After 54 years, the organizers of the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest (which celebrates bad opening lines to novels) have brought an end to the contest. So bummed…a friend and I had a pretty good entry we’ve been workshopping!
Advertise here with Carbon Ads
This site is made possible by member support. 💞
Big thanks to Arcustech for hosting the site and offering amazing tech support.
When you buy through links on kottke.org, I may earn an affiliate commission. Thanks for supporting the site!
kottke.org. home of fine hypertext products since 1998.
Beloved by 86.47% of the web.
Comments 4
Ok, here's the entry we've been working on:
Someone needs to restart this contest...I think we've got a good shot!
I’m sorry that’s not the worst opening to a novel, that’s great. I’d keep reading. What just transpired to put him outside the house? There’s tension with the poor vision: are his eyes worn out? Unclear since the text states only his welcome has worn. So he must be strong and fairly young in body and mind. And yet he’s got such an unfortunate name for a strapping lad. What transpired for him to be naked in this moment?! KDO English majors demand more of this tantalizing tale!
This is a bummer! They used to put out actual "best of" books and we always had them laying around the house when I was growing up.
Sad to see this go. They're raising a few bucks to keep the archives online, which seems like a good use for a bit of my Venmo balance.
If you feel like this comment goes against the grain of the community guidelines or is otherwise inappropriate, please let me know and I will take a look at it.
This thread is closed for new comments & replies. Thanks to everyone for participating!