" . . . we look for stories with a human and thematic core, i.e. stories that display vision where writers, instead of “writing about what you know” (as the writing programs emphasize) write about what they can imagine. Another quality we look for is elusive but extremely important: it can best be described as a sense of estrangment from the world at the same time involvement with it; it exhibits a certain recognition of the simultaneous smallness and greatness of humanity, and demonstrates respect and compassion for all people and recognizes a peasant’s dream of owning a bicycle is as important to him as Napoleon’s dream of conquering Europe. This is a quality that only life can teach one; it cannot be learned in a writing program."
-- from the guidelines for The Long Story
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