Effective August 8, 2019, Walk In Those Shoes officially became a corporation with public charity status.  Who knew this is where the path that was cleared would lead?

The purpose of Walk In Those Shoes has always been to bring about more understanding and compassion through writing, sharing not only stories but HOW people arrived in their stories.  There are crimes that may never be understood, and there are just as many that could have been predicted by an individual’s life experiences from birth – whether a lack of resources, or love, or having role models who achieved success and the ability to feed their families through crime.

Walk In Those Shoes combines the magic of healing through writing and the true life experiences of those in prison – with the goal of growing compassion.  The end goal is a desire for change in this overly incarcerated country, not only  within prisons themselves but also in the unbalanced scales of justice.  We can come up with solutions, and one part of that is understanding that a prison sentence is not the definition of a person.    

Over the years, positive feedback has outweighed negative by far, although there are, on occasion, voices who object to those in prison having a literary outlet or advocacy.  To that, I say – there is no mistake in loving and caring and speaking up for others.  All comments are welcome, within the bounds of civility, but negative comments won’t stop the compassion and advocacy that happens here because there is no mistake in caring about people.

With that said – it’s time for another writing contest.  Only those who are incarcerated are eligible to participate.  The theme?  SOMEONE ELSE’S SHOES.

Become an advocate.  Plead someone else’s case.  It doesn’t need to be a ‘legal’ argument, the rules are flexible.  Tell us about someone you know who deserves another chance at freedom, or medical care they are not getting, or to be released from solitary confinement.  Tell us about a ‘good soul’ that has always had the chips stacked against him or her.  You might have to talk to them about their childhood – find out their story.  Or you may already know it.  Or – your piece might not touch on their background at all.  You make the rules – but speak up for someone in a way that makes people feel compassion.  Nicknames are welcome, but if you use their full name – get their permission to write about them, and if they choose you can include their contact information. 

However you want to go about it – help us to feel someone else’s suffering, to walk in their shoes.  In 1,000 words or less – show love and compassion through your writing about – someone else.  Submissions can be handwritten.

As done in our previous contest, I will narrow down the entries to the top ten, and then hand them off to individuals to rate the writing with a point system to determine winners.

PRIZES:  It became apparent in the previous contest we needed more than one prize. 

First Place:  $75
Second Place:  $50
Third Place:  $25

DEADLINE:  December 31, 2019.  Decisions will be posted on or before February 10, 2020.

COST OF ENTRY:  Entry is free, but entry will be considered permission for posting on the blog and for editing – regardless of whether or not the entry wins. If the last contest is any indication, we recieved a lot of writing we wanted to share, even if they all didn’t win. 

Please don’t submit previously published material.

MAILING ADDRESS:

Walk In Those Shoes
Writing Contest Entry
P.O. Box 70092
Henrico, Virginia  23255