Gas stations are places that offer a wide, eclectic range of goods for sale–especially in mountain towns such as our own Flagstaff, or the Southwest in general. Where else can you purchase a souvenir T-shirt designed in the 1970s, fill your car with gasoline, and find your favorite variety of chip all in one quick stop?

This will be Thin Air’s first-ever contest in connection with the introduction of our fifth submission category, the gas station genre. You may have noticed it lurking there as a category on our site, right next to store. 

For the launch of this category, and this contest, we’re looking only for: hybridity–in form, content, or style.

The 2017 Gas Station Prize Structure:

1st Prize: $150 minimum + $3 for every entry over 40 + an interview with the author

2nd Prize: $75 minimum + $1 for every entry over 40 + an interview with the author

3rd Prize: $25 minimum worth of scratch off lotto tickets + $1 for every two entries over 40 + an interview with the author

In short: the more entries we receive, the bigger the prize purses become. Submit here.

Details and Guidelines:

-The judge of this year’s competition will be Sarah Minor, author of The Persistence of The Bonyleg: Annotated from Essay Press, curator of the visual essay series at Essay Daily, and the video editor at TriQuarterly Review. She is from Iowa, graduated from University of Arizona (MFA), Ohio University (PhD), and teaches at Cleveland Institute of Art.

-Please submit no more than 4,000 words, 15 minutes of video or audio, or 20 pages for visually hybrid works. All submissions should somehow meld genre, form, content, and style.

-This contest is not open to NAU students, alumni from the previous 7 years, or past or current students of the judge (Sarah Minor).

-Double space your manuscript with 12-pt font and include a word count at the top of the first page, if applicable.

-Please make sure to remove all identifying information from your manuscript.

–Three winners will be selected. All submissions will be considered for publication in print or online.

-Questions? Email: thinairlitmag@gmail.com with the subject line ‘Gas Station Prize Question’

-Deadline: Please submit your entries no later than 11:59pm PST on November 25th, the witching hour.