This winter, I’m sponsoring a winter-themed writing contest as vice president of the University of Toledo Writer’s Guild.
All types of writing fewer than 17,000 words or 100 pages (screenplay) will be accepted and judged during this competition. Submissions of poetry and short stories are encouraged, but novel or novella excerpts of fewer than 17,000 words that fit the theme will also be taken into consideration.
The winner will receive a gift certificate to a surprise location. Runners-up may receive an additional surprise.
The theme for this contest is “Winter.” (Big surprise, right?) Your submissions should evoke the atmosphere and/or emotions related to the winter season. Holiday-themed submissions of all types will also be accepted.
A few tips for your submissions:
- Always turn in your best work! Make sure you workshop a piece or have a friend give you a solid critique before submitting anything anywhere.
- I’m a bit of a grammar nazi, and since I’ll be judging, you may want to give your piece a once-over for spelling and grammatical errors before e-mailing or hitting “Print.” The exception to this rule is poetry intentionally written as grammatically incorrect. And trust me on this: I can tell.
- Adhere to the theme. This theme isn’t as narrow as the theme of the last contest, so it’s nice and flexible!
Submissions will be accepted in print form delivered during a UT Writer’s Guild general meeting on or before December 9. Digital submissions in PDF form to feliza.casano@rockets.utoledo.edu will be accepted until Sunday, December 11 at midnight.
Please include a cover letter with information about you, your writing, and how you heard about this contest.
Feliza Casano 