Queensland Writers Centre (QWC) and leading Brisbane outdoor media provider, goa, have teamed up as a part of the 2017 Community Partnerships program to launch the ‘#8wordstory’ campaign.
Brisbane residents are being asked ‘what’s your 8-word story?’ and entries are flooding in – since launch on the 16th of October, more than 7,500 stories have been submitted, from not only the Queensland area, but the UK and the US as well.
Amongst the entries are contributions from two New York Times bestselling authors, Margo Lanagan and Delilah S Dawson, as well as involvement from leading multinational publishing houses Allen and Unwin, Hachette Australia and Penguin Random House Australia. The campaign is surpassing expectations and striking a chord with thousands of Brisbane residents and beyond.
Katie Woods, Queensland Writers Centre’s CEO, explains that 8 words is a challenging, yet rewarding limitation: “It’s amazing how much story you can create using just eight carefully selected words. This is the challenge Queensland Writers Centre is setting for Queensland.”
“We want everyone, young or old, writer and non-writer alike, to share a story – because everyone has one and everybody has the ability to tell theirs, especially when it’s just 8 words long.”
Each week, the best 8-word stories are being showcased across THE goa GRID throughout Brisbane well as via QWC’s social media channels to ensure that everyone across the state – and around the world – gets the chance to see their story up in lights or, at least, on a 30-foot-high, digital billboard.
Chris Tyquin, CEO of goa Billboards, is extremely pleased with the results so far. “The 8-word story campaign is an idea we loved from the moment we first saw it. At the time we just had this feeling that it had the potential to get the public engaged as well as involved in composing and submitting their own 8-word stories.”
Chris commented, “for us it’s also added to our learnings on Digital Out of Home campaigns that seek to genuinely engage with audiences and leveraging social media and online platforms. No one in Australia would have the level of knowledge and experience we’ve acquired in doing these types of campaigns over the last four years. We now have a fair idea in what’s likely to work and what might not work.”
To take part, simply choose a theme: home, love, change or play – then, write a story using no more than eight words and submit online, through @qldwriters on Twitter or via the 8wordstory.com website.
