GP Fiction Contest: Announcement
Over the past two centuries, Girard-Perregaux has occasionally inspired flights of prose among the brand’s enthusiasts. Now, for Mechanics of Style’s inaugural fiction contest, you’ll have the chance to be part of this proud tradition. The work of six finalists, as well as the top story, will be posted on Mechanics of Style, and the winning writer will receive a Girard-Perregaux Three Gold Bridges Tourbillon Fountain Pen. Good luck! — The Editors
ART REFLECTS LIFE — and while that truism is more prevalent in movies and television shows, even contemporary novels name-check luxury brands now and again; Bret Easton Ellis’s Glamorama is one obvious recent example.
More subtle examples abound as well, among them Girard-Perregaux’s auspicious mention in the first chapter of the 1957 James Bond novel From Russia With Love, in which author Ian Fleming describes the villain’s watch:
“To judge by the glittering pile, this had been, or was, a rich man. It contained the typical membership badges of the rich man’s club — a money clip made of a Mexican fifty-dollar piece and holding a substantial wad of banknotes, a well-used gold Dunhill lighter, an oval gold cigarette case with the wavy ridges and discreet turquoise button that means Fabergé. . . . There was also a bulky gold wristwatch on a well-used brown crocodile strap. It was a Girard-Perregaux model designed for people who like gadgets, and it had a sweep second hand and two little windows in the face to tell the day of the month, and the month, and the phase of the moon. The story it now told was 2:30 on June 10th with the moon three-quarters full.”
Can you improve on Fleming? Here’s your chance to add to this literary tradition by incorporating any model of Girard-Perregaux into an original piece of short fiction — a complete short story, or as part of a longer work.
Girard-Perregaux, a Swiss luxury watchmaker whose origins date to 1791, is renowned for timepieces — such as the legendary Three Gold Bridges Tourbillon — that combine sharp design with innovative technology. Dedicated to state-of-the-art Haute Horlogerie, Girard-Perregaux is one of the few brands to unite the entire watchmaking process — the design and manufacture, from case to movement — under one roof.
Submissions are due no later than March 4, 2013. The editors of Mechanics of Style will select six finalists and one grand-prize winner. The six finalists’ stories will post one a week on MoS beginning the week of March 11, culminating with the prize winning entry. Please send all submissions and queries to MechanicsOfStyle@Girard-Perregaux.ch
http://www.mechanicsofstyle.com/gp-fiction-contest-announcement/