Short Fiction Contest: Ocean Trash Write-Away

Submissions due September 19, 2015

Presented by Sapiens Plurum, Ocean Conservancy, and the Center for Science and the Imagination

**Learn more and submit your story today!**

Every sea on Earth is plagued by massive amounts of trash. Refuse in the ocean kills hundreds of thousands of birds and marine mammals per year, and hazardous heavy metals bind to plastic particles and enter our food chain. According to a study in the journal Science, between 4.8 and 12.7 million metric tons of plastic entered the world’s oceans in 2010 alone.

The Ocean Trash Write-Away contest challenges writers ages 25 and under to imagine solutions to this global challenge and write an inspiring short story set in a future where we’ve turned the tide on ocean trash.

Submissions are due on September 19, 2015, which is both International Coastal Cleanup Day and International Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Winners will have their 1500-3000 word stories published on the Sapiens Plurum website. Prizes include cash and a four-day trip to the Center for Science and the Imagination.

Photo: “Gyre,” by Chris Jordan. Courtesy of Ars Electronica, used under a Creative Commons license.