Creative Writing Contest

CREATIVE WRITING CONTEST

RULES AND GUIDELINES

To: Local Chairperson of Creative Writing Committee

Local President of Iowa Reading Council

From:Lynn Kilpatrick, State Creative Writing Chair

Debra Wake, State Poetry Chair

Re: Creative Writing / Poetry Guidelines, 2009-2010

Local chairpersons should announce the Young Authors Creative Writing/Poetry project as soon as possible. Copies of the attached guidelines should be distributed to all schools in your council area. And, please, promote the Young Authors Poetry and Writing Celebration!

Establish a realistic deadline for your local council to ensure that the winning manuscripts are post-marked no later than January 20, 2010. Chairpersons, please have your return address, including council name on the envelope you submit your manuscripts. It certainly helps for identification in the case that your council name is not on the back of an entry. Also please send us your name, as Creative Writing Chair or Poetry Chair, via e-mail (addresses below). THANKS!

Local councils should send only the first-place manuscripts in each grade level category to the State competition. At the state level there will be three places recognized in each of the thirteen grade categories. First place winners will be notified by mail, everyone else should check the Iowa Reading website.

First place winners will be honored at the Iowa Reading Association’s Spring Conference in Des Moines. Certificates will be sent to the second and third place winners in each category (Creative Writing and Poetry).

Send winning manuscripts by January 20, 2010 to:

Creative Writing Chair:Poetry Chair

Lynn KilpatrickDebra Wake

c/o Chantry Elementary Schoolc/o Fremont-Mills Elementary School

409 East 9th St.PO Box 310

Malvern, IA 51551Tabor, IA 51653

(712) 624-8681(712) 629-7335

Please remember…

Three typed copies of each winning manuscript/poem need to be sent to the state chairperson (Lynn Kilpatrick or Debra Wake). Make sure each copy has a completed label attached/stapled behind the final page of each manuscript. All information must be included to be considered as a final entry. Forms to be used are in this information, available online at our Iowa Reading Association website.

When submitting winning manuscripts, please make sure all sections of the label are completed.

YOUNG AUTHORS CREATIVE WRITING

The Iowa Reading Association is sponsoring our annual Young Authors Creative Writing/Poetry Celebration for students in Kindergarten through Twelfth grade during the fall of the 2009-2010 school year. Local councils should encourage students to enter the celebration and participate by writing and submitting a creative writing story (in prose form) and/or a poem.

Classroom teachers should offer the opportunity to all students, but should respect any student who is not interested in participating. All manuscripts must be submitted to the local council for judging. Manuscripts that are selected as first place at the local level advance to the state competition.

There will be three places recognized in each of the thirteen entry categories. First place winners will be notified by mail and invited to attend the Young Author’s Celebration during the Iowa Reading Association’s Spring Conference in Des Moineswhere they will be recognized and honored at a reception in their honor. Certificates will be awarded to the second and third place winners in each category.

There will be thirteen entry categories as follows:

Kindergarten - First Grade: Students may dictate a story to a person who would be responsible for

writing the story for the student if the student’s writing skills are still being

developed.

Second - Twelfth Grades: These students must write their own stories and/or poems unless unable to

do so.

In all cases, the entries must be proofread before entering any contest. Spelling, grammatical, and punctuation errors must be corrected to be able to produce the final manuscript. Doing so not only provides opportunity for further story-writing education, but it also produces the desired finished product.

Creative Writing entries are judged by a rubric that includes continuity, creativity/originality, clearly defined and developed story elements, and technical mechanics. Stories that intentionally do not follow the requirements, as outlined below, will be disqualified.

THE FOLLOWING REQUIREMENTS MUST BE FOLLOWED FOR THE

ENTRY TO BE CONSIDERED

*Manuscripts must be written in prose (story format). Please follow the following length requirements:

Kindergarten – Grade Three: 500 words or less

Grade Four – Grade Eight: 750 words or less

Grade Nine – Grade Twelve:1,000 words or less

*Student’s name should NOT be on the front of the manuscript.

*Manuscripts must be double spaced and typed. NO ILLUSTRATIONS!

*Manuscripts will be judged according to: creativity, originality, organization and mechanics.

*Three typed copies of the manuscript will be mailed to the chairperson of the local writing committee.

*Three typed copies of the manuscript will be mailed to the state writing committee chairperson. A fourth copy

should remain with the local council as the sent in copies will not be returned.

*The entry label must be attached at the end of each manuscript. Complete allof the

information (Please type or print neatly). There must be an entry label with each submitted manuscript.

Only manuscripts labeled correctly, including all information, will be considered in the state writing contest!

YOUNG AUTHORS POETRY CELEBRATION

There will be three places recognized in each of the thirteen entry categories. First place winners will be notified by mail and e-mail and invited to attend the Young Author’s Celebration during the Iowa Reading Association’s Spring Conference in Des Moines where they will be recognized and honored at a reception in their honor. Second and third place winners will be posted on the Iowa Reading Website. Certificates will be awarded and mailed to the second and third place winners in each category.

There will be thirteen entry categories as follows:

Kindergarten - First Grade: Students may dictate a story to a person who would be responsible for

writing the story for the student if the student’s writing skills are still being

developed.

Second - Twelfth Grades: These students must write their own stories and/or poems unless unable to

do so.

In all cases, the entries must be proofread before entering any contest. Spelling, grammatical, and punctuation errors must be corrected to be able to produce the final manuscript. Doing so not only provides opportunity for further poetry-writing education, but it also produces the desired finished product.

Poems will be judged according to: interest stimulated, response evoked, creativity and originality, conciseness of vocabulary creating an image, rhythm, spelling - unless for effect and appearance. Poetry entries that intentionally do not follow the requirements, as outlined below, will be disqualified.

THE FOLLOWING REQUIREMENTS MUST BE FOLLOWED FOR THE

ENTRY TO BE CONSIDERED

*Student’s name should NOT be on the front of the manuscript.

*Poems must be double spaced and typed(unlessusing an unusual format). NO ILLUSTRATIONS!

*Poems will be judged according to: interest stimulated, response evoked, creativity and originality, conciseness

of vocabulary creating an image, rhythm, spelling – unless for effect and appearance.

*Three typed copies of the manuscript will be mailed to the chairperson of the local writing committee.

*Three typed copies of the manuscript will be mailed to the state writing committee chairperson. A fourth copy

should remain with the local council as the sent in copies will not be returned.

*The entry label must be attached to the back page of each manuscript instead of being glued. Complete all the

information (Please type or print neatly). There must be an entry label with each submitted poem.

PLEASE NOTE: Only poems labeled correctly, including all information, will be considered

in the state writing contest!

CREATIVE WRITING / POETRY

(Circle one)

Please include one of these forms at the endof eachentry submitted to Local and/or State Contests

Story Title: ______

Grade Level:______*Word Count (Creative Writing) ______

Student’s First and Last Name:______

Student’s Address: ______

Street CityZip

Student’s Home Phone: ______Circle: M (male) F (female)

Name of School: ______

School Address: ______

Street CityZip

Parents’ Name: ______

Mr./Mrs./Miss/Ms. First Last

Parent E-Mail address: ______

Student e-mail address: ______

Teacher’s name: ______Mr./Mrs./Miss/Ms. First Last

Teacher’s e-mail address:______

Local Reading Council: ______Zone: ______

*Creative WritingManuscripts must be written in prose (story format). Please remember the following length

requirements:

Kindergarten – Grade Three: 500 words or less

Grade Four – Grade Eight: 750 words or less

Grade Nine – Grade Twelve:1,000 words or less