Story Criteria

COMPETITION DETAILS

  1. Your story should be between 500 and 2,000 words,
  2. be based on real events (i.e. not a work of fiction) and
  3. the subject matter should have strong association with i/ Sickle Cell Disease and ii/ the role of blood in the treatment and management of this condition.

We encourage using pictures and/or video to help illustrate your story. You can edit a submitted entry at any time up to the moment it is approved by our moderators. Once approved, your entry may be published for others to read and enjoy. You may submit multiple stories until the deadline.

A panel of judges with expertise in Sickle Cell Disease will award a first, second and third prize of $500, $350 and $250. There will also be two discretionary prizes of $125 for the best entry from someone under 16 and the best entry from a healthcare professional, providing entrants from these categories i/ meet (in the opinion of the judges) quality thresholds and ii/ are not already represented among the winners .

JUDGES WILL ASSESS STORIES BASED ON THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA:

Originality. The content has not been previously published.

Emotional engagement. Entries that are more “technical” in nature will be considered to have less merit than those that explore the human and personal impact of blood donation and transfusion on the treatment of SCD.

Illustrative of industry challenges. As the aim of the competition is to highlight the effect that blood donation/transfusion has upon the life situation of someone with SCD, stories that illustrate this - either through personal or second hand experience – will be preferred.

Substantial Themes. Entries that deal with bigger themes will be preferred to those than focus on inconsequential issues

Include photographic support. Entries supported by photographs or other visual elements will be preferred to those that are not. Those entries where the visual component directly supports the narrative will be considered of greater merit than those where the relationship is more tangential.

Effort/word count. Merit shall be given to entries where there is evidence of content being well thought-through and well crafted. Longer entries will be preferred to shorter, providing that other quality considerations are met

Potential impact on industry/public awareness and attitudes. Winning entries will be used to raise awareness of issues relating to blood collection and transfusion to increase support for development programs. Where the above criterion fails to produce a clear ranking, the entries being compared should be subject to the question: “which is most likely to engage stakeholders and/or change behaviors”. The entry most likely to achieve this will be preferred.

This story competition begins 01 August, 2016 and will close midnight 30 September, 2016. Winners will be personally notified within 4 weeks of the closing date, with winning entries announced and published on this site.

 

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Contest Rules

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Key Entry Rules

  1. You must be someone with Sickle Cell Disease or have some strong connection with SCD through kinship, friendship or caring responsibility.
  2. Your story – which must be true and should include some aspect of the importance of blood in the narrative – must be between 200–2,000 words.
  3. We expect most entries to come from Africa, but where you live is less important than the story you have to share.
  4. Stories must be submitted by the contest deadline of 30 September 2016.
  5. Photographs and other media can be included and are very much encouraged.
  6. First, second and third place winners will be awarded a monetary prize of $500/$350/$250 respectively. There will also be two special $125 prizes for standout young contestant (under 16) and standout health care professional, if not represented among the overall winners.

Story Criteria

Contest Rules

Past Winners