Provided by Bucks County Community College:
The Bucks County Community College sign at the Newtown campus.
Bucks County Community College, which has chosen a Bucks County High School Poet of the Year for the last three decades, is now seeking entrants for its first-ever High School Short Fiction Contest.
Elizabeth Luciano, the literature professor who launched the contest, says the competition is a unique opportunity for young writers to have their voices heard.
“The college has long played an active role in the creative writing community, through the High School Poet of the Year and Bucks County Poet Laureate contests,” Luciano said. “This project is aimed at adding to that synergy by encouraging high school fiction writers from throughout the county.”
The contest is open to 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th graders who live in and attend high school in Bucks County, including those who are home-schooled. Students can enter one original short story that’s never been published, including in online blogs or online publications. No fan fiction – stories based on existing books, movies, or other media – is allowed. Stories may be six to ten pages, or about 1,450 to 2,400 words, double-spaced in 12-point Times New Roman font with one-inch margins.
Entries must be submitted electronically by noon Friday, March 16. Complete contest rules and a link to the online entry form are at www.bucks.edu/ShortFictionContestHS. The URL is case-sensitive.
There is no cost to enter the contest, and the winners will collect a $200 honorarium for first place, $100 for second place, and $50 for third place. In addition, winners will be honored at a celebratory reading at Bucks County Community College in Newtown on Sunday, April 29.
The Bucks County High School Short-Fiction Contest is part of a year-long project underwritten by the Bucks County Community College Strategic Initiative Fund, and receives staff support from the Language and Literature Department. For more information, contact Professor Elizabeth Luciano at Elizabeth.Luciano@bucks.edu or the department at 215-968-8167.
