Welcome to Notes from the Ashtray, the official Geist Tobacco Lit Writing Contest blog.

Here's how our contest works:

Write some tobacco lit. True or false, any genre, 500 words max. Then send it to us.

What's tobacco lit, you ask? Tobacco lit can by any collection of words that are in some way—directly or tangentially—about tobacco. Short stories, true stories, poetry, how to's, or reviews; if it involves tobacco, it's tobacco lit.

What can I win, you ask? 1000 bucks is up for grabs.

• First prize is $500.
• Second prize is $250.
• Third prize is $150.
• Honourable mention is $100.

And all winning entries will be published in Geist and on geist.com

How do I enter, you ask?

You ask a lot of questions.

Submit your tobacco lit online, or send it to us by snail mail no later than September 1, 2014. The entry fee is $20 and includes a one year subscription to Geist. All additional entries are $5. Make sure you check out http://www.geist.com/contests/tobacco-lit for a complete list of rules and guidelines.

In need of motivation, inspiration, or stimulation? Check here weekly for smoking thoughts, stories, movie reviews, and reading recommendations throughout the duration of the contest.