StreetLib Series: writing is connecting
Can you write in Spanish? And do you want to participate in StreetLib’s new literary contest? Read on then!
“We read to know that we are not alone.” This sentence is said twice in Shadowlands (1993), a movie that focuses on a particularly intense episode in the life of C. S. Lewis, the author of The Chronicles of Narnia. I recall thinking a lot about it before deciding whether to agree or not. There’s something intimate, intrinsically private, in the relationship we have with a book that would make reasonable to believe that reading is an act of solitude. But it is not: it doesn’t matter whether we never talk about what we read or, on the contrary, we shout it to the four winds in Goodreads, because in both cases reading connects us with the world.
And if this is true when we read, it is also valid when we write. We type our stories with the aim of reaching someone and, in one way or another, contributing to their perspective through surprise, conflict, laughter or reflection. In addition, with these stories we leave a testimony of how our society is today, of the configuration of the space-time axis upon which they are created. Can you think of anything more social than this?
In StreetLib we firmly believe that reading and writing books is, first and foremost, a way to connect. That’s why, a few months ago, we launched a forum, StreetLib Connect, so that our users could get to know each other and interact in as many ways as possible. Through the different channels that make up Connect, it is possible to share literary tastes, get feedback on what we’ve just written, start collaborative writing projects, ask for advice on the best place to organize a book presentation in a specific city or share experiences with the use of our platform, among many other things. And we’ve just overcome the magical threshold of 1,000 users!
As you may already know, the different divisions of StreetLib around the world have their own channel in Connect. And it is precisely in the channel of StreetLib Spain & Latin America, which I moderate with Ana Córdoba, where we have created a new literary creation project: StreetLib Series.
The idea is very simple: we suggest a topic to our Spanish-speaking users so that they can write a story and upload it to our Connect channel. Once the deadline for submission is over, the community will vote to choose the best ten stories and this selection will be published in an eBook and will be distributed and sold through our platform in our selection of international book stores. And of course their authors will receive their share for royalties!
Do you like the idea? Hurry up then, because the first edition of StreetLib Series is already underway! You just have to read the rules of the contest and start writing. You have until October 15. The apocalyptic topic that we’ve chosen for this occasion is the perfect excuse for you to take your creativity for a walk, to enjoy the creativity of others and, in the end, to connect.
Because, as it happens with reading, we also write to know that we are not alone.
