We're Looking for a Few Good (and Unique) Stories

Our backlog of “End Grain” articles (the last editorial page of the magazine), is running dangerously low; it’s time to restock the file, and we need your help. So, we’re running a contest for “End Grain” submissions. The writer of the best story (in the editors’ collective opinion) will not only get paid for the article ($250) and published, but also win a complete collection (all three volumes) of signed Woodworking Magazine hardcover books. We’ll buy all the other “End Grain” contest submissions we like, too ($250), and they’ll be published in future issues of Popular Woodworking Magazine.

In case you’re not familiar with the column, it’s a one-page article (550 words or so) that reflects on the writer’s thoughts about woodworking as a profession or hobby. The article can be either humorous or serious, and ideally should be on a unique topic , or present a ubiquitous topic from a wholly fresh viewpoint. We get a lot of “grandpa was a woodworker,” “my first toolbox” and “my dad and I bonded in the shop” submissions; we don’t buy many of them. That’s not to say they’re not good , most of them just aren’t new. We want new. We want the unexpected. Because we know that’s what you want to read.

So, if you’ve got a great story, write it up and e-mail it to me (Megan Fitzpatrick). The deadline is July 31, 2010. We’ll choose the winners by Aug. 15, and I’ll blog to announce the winner and runners-up shortly thereafter.

– Megan Fitzpatrick

p.s. Below, we’ve posted pdfs of a few of our favorite back-page columns from the past as examples, and for your reading enjoyment.

Almost a Plane Wreck.pdf (185.08 KB)
Barn of the Damned.pdf (85.54 KB)
Sawdust in the Soup.pdf (156.69 KB)
My New Apprentice.pdf (101.01 KB)