[NFBMO] [Nfbnet-members-list] 2024 Writers' Division Contest
David Andrews via NFBNet-Members-List
nfbnet-members-list at nfbnet.org
Thu Jan 4 09:14:15 UTC 2024
Below, and attached are the guidelines for the
2024 Writers' Division Writing Contest.
2024 WRITING CONTEST GUIDELINES
The National Federation of the Blind invites you
to participate in the 2024 Writers’ Division
writing contest. The contest is open. Below, you
will find our requirements and deadlines. This
year we have added a short novel category along
with our other traditional categories. We look
forward to seeing your work in the contest this year.
The annual youth and adult writing contests
sponsored by the NFB Writers’ Division will open
January 1, 2024 and close April 30 2024. This
contest is open to all blind aspiring writers.
The term blind refers to all forms of vision loss.
• Adult contest categories are:
• short Fiction
• nonfiction, including personal essay and memoir
• novel excerpts and
• poetry.
Youth contest categories are short fiction and poetry.
The youth contest is divided into three groups, determined by grade level;
• elementary, 1st through 4th grade,
• middle, 5th through 8th grade, and
• high school 9th through 12th grade.
In both adult and youth contests, there may be up
to three prize winners (1st, 2nd, 3rd), In
addition, one or more entries may receive
honorable mention. Prize winning entries may be
published in the Writers’ Division’s magazine, Slate & Style.
All contest winners will be announced during the
2024 national convention in Orlando, Florida at
the annual Writers' Division business meeting.
PRIZES
Youth contest winners will receive cash prizes equal to
• $30 for 1st place,
• $20 for 2nd place, and
• $10 for 3rd place.
Adult contest winners will receive cash prizes equal to
• $75 for 1st place,
• $50 for 2nd place, and
• $25 for 3rd place.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
YOUTH CONTESTS
If you are 18 years old, or older, you must enter the adult contest.
The youth contest is a contest for students who
use Braille. Entries must be submitted in hand
embossed Braille, either with a slate and stylus
or Perkins Braille writer; there are no
exceptions. Submissions must be Brailled by the
entrant. All submissions, no matter the grade
level, must be in contracted Braille. Let us know
if you “know” or are “learning” contracted
Braille. Additionally, let us know if you have
chosen to use UEB, or not. Send your hardcopy Braille and cover letter to:
• Barbara Hammel
• 7408 Bryn Mawr Drive
Urbandale IA50322
Each entrant must provide an identical electronic
copy of the cover letter and contest entry as a
Microsoft Word file [doc or docx] or as a Rich
Text Format [rtf] file). Construct each contest
entry as a separate electronic file. Construct
your cover letter as a separate electronic file.
Attach each separate electronic file to one (1)
email and send it to Shelley Alongi, Queenofbells at outlook.com.
Include your name and title entries in the cover
letter only. Each contest entry must contain the
title and text only. So if you are entering three
poems and one story into the contest, attach five
files to your email. No entries will be
considered unless submitted in the formats listed
above. Electronic files submitted in any other
format will be immediately disqualified, no questions asked.
COVER LETTERYour cover letter must contain the following information:
• Your name
• mailing address
• phone number,
• e-mail address.
• List the titles of all submissions,
including the category in which they are being entered, school and grade level.
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
• We will consider only unpublished
original entries. Please do not submit entries
that have been previously submitted on a web site or blog.
• Youth short fiction stories submissions
cannot be more than 1,000 words
• poetry of no more than 50 lines.
Authors of either poetry or fiction are encouraged to submit multiple pieces.
Youth ENTRY FEES – None
Are you the best Brailler in the contest? Be sure
to double check your work for spelling and
grammatical errors. Remember to use Braille paper
so the Braille is easy to read. Good luck!
ADULT CONTEST
This contest is for blind writers 18 years old, or older.
• We will consider only unpublished
original entries. Please do not submit entries
that have been published on a website or blog.
• Fiction and nonfiction categories can
be of any main stream genre, and cannot exceed 3,000 words.
Novel excerpts must be no longer than five
thousand words and can be partial or complete
chapters as long as they fall within the word limit.
Poetry: We will accept poetry of any length
Adults are required to submit all poetry, fiction
and nonfiction as attachments to an E-mail
message. Each entrant must provide an identical
electronic copy of the cover letter and contest
entry as a Microsoft Word file [doc or docx] or
as a Rich Text Format [rtf] file). Construct each
contest entry as a separate electronic file.
Construct your cover letter as a separate
electronic file. Attach each separate electronic
file to one (1) email and send it to Shelley
Alongi, Queenofbells at outlook.com. Note: Only
include the title and text of each entry in each
contest entry. So, if you are entering three
poems and one story into the contest you must
attach five electronic files to your email. No
entries will be considered unless submitted in
the formats listed above. Electronic copies
submitted in any other format will be immediately
disqualified, no questions asked.
• Each separate attachment must be in
either Microsoft Word (doc or docx) or a Rich Text Format (rtf).
Authors are encouraged to submit multiple pieces.
Fiction and nonfiction should be written in a
normal prose style, with paragraphs being left
justified, lines being single spaced, and having
a 14 point font of Aerial, regular. Be sure to
double check your work for spelling and
grammatical errors No hard copy submissions will be accepted.
COVER LETTER
Along with your entry or entries, include a cover
letter providing the following information:
• Your name,
• mailing address,
• phone number,
• e-mail address.
• List the titles of all submissions,
including the category in which they are being entered.
• method of payment for the entry fee (check or PayPal).
CONTEST ENTRY FEES PAYMENT AND METHODS
Adult Fees:
• The fee for each short fiction piece,
memoir, essay and novel excerpt is $15.00 for
members and $20.00 for non-members.
• The fee for each nonfiction entry is
$15.00 for members and $20.00 for non-members.
• A member is considered to be one whose
dues to the NFB Writers' Division are current for
the contest year. A nonmember is one who is not a
paid member of the NFB Writers' Division at the
time of entry into the contest.
• The base fee for poetry will cover up
to three poems, if the combined line-count of all
three poems does not exceed 108 lines. Additional
poems require a second fee, following the same
fee payment scheme. Base fees are $15.00 for
members and $20.00 for non-members.
PAYMENT
You may use PayPal from the Writers’ Division website, writers.nfb.org.
Alternatively, you may mail a check made out to
NFB Writers’ Division, with a note in the memo
line relating to the contest. Send to:
• Shawn Jacobson
• 19541 Olney Mill Rd.
• Olney, MD 20832.
Shelley, Queen of Bells Out!
President, NFB Writers’ Division
Editor Slate and Style
See my self published books at Apple Books, Amazon and Barns and Noble
"Shelly Alongi" <qobells at icloud.com>
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