The old wordsmith sat at his coffee-stained desk and pressed three fingers into his forehead, trying to wish away a hangover. He let his eyes drift shut.
Somehow the pounding in his head became a pounding on the door.
“Now what is it?” he snarled.
“Mail, boss.” His too-chipper assistant appeared in the doorway and handed him a rat-eared paperback. “Another pulp fiction contest.”
The wordsmith sized up the cover. Fella with a good set of muscles and a tight grip on a dame in a plunging yellow halter. Familiar bridge in the background. “Tough Kid From Brooklyn” scrawled across the top. This one had possibilities.
The old wordsmith, dear reader, could be you.
Welcome to City Room’s second biennial Pulp Fiction Contest.
Here’s what we want:
An opening passage for the actual 1951 novel shown above, with a maximum of 150 words boiled hard as you please. Do not necessarily feel bound to describe the situation on the book cover.
You have until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Friday, Nov. 21.
Put your submission in the comments. If you’re using the New York Times app on an iPhone or iPad, please comment (or read submissions) here.
If that’s not an option on your device either, send entries to cityroom@nytimes.com with the subject line “pulp fiction” followed by your name and location as you’d like them to appear.
The first contest, in 2012, was quite a party.
Who will take home the Crushed Fedora of Victory this year?
We’ll be the judge of that, but so will you: Our editors pick the finalists; readers choose the winners.
If you win, we’ll also feature your entry here on City Room.
Now, write.
Contest rules: All entries must be your original work and not libelous or otherwise unlawful. We may publish or republish your entries and may authorize third parties to do so. By submitting, you agree to the rules of our Member Agreement, found on our website.