Delaware Beach Life magazine and The Rehoboth Beach Writers’ Guild have once again joined forces to hold the annual Writing Contest for Young Writers. The deadline for entries is Sunday, Aug. 15.
The contest, for which there is no entry fee, is open to any writer between the age of 10 and 18.
Writers do not have to be residents of Delaware.
Winners for each age group (10-13 and 14-18) in each of three categories, fiction, creative nonfiction and poetry, will have their work published in the November issue of Delaware Beach Life.
Participants can enter as many times as they like and the entries can be about any subject, although content that is sexual or violent will not be published in the magazine.
The contest typically receives over 100 entries from dozens of schools from across the state, and has, in the past, received entries from nearly 20 other states and one foreign country. Guild members regard this contest, with its goal of encouraging young writers, to be one of its most important events, and so have focused more heavily on outreach this year, contacting schools and offering free visits and creative workshops from published writers.
“A number of schools took us up on this offer,” says guild President Maribeth Fischer, the author of two novels, “It’s been gratifying to find entries in our mailbox all summer and not just in the contest’s final two weeks.”
Delaware Beach Life also increased its advertising about the contest. The magazine, which has recently won a number of national awards, typically devotes a large segment of its November issue to the publication of the winning poems, stories and essays, hiring graphic artists to illustrate the work. It matters a great deal to both Fischer and Terry Plowman, the publisher of Delaware Beach Life, that young writers understand the value of their work. “Plowman treats the young writers’ work as he does that of any professional,” Fischer says.
In additional to the publication in this unique glossy magazine, finalists in each category, determined by guild members, are sent on to prominent local and nationally known writers who will choose the winners.
A full list of the judges is available on the writers guild website along with guidelines and entry forms. All participants in the contest, their families, friends, teachers and school principals, as well as local writers, journalists and librarians will be invited to a reception in November.
For rules and guidelines, go to www.rehobothbeachwritersguild.com (under Young Writers) or email contactus@rehobothbeachwritersguild.com.
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