‘Conversations about the Urban, One City at a Time’
in the words of young writers
Contests | Workshops | Mentorship
Submissions Open for April, 2024
Stay Tuned!
RESULTS
February 2024
SHORTLISTED
Curatorial Note
We now exist in an era wherein our physical urban environment and digital data constantly collide—informing, altering, and evolving. With such abundance, capturing and maintaining people’s attention spans has become increasingly challenging. So, how might one write about the urban and architecture in such a way that it grabs not only the readers’ interest but also its ever-changing nuances?
Prompted by this, ArchitectureLive! opens—URBAN IMPRINTS—a monthly writing contest seeking submissions from writers under the age of 35 to delve into the complexities of urbanism, explore the intersections between their profession and urban/architecture, and dissect the social, economic, political, gender, and cultural dimensions of urban spaces that crop up around them in 300 to 400 words.
Whatever your profession, whatever your location … your voice is welcome in this investigation of the urban environments we inhabit.
We want your submissions to be daring, unique, and unapologetically curious. So, whether you find inspiration in the city lights, the streets, or an intricate design of a building in which you work or live, or whether you question architecture and urbanism from the perspective of your profession and seek out connections or aspects of economic, cultural, political, gender, class, or religion, we invite your unique narrative to the ongoing conversations about the world we build and inhabit.
The call is open, and the stage is yours…
About The Mentors
Arpita Das
Arpita Das is the Founder-Publisher of the indie publishing house, Yoda Press, and Editor of the South Asia Series at Melbourne University Publishing. She is also a Visiting Professor of Creative Writing at Ashoka University and a Visiting Faculty, Writing for Research, at CEPT University.
Meghal Arya
Meghal Arya is a Professor of Architecture at CEPT University, Ahmedabad. Meghal is a partner in Arya Architects and her research focuses on the relationship between water and the human-built environment. She encourages students to rethink/question the process of designing water infrastructure. Recently, she published a book titled ‘Spatial Ecology of Water’.
Peeyush Sekhsaria
Peeyush Sekhsaria is an independent development professional based in Delhi. He works in the areas of natural disaster and natural resource management. Peeyush is an author and has contributed to various publications. He has also co-created two environment education games.
Additional Information
Submission: We welcome submissions every month. The winner for each month’s submission will be announced in the following month.
Mentorship: Our mentors will assist selected monthly submissions in improving their writing abilities.
Workshops: Urban Imprints is not limited to students and professionals from the architectural or design fields. Hence, ArchitectureLive! will host paid workshops by experienced writers to guide participants on how to write about architecture and urbanism. The workshops are open to everyone, and registration is mandatory to receive information on Urban Imprints. You can enrol in these workshops even if you are not a participant in the monthly contest.
How to Register and Submit
STEP 1: REGISTER
- Click on the REGISTER button at the top or scroll further to view the registration form.
- Enter your details and hit the register button.
- You must register if you wish to submit your article, participate in the workshops, or both.
- There are no deadlines for registering.
STEP 2: SUBMIT
- After successful registration, a pop-up will prompt you to submit.
- Submissions received after the 10th of each month will be considered for the following month.
Submission Guidelines:
- Please use the submission template, which can be downloaded from here.
- Every submission must include:
- Author’s photograph and bio (not more than 50 words).
- Credit information if the submission includes images, illustrations, drawings, or sketches.
- Word limit for your submission: 300 to 400 words.
- Size of the submission: < 1 MB
- Format: Word or PDF format
- Number of submissions per person: no limit.
Evaluation Criteria:
- The submissions will go through multiple rounds of selection.
- The evaluation of the pieces is based on the following criteria (subject to change):
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- Brevity and clarity of the thought expressed
- Originality and creativity of the content
- Depth of research
- Plagiarism
- Only the selected pieces will be commented upon by the mentors for Urban Imprints.
- The writers of the selected pieces will be awarded a certificate or incentive on the recommendation of the curators and mentors. However, the final decision to award prizes lies with the ALive! editorial team.
- The selected pieces will be published on ALive!
FAQs
No. While the registration is free, you are required to pay to participate in the workshops.
Since, we announce winners monthly, we insist you send your submissions by 22nd of every month.
We do not have the provision for you to edit your article once submitted, so please make sure to carefully proofread your entries before sending them to us.
You can submit only one document: in either Word or PDF format.
The submissions received and selected every month will receive free mentorship from our mentors. Whereas the workshops are paid short courses.
More Essays from the Urban Imprints
Shortlisted | Elections and Urban Development: A nexus in Indian context
Shortlisted | Thane Suburb’s Urbanisation Route From Zero to Hero
Special Mention | Rich or Rogue? Exposing the Hidden Thieves Among Us
