International Imitation Hemingway Competition
Encyclopedia
Also known as "The Bad Hemingway Contest," The International Imitation Hemingway Competition is an annual writing competition begun in Century City, California
. Started in 1977 as a "promotional gag", and held for nearly thirty years, the contest pays mock homage to Ernest Hemingway
by encouraging authors to submit a 'really good page of really bad Hemingway' in a Hemingway-esque style.
Submissions have included such titles as "The Old Man and the Flea"(2002 winner), "The Bug Count also Rises," "Across the Suburbs and Into the Express Lane at Von's" (2000 winner) and "The Short, Happy Life of Frances' Comb."
The competition, as created, had two rules: mention Harry's Bar & Grill (the Venetian Harry's was long one of Hemingway's favorite watering holes) and be funny. First prize was round-trip tickets and dinner for two at Harry's in Florence, Italy.
In addition to the humor of the contest, there is irony in its existence, as Hemingway famously said: "The step up from writing parodies is writing on the wall above the urinal." Nevertheless, the contest had thousands of dedicated enthusiasts among writers and Hemingway fans, drawing more than 24,000 entries in its first ten years of operation. Many notable literary figures judged the contest over the years, including Digby Diehl, Ray Bradbury
, Barnaby Conrad
, George Plimpton
, Bernice Kert, Jack Hemingway
, A. Scott Berg, and Joseph Wambaugh
.
In the late 1970s, seeking to promote Harry's Bar & American Grill in Century City, California, bar owners Jerry Magnin and Larry Mindel consulted advertising executive Paul Keye, who suggested the contest to capitalize on Hemingway's literary references to "Harry's". The contest announcement in The New Yorker
magazine stated, "One very good page of very bad Hemingway will send you and a friend to Italy for dinner." For the 11th Annual Contest, to promote the contest's move from (closing) Century City to the San Francisco Harry's, PR firm Tellem Worldwide recruited noted San Francisco authors Herb Caen
, Lawrence Ferlinghetti
and Cyra McFadden
as judges.
In 1988, after 11 years of contests, Spectrum Foods Inc., the new owners of Harry's in Los Angeles, ended their sponsorship of the contest due to escalating costs. At this time literary organization PEN Center West took over sponsorship. American Airlines
' in-flight magazine American Way
began printing contest winning entries, and continued the grand prize flight to Italy. In 2000 United Airlines
assumed sponsorship of the contest, publishing winning entries in their in-flight and online Hemispheres Magazine. United Airlines' support continued until the 2005 contest. The final winning parody was entitled "Da Movable Code."
Hemingway's spare writing style had often been imitated, prior to the contest. Since then, two anthologies of Imitation Hemingway have been published (The Best of Bad Hemingway, Volumes I & II) and include contest winners as well as satires of Hemingway written by E. B. White
, Raymond Chandler
, F. Scott Fitzgerald
and George Plimpton
.
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Started in 1977 as a "promotional gag", and held for nearly thirty years, the contest pays mock homage to Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...
by encouraging authors to submit a 'really good page of really bad Hemingway' in a Hemingway-esque style.
Submissions have included such titles as "The Old Man and the Flea"(2002 winner), "The Bug Count also Rises," "Across the Suburbs and Into the Express Lane at Von's" (2000 winner) and "The Short, Happy Life of Frances' Comb."
The competition, as created, had two rules: mention Harry's Bar & Grill (the Venetian Harry's was long one of Hemingway's favorite watering holes) and be funny. First prize was round-trip tickets and dinner for two at Harry's in Florence, Italy.
In addition to the humor of the contest, there is irony in its existence, as Hemingway famously said: "The step up from writing parodies is writing on the wall above the urinal." Nevertheless, the contest had thousands of dedicated enthusiasts among writers and Hemingway fans, drawing more than 24,000 entries in its first ten years of operation. Many notable literary figures judged the contest over the years, including Digby Diehl, Ray Bradbury
Ray Bradbury
Ray Douglas Bradbury is an American fantasy, horror, science fiction, and mystery writer. Best known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 and for the science fiction stories gathered together as The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man , Bradbury is one of the most celebrated among 20th...
, Barnaby Conrad
Barnaby Conrad
Barnaby Conrad is an American artist and author.Born in San Francisco, California, Conrad graduated from Taft School in Watertown, Connecticut. He attended the University of North Carolina, where he was captain of the freshman boxing team. He also studied painting at the University of Mexico,...
, George Plimpton
George Plimpton
George Ames Plimpton was an American journalist, writer, editor, and actor. He is widely known for his sports writing and for helping to found The Paris Review.-Early life:...
, Bernice Kert, Jack Hemingway
Jack Hemingway
John "Jack" Hadley Nicanor Hemingway was an American writer and conservationist. He was born in Toronto, Canada, the only child of American writer Ernest Hemingway's marriage to his first wife Hadley Richardson. He would later gain two half-brothers from Hemingway's second marriage to Pauline...
, A. Scott Berg, and Joseph Wambaugh
Joseph Wambaugh
Joseph Aloysius Wambaugh, Jr. is a bestselling American writer known for his fictional and non-fictional accounts of police work in the United States...
.
In the late 1970s, seeking to promote Harry's Bar & American Grill in Century City, California, bar owners Jerry Magnin and Larry Mindel consulted advertising executive Paul Keye, who suggested the contest to capitalize on Hemingway's literary references to "Harry's". The contest announcement in The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
magazine stated, "One very good page of very bad Hemingway will send you and a friend to Italy for dinner." For the 11th Annual Contest, to promote the contest's move from (closing) Century City to the San Francisco Harry's, PR firm Tellem Worldwide recruited noted San Francisco authors Herb Caen
Herb Caen
Herbert Eugene Caen was a Pulitzer Prize-winning San Francisco journalistwhose daily column of local goings-on, social and political happenings,...
, Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Lawrence Ferlinghetti is an American poet, painter, liberal activist, and the co-founder of City Lights Booksellers & Publishers...
and Cyra McFadden
Cyra McFadden
Cyra McFadden is an American writer, living in the San Francisco Bay Area.McFadden's 1977 novel The Serial: A Year in the Life of Marin County satirized the trendy lifestyles of the affluent residents of Marin County, California, just north of San Francisco...
as judges.
In 1988, after 11 years of contests, Spectrum Foods Inc., the new owners of Harry's in Los Angeles, ended their sponsorship of the contest due to escalating costs. At this time literary organization PEN Center West took over sponsorship. American Airlines
American Airlines
American Airlines, Inc. is the world's fourth-largest airline in passenger miles transported and operating revenues. American Airlines is a subsidiary of the AMR Corporation and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas adjacent to its largest hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport...
' in-flight magazine American Way
American Way
American Way is a free, in-flight magazine available in American Airlines and American Eagle Airlines. The magazine offices are located in the AMR Corporation/American Airlines headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas, United States....
began printing contest winning entries, and continued the grand prize flight to Italy. In 2000 United Airlines
United Airlines
United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees (which includes the entire holding company United Continental...
assumed sponsorship of the contest, publishing winning entries in their in-flight and online Hemispheres Magazine. United Airlines' support continued until the 2005 contest. The final winning parody was entitled "Da Movable Code."
Hemingway's spare writing style had often been imitated, prior to the contest. Since then, two anthologies of Imitation Hemingway have been published (The Best of Bad Hemingway, Volumes I & II) and include contest winners as well as satires of Hemingway written by E. B. White
E. B. White
Elwyn Brooks White , usually known as E. B. White, was an American writer. A long-time contributor to The New Yorker magazine, he also wrote many famous books for both adults and children, such as the popular Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little, and co-authored a widely used writing guide, The...
, Raymond Chandler
Raymond Chandler
Raymond Thornton Chandler was an American novelist and screenwriter.In 1932, at age forty-five, Raymond Chandler decided to become a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive during the Depression. His first short story, "Blackmailers Don't Shoot", was published in...
, F. Scott Fitzgerald
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are the paradigm writings of the Jazz Age, a term he coined himself. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost...
and George Plimpton
George Plimpton
George Ames Plimpton was an American journalist, writer, editor, and actor. He is widely known for his sports writing and for helping to found The Paris Review.-Early life:...
.
External links
- 1986 International Imitation Hemingway Award Winner "The Snooze of Kilimanjaro", Mark Silber.
- 2000 International Imitation Hemingway Award Winner "Across the suburbs and into the express lane", Scott Stavrou.