NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND WRITERS’ DIVISION

2010 YOUTH AND ADULT WRITING CONTEST

Adult contests are open to all entrants eighteen years and over. Youth poetry and fiction entries will be divided into three categories: grades first through sixth grade, seventh and eighth grades and ninth through twelfth grades.

All contest winners will be announced at the Writers’ Division business meeting during the NFB national convention to be held in Dallas, Texas, the first week of July, 2010. In addition to being announced during the business meeting they will appear on the Writers’ Division website, www.nfb-writers-division.org shortly after convention adjournment.

Prizes

Adult contest winners will receive $100 for first place, $50 for second place, and $25 for third place. Youth prizes will be awarded in the amounts of $25.00 first place, $15.00 second place, $5.00 third place. All decisions are final and cannot be changed. Three honorable mentions will be selected. First, second, and third place winners in each category will appear in the summer and fall issues of the Writers’ Division magazine, “Slate and Style.” Contest winners will receive complimentary copies of the issue in which their entries appear if they are not already subscribed.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Youth Guidelines:

our youth contests promote the use of Braille. All entries must be submitted in hand-written Braille only. Along with Braille copies please submit electronic format of submission and cover letter - emailed to Robert Leslie Newman 2010-contest@nfb-writers-division.org 2010-contest@nfb-writers-division.org All print copies of youth contest entries will be generated as needed.

Adult Guidelines:

Adults are required to submit all poetry and fiction entries as attachments to an E-mail message. The attachments should be in either MS Word or text format. Fiction entries should be written in a normal prose style, double-spaced with each paragraph indented .5 spaces, and having a 12 point font of Times New Roman or Courier New. Only in the event that no electronic copy is possible will a hard copy be accepted and if so, it will not be returned to the owner.

All submissions, Braille, electronic or print must be proofread for spelling and grammatical errors. Please, no hand-written print copies.

All submissions must have your name and entry title at the beginning of each page in the upper left-hand corner and the page number in the upper right-hand corner. Staple all multiple-page entries in the upper left hand corner.

Cover Letter

Along with your entry or entries, include a cover letter providing your name, mailing address, phone number, and E-mail address. Enclose the titles of all stories or poems submitted. In a separate paragraph, mention the category of entry, i.e., “adult fiction” or “youth poetry.) Additionally, for youth, state the grade level category you fall under I.E., “Third Grade.” State your method of payment for the entry fee (check or Pay Pal).

Contest Entry Fees

Please make checks or PayPal payments for $6.00 for each adult short story submitted. One entry fee of $6.00 will be accepted for adult poetry entries up to three poems. No entry fee is charged for youth entries.

Entry Requirements

We will consider only unpublished original entries: adult short stories of no more than 3000 words. Youth stories at no more than 1000 words. Adult poetry of no more than 36 lines. Youth poetry at no more than 20 lines.

Payment Method

Use Pay Pal from the Writers’ Division website, www.nfb-writers-division.org to enroll in the contests and to pay the Adult Contest entry fee.

Enter the Adult Short Story Fiction or Adult Poetry Contest.

Adult Short Story Fiction Contest Adult Poetry Contest Option 3

Make Contest payments here.

Alternatively, you can mail a check made out to “NFB Writers’ Division with the title of your entry in the memo line. E-mail submissions should be sent to Robert Leslie Newman at 2010-contest@nfb-writers-division.org. Mail hard copy submissions and checks to:

Contest Winners

If you'd like to read submissions from past contest entrants select the winners from the year you wish to view from the list below:

Text Downloads

Downloadable versions of complete contest information and rules are available in ASCII Text, Rich Text,and Microsoft Word Format by selecting the appropriate link below:

Download in ASCII Text Format, (TXT)

Download in Rich Text Format, (RTF)

Download in Microsoft Word Format, (DOC)