Dear All,
We are pleased to invite you to participate in the second edition of the 10-minute play literary
contest. This year’s theme is “Fail Better”. It invites us to focus on failure – its position (or
absence) within contemporary culture and language. Our point of departure is the well-known
line by Samuel Beckett: “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail
better.”
This year’s reflection was prompted by the “Fail Worse” seminar held as part of the Trinity
Arts and Humanities Research Festival at Trinity College Dublin. The discussions held there
revealed the extent to which questions concerning the meaning of our choices and values
remained unspoken or insufficiently articulated.
In a culture shaped by the imperative of efficiency, is there still room for failure? Who has
the
authority today to define success, and according to which criteria? Can failure be understood
outside the framework of a “transitional stage” on the path toward ultimate success? And how
might we speak about failure without relying on binary conceptual categories?
We hope that this theme will encourage participants to reflect critically on their own needs
and limitations. We believe that engaging with the notion of failure can be liberating, opening
a space for alternative modes of thought, action, and being.
We warmly encourage submissions that engage with these questions, either in Polish or in
English.
Entries may be submitted until 28 February 2026 to the following email address:
10mpfestival@gmail.com The detailed competition regulations are available for download here. Visit our Instagram and Facebook platform for more: IG: @10mpfestival and FB: Festiwal 10-minute plays.
Dr Elżbieta Grzyb
and 10-minute plays Festival Organizing Committee