UPDATE: While we still welcome your story submissions, the 2013 contest has ended. Thank you all for your participation. And please check back for details on our 2014 contest!

The Edwardian Ball is an elegant and whimsical celebration of art, music, theatre, fashion, technology, and circus, inspired by the beloved creations of the late, great author Edward Gorey. The combination is magical — There’s simply no other event like it.

What better way to share that magic than through the stories of the people who create it?

Send us your best tales about The Edwardian Ball. As the Ball approaches, we’ll be running the best of them here on our blog. Not only that, but each week one lucky storyteller will receive a pair of tickets to this year’s Edwardian World’s Faire.

How To Enter

Email your stories to tales@edwardianball.com

• Stories may be of any length — from ancedote to epic, if you have an Edwardian Ball Tale, we want to hear it!
• Photographs are not required to enter, but by all means do include them if you have them.
• Submit as many stories you like.
• Don’t delay! The sooner you submit your tale, the sooner we can share it with the world, and the more chances you have to win a prize.

Spectacular Prizes

Submit your story and you could win tickets for two to The Edwardian World’s Faire, or one of two $50 gift certificates from Recollections Steampunk Threads, among other surprises.

Ideas & Inspiration

Wondering where to start? Here are some suggestions to help get your mental gears spinning:

• There’s no other night quite like the Edwardian Ball. What makes this event so unique? So magical? So diverse?
• When did you first begin attending the Ball? What was it like?
• What advice would you give to someone attending the Ball for the first time?
• Tell us something that nobody knows about the Edwardian Ball. (And remember, Edwardian secrets, like the works of Edward Gorey himself, needn’t always be slavishly truthful.)
• Describe how you first learned about Edward Gorey. What’s your favorite Gorey story, and why?
• Oppan Edwardian style! Gashlycrumb or goth, circus or steampunk, brightly baroque or basic black — Costumes for the Ball run a wild gamut of personal expression. What’s yours? Have any costume tips to share?
• Recount your most memorable experience at the Ball. Was it a performance you saw? A fantastical carnival ride? A timeless moment with a mysterious stranger? Sensual, silly or sublime, astound us with a true tale of Edwardian revelry.

Photos by Becca Henry Photography, John Adams, and Neil Girling / The Blight