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As an experiment, I asked Chat GPT to write this article’s opening line. ‘If originality were a sport, this year’s judges would be Olympic scouts.’ Try again! ‘This year, originality isn’t just welcomed by our judges; it’s practically flirting with first place.’ Almost... ‘This year, our judges are particularly fond of originality — the kind that makes them pause mid-coffee sip.’ Perhaps I should have asked Claude.
Generative language models peck around the internet, regurgitating their mushed-up mélanges into our open beaks. What the bots cannot do (at least not yet) is offer us any kind of truly original thought, unprompted and uncontaminated.
Original writers breed more of their ilk, both subconsciously and through deliberate emulation. Stein bred Hemingway, Edgar Allan Poe cultivated Stephen King. Without the Brontës there would be no Jacqueline Wilson. But now, AI bots are unflinchingly snapping words off from their original contexts, like berries from Babel’s depletable bushel, to feed their hungry generative models. This isn’t emulation but amalgamation. What each of our naturally intelligent panellists is looking for this year are the seeds of something fresh, organic and unartificially sweet – something to inspire tomorrow’s writers. Nigel Slater, the self-styled ‘cook who writes’, is hoping to find ‘a story with an unexpected ending or a new way of looking at an everyday object or scenario.’ Hamish, too, would like ‘to be intrigued, captivated, and to find something out of the ordinary.’
For lessons in originality, look no further than last year’s competition winner, 84-year-old San Franciscan Rita La Force, who stole judge’s hearts with her tale about her sock-puppet monkey, Fiametta. Her spoils? A slightly back-to-front mentorship with WoI’s editorial team, who, in turn, are learning just as much from her.
Emily Tobin, WoI’s editor, knows better than anyone what winning words look like in these pages. ‘We’re looking for writing that is as surprising as it is compelling, writing that is propelled by curiosity,’ she advises. Dr Jessica B. Harris is the author of 12 critically acclaimed books documenting the foodways of the African Diaspora. She wants to find new writing talent that, beyond all else, ‘tells a really good story’. Completing the panel is Olivia Laing – an internationally acclaimed writer whose books include The Garden Against Time. ‘I’m interested in writing that pushes at boundaries,’ they say, ‘and refuses categories while remaining sharp, elegant and super-attentive to the world.’
This year’s theme, ‘Doors and Drawers’, should act as its own portal. It is inspired by our partner Montblanc’s own commitment to the indelibly human act of writing. Interpret it with abandon. Nigel puts it best: ‘A competition such as this is an excellent way to allow new voices to be heard, to find the next generation of storytellers.’ Step past the jamb.
