GCC is excited to announce the return of its student creative writing contest! Have you written a creative piece you’re proud of, or interested in writing something now? Contact any of your GCC instructors and ask them to support your poem, story, or creative nonfiction essay. Or, Cynthia Brandon-Slocum can sponsor your piece if you’d like to submit it but don’t know who to ask!
Categories
- Fiction (Short Story)
- Poetry
- Creative Nonfiction
Prizes
There will be three prizes for each genre, and the top two in each genre will be entered in the LAND Writing Contest to compete for even more money.
- First Place $70
- Second Place $50
- Third Place $30
How to Enter
- Limit: Two entries per student. Entries can be in one genre or two separate genres.
- Pick a short story, creative nonfiction essay, or poem that you wrote this year. Review the specifications (listed below) to make sure it meets the word count and content requirements.
- Ask any of your current instructors to support your entry and have them complete their part of the entry form attached to this email. Or, fill out your half and I'll support your entry.
- Read and follow the contest format requirements (listed below).
- Email your manuscript(s) and entry form to cynthiab@gogebic.edu as a .doc, .docx, or .pdf file. before 10 p.m. (CST)/11 p.m. (EST) on Thursday, December 1. No links or sharing from Google Docs or Microsoft. Download and attach your files. If you do not receive a confirmation email within 1 day, resend your entry or text Cynthia Brandon-Slocum at (906) 256-3992.
Formatting and Content Guidelines
Specifications:
- Fiction and creative nonfiction must be fewer than 2,000 words in length and they must be a stand-alone piece (no excerpts from a longer project). Poems must be 50 lines or less.
- No previously published work may be submitted.
- Work must be original. Any borrowed ideas or language must be appropriately acknowledged.
- Authors must be willing to have their work published under their own names. No anonymous or pseudonymous work will be accepted.
- No critical essays or research papers may be submitted under this contest. Those works should be directed to the Student Scholars Competition.
Format:
- Neither the author’s name nor the name of the author’s college should appear anywhere on any entry.
- Entries will be identified by the author’s student number, which should appear in the upper right hand corner of each page.
- All multi-page entries must be titled and paginated.
- Each poem must have a title.
- All entries must have one-inch margins and page numbers.
- Creative nonfiction must be double-spaced. Fiction must be double-spaced unless alternate formatting is an integral part of the story’s aesthetic effect. Poems may be spaced and arranged according to the poet’s intent.
- All entries must be submitted in .doc , .docx, or .pdf format. When format is an integral part of the work’s aesthetic effect, a scanned image converted to a .pdf document is acceptable.
Thank you to the GCC Foundation for funding the cash prizes. Good luck to all!
