection committee. Meet the members:

Joshua M. Hayden, chair of Department of Social Sciences
Monika MacDonagh-Pajerová, lecturer, School of Humanities & Social Sciences
Radek Stavěl, writer, creative idea maker
Martin Klíma, game designer

Sign up today!

Announcements

AAU and the Velvet Revolution Writing Contest have been featured in the following media:

About the Organizer

Anglo-American University (AAU) is located in the center of Europe in the cosmopolitan capital of Prague, Czech Republic. With matriculates from over 80 countries and small classes designed for engagement and free discussion, the university offers its students a truly international education while preparing them for today’s global landscape. Founded in 1990, it is the Czech Republic’s first private institution of higher learning and employs English as its medium of instruction. Since 2016, the school has enjoyed the noteworthy distinction of being the only organization of its kind in the country to hold dual accreditation—both from Czech authorities and the American WASC Senior College and University Commission—reinforcing the university’s already rigorous standards of academic excellence.