Call for Submissions
True Tapestries Redux: Threads of Stratford Stories
Submission Deadline: July 31, 2026 Three Live Performances: November 20, 21& 22, 2026 Location: Stratford Perth Museum
What’s your story?
We’re inviting residents of Stratford and surrounding communities—ages 10 and up, from all backgrounds and experiences—to share a true story in prose or poetry, for True Tapestries Redux, a live storytelling event that brings local voices are brought to life on stage through performance and music.
Your story can be funny, moving, surprising, quiet, or bold. It might capture a turning point, a memory, a relationship, or a moment you’ve never spoken about before.
If it’s true—and it matters to you—we want to hear it.
This Year’s Themes
This year, stories are grouped around two broad themes:
HOME
Roots · Belonging · Dreams · Community
What shapes your sense of home? Where do you feel you belong—or not belong? What dreams or communities have shaped your journey?
CHANGE
Risk · Loss · Secrets · Grief
What moments changed you? What risks did you take—or avoid? What did you lose, carry, or keep hidden?
You may interpret these themes in any way that feels meaningful to you. Your story can focus on one keyword—or move between them.
What Happens Next
A panel of local writers, poets, and artists will select stories to be:
- Performed live by Stratford performers
- Enhanced with live music
- Presented across three performances at the Stratford Perth Museum
Selected stories will become part of a shared community experience—woven together into a tapestry of voices, memories, and lived experience.
Submission Details
- Length: 500 words or less
- Format: Prose or poetry
- File types: Word (.doc/.docx) or PDF
- Submission platform: [Submittable link to come]
- Blind review: Please remove your name from the document
- Eligibility: Ages 10+
- Previously published work: Accepted
- Multiple submissions: Welcome
Additional:
- Selected stories may be included in a published anthology (top 10 submissions)
- Writers retain rights to their work, while granting permission for performance and promotional use by the Provocation Ideas Festival
A Space for New Voices
We especially encourage submissions from young people, first-time storytellers, and those whose voices are not often heard.
You don’t need to be a professional writer. You just need a story to tell.
A Community Collaboration
True Tapestries Redux is a collaboration between:
Provocation Ideas Festival · Stratford Perth Museum · Stratford Public Library · Blue Moon Publishers
Be part of the tapestry.
Tell your story.
For inspiration, here are some 100-word story samples:
New York Times Teen Tiny Memoirs: The Winners of Our 4th Annual 100-Word Narrative Contest 2026
Tiny Memoir Contest Winners - The New York Times
New York Times 100 Word Personal Narrative Contest 2025
Teen Tiny Memoirs: The Winners of Our 3rd Annual 100-Word Narrative Contest - The New York Times
Ramsay Writes 100 Word Memoir Writing Contest
OG Version of Writing Contest Submissions FINAL PUBLISH VERSION 3 13 2025.docx