If you’re a fan of Narratively, you know that we are all about the BIG story. We like an epic narrative that unfolds in several acts and consists of vivid, cinematic scenes. But part of what we like, too, is a unique perspective. We want to be surprised and delighted — we want to not see it coming. And sometimes that looks like one delicious slice of pie rather than the whole thing… 

Enter The Personals. These first-person pieces still meet two of the main criteria for Narratively stories: They’re about something super unique and interesting, and they’re rooted in detailed and colorful scenes. BUT they instead focus on one moment, one day, one week, one summer, etc. (And consequently, they’re much shorter.) We want your best pieces about a surprising moment, a split-second, life-changing decision, an upside-down view of something that we, as a society, are used to looking at head-on. Send us your story about that time you decided at the last second to leave the altar and make a go of it with your unforbidden love instead, the stranger who gave you advice that changed the trajectory of your life forever, that time you confronted your bully 25 years later only to learn about the hardship they were going through at the time. 

What The Personals Is: You can tell us a story on a subject we’ve heard about before, but give us a unique way in. 

What The Personals Isn’t: We love a good internal-based story like everyone else, a writer working out their opinion or recent revelation on the page, but that is not what we’re looking for here. We want active, exciting first-person stories that revolve around dramatic scenes and moments.

A few Personals pieces and stories we’ve done in the past that are good examples of what we’re looking for:

The Man Who Betrayed Me Was Also the Man Who Loved Me (1,820)

Unburying My Mother’s Secret (2,185)

I Was Taught to Hate My Lesbian Neighbors. They Took Me In Anyway (1,500 words)

I’m Not an Asian Stereotype, But I Play One on TV (1,400 words)

Why I Apologized to My Rapist (1,500 words)

Details: 

Pitches? Drafts? We are only accepting submissions for these at this time. 

Word Count: Ideal length for full drafts is between 1,000 and 1,500 words. Please don’t send anything longer than 2,200 words — longer drafts will not be considered.  

Deadline: We’re considering stories on a rolling basis. 

Rate: $300

From Friday, October 24, through Sunday, December 7, 2025, Narratively is accepting entries for our 2025 Memoir Prize. We’re on the hunt for revealing and emotional first-person nonfiction narratives from unique and overlooked points of view. Entries will be judged on a rolling basis in four rounds: the first three by experienced Narratively readers and staff, and the final by our incredible and generous guest judge, critically acclaimed writer Susannah Cahalan.

Susannah Cahalan is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Brain on Fire, which has been translated into more than 20 languages. Her second book, The Great Pretender, was shortlisted for the Royal Society’s 2020 Science Book Prize. Her third book, The Acid Queen was published by Viking in April 2025.

We’ll award the top writer a $3,000 cash prize, as well as publication on Narratively.com and in a special limited print edition — plus, a virtual awards ceremony to celebrate.

Competition Info:

• Prize period opens: 9 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on October 24, 2025. 
• Prize period closes: 11:59 p.m. EDT on December 7, 2025. We will not accept entries once the prize period closes.
• Final decision announced: On or around February 26, 2026. Entrants will be notified via Submittable and/or email.
• Entry fee: US$20, nonrefundable and due at time of entry; free entry for paid subscribers to Narratively.com (head here to subscribe!) or sister site Narratively Academy (become one here!). If you’re already a paid subscriber to either or both, first of all, thank you for supporting indie journalism! Second of all, head to the prize announcement page here to access both subscriber-only links. 
• Eligibility: Open to folks 18 years of age or older on or before 9 a.m. EDT on October 24, 2025, and who are not employed by, related to or sharing living quarters with Narratively staff or our guest judges. This competition is open to anyone, including past and current Narratively contributors. Current and former Narratively editors are ineligible.

What should my entry look like?

As with all Narratively stories, submissions should be composed of vivid, active scenes, unique characters and an engaging narrative arc. We have a few rules to follow, but encourage maximum creativity within these guidelines. The best way to get a sense of what we’re looking for is to read the stories on the list of examples we love below. 

Here are a few examples of first-person Narratively pieces we love:

• I Was the World’s Most Cancer Mom
• The Adventures of a Pakistani in Texas
• My Bizarre Reign as New York’s King of “Virgin Russian Hair”
• I Was Taught to Hate My Lesbian Neighbors. They Took Me In Anyway.
• Diary of a Bachelor Who Suddenly Became a Solo Dad to a Teenage Girl
• My Secret Life Tracking Down Debtors
• How I Wrote Myself into a Real-life Romantic Comedy — That Turned into a Survivalist Thriller
• My Coming Out Story, Starring a Priest, an Animal Sacrifice and Ricky Martin

Why do we charge a fee? 

Your entry fee will allow us to compensate the people who are helping us effectively and fairly evaluate every single prize submission — from our freelance readers to our prize editors, copy editors, fact-checkers, visual editors and producers. 

Submission Guidelines:

• Ready-to-publish pieces only — no pitches accepted
• Word count: 2,000 to 5,000
• Nonfiction, written in the first person and in English (translations permitted)
• Original and previously unpublished as a written work
• Simultaneous submissions are permitted, but must notify Narratively if entry is accepted elsewhere.
• Multiple submissions from a single author are permitted, but each must be submitted and paid for individually (with one entry per paid subscriber).
• Adaptations from other media (podcasts, scripts, etc.) are permitted with disclosure.
• Any citations should be in endnote form and listed at the end of the submission.
• Please remove your name and contact information from your submission.
• Narratively prefers common fonts such as Times New Roman and Arial, at 10-12-point size, double spaced, for ease of reading. Please do not include images or graphics.

To answer your questions: 

• This competition is open to anyone, including past and current Narratively contributors. (Current and former Narratively editors, however, are ineligible.)
• The grand prize winner will be required to sign our standard contributor agreement.
• These are a few of the key points in our agreement:    
• You retain print publication rights, should you pursue a book version of your story now or in the future.
• Narratively has the right to pursue TV and film projects based on the work. These projects could be either unscripted/documentary or fictional (inspired by your story).
• Revenue from any TV or film projects is shared with contributors.
• We publish Narratively Out Loud, which features read-aloud audio versions of select Narratively stories, so the contract also gives us the rights to produce those.

Take a look at our FAQ page here. 

Please review our complete Official Rules & Submissions Guidelines here.

Not yet ready to submit? Subscribe to Narratively Academy here to receive helpful reminders about deadlines, prize updates and announcements and news about future prizes on a variety of topics.

Having trouble logging into Submittable? Click here for help.

Best of luck!

"Secret Lives" is one of Narratively’s most popular ongoing series, and one for which we’re always looking for new stories. 

The series includes both reported profiles and first-person essays, and is defined by stories that bring readers into a slice of life they normally wouldn’t have access to.

Like all Narratively pieces, “Secret Lives” stories are narrative-driven, not topic-based. This means they go beyond “this is what it’s like to have this job” and take the reader through a *story* about the job or experience at hand. There needs to be a narrative arc with a clear beginning, middle and end. The writer or subject needs to be transformed in some meaningful way over the course of the story, and that transformation needs to be communicated through active, engaging, vivid scenes. 

There has to be something at stake, something universal and human that’s being unraveled and examined. The most successful “Secret Lives” stories draw the reader in thinking that they have nothing in common with the writer or subject, and by the end leaves them feeling connected to their experience in a way they never imagined possible. 

Word count for Secret Lives stories is usually between 2,500 and 5,000 words, but we can be a bit flexible there. Note: We are only accepting submissions for these at this time. 

Some favorites:

Meet Ladybeard, the Crown Prince of Japan’s Strangest Music Scene

Porno Power: The Next Generation

The First Family of Human Cannonballing

The Deep South’s Dames of Dildos