Letters about Literature is a national reading and writing program for students in grades 9-12. Students are invited to write a personal, reflective letter to the author of a book, poem, short story, essay or speech with a recommended length of 500 to 800 words. Submissions are due by December 10, 2010. Students have the opportunity to win gift cards and reading promotion grants to benefit their community. See Mr. Stachura for more details.
The Georgetown Club of Georgia’s Eighth Annual Georgia High School Writing Contest is strictly for high school students in their junior year in the state of Georgia. Essays should be between three to five pages and must be received by November 8th, 2010. This year’s topic invites you to take the position of Secretary General of the United Nations and address the General Assembly of all Member Countries in a speech called “The State of the World.” Awards range from $1250 to $500. See Mr. Stachura for more details.
The VFW Voice of Democracy Program last year allowed more than 100,000 high school students to compete for more than 2.5 million in scholarships. Students compete by writing and recording a broadcast script on the theme “Does my generation have a role in American’s future?” Prizes and scholarships are awarded at the local, district, state and national level and state winners receive an all expense paid trip to Washington, D.C. The deadline for entry is November 1, 2010. See Mr. Stachura for more details.
The VFW Voice of Democracy Program last year allowed more than 100,000 high school students to compete for more than 2.5 million in scholarships. Students compete by writing and recording a broadcast script on the theme “Does my generation have a role in American’s future?” Prizes and scholarships are awarded at the local, district, state and national level and state winners receive an all expense paid trip to Washington, D.C. The deadline for entry is November 1, 2010. See Mr. Stachura for more details.
Norman Mailer produced extraordinary works in many genres, including the category of this year’s award: nonfiction. Students may submit work in any of the many subgenres of nonfiction: memoir or autobiography, essay, literary journalism, profiles of people or places, and so on. Whatever its type, the best work will be true material presented with compelling literary merit.
High School Competition is open to all high school students. Students may submit one or more pieces of writing, maximum 10 single-spaced pages, endorsed by a teacher and released by a parent or guardian. Winner will receive the following:
• Cash award of $5,000
• *Travel and lodging to attend the Colony’s National Award Ceremony
Entries accepted April 1–April 28, 2010, Noon CST
A top prize of $1000 goes to the first place winner for a 1000 word essay on the meaning of Saint Patrick’s Day. The contest will be adjudicated by a committee headed by Dr. James W. Flannery, Director of the W.B. Yeats foundation and a member of the Irish Studies program of Emory University. The deadline for submissions is Wednesday, March 3! See Mr. Stachura soon for details.
At this time, The Poets’ Club of Atlanta and the "Casa de la Cultura Hispana Americana" (CCHA) (Hispanic American Chamber of Culture) would like to invite your institution to participate in the literary contest of the Essay in Spanish in Atlanta to take place 26th of March, 2010. We would like to, once again, see your students participate in this Literary Contest on the Essay 2010. Three prizes of $200 each will be given to the three first place winners. See the rules for this contest in:
http://sites.google.com/site/elpoetasite/reglas-del-concurso-del-ensayo-2010
Congressman Broun invites you to take part in a nationwide visual art contest the winner of which will have his or her artwork displayed for a year in the Capitol. The competition is open to high school students enrolled in grades nine through twelve, whose home or school lies within the Tenth District of Georgia. See Mr. Stachura for more details.
The Walton EMC’s Washington Youth Tour can be won by sophomores and juniors who live or go school (that’s all of us) in WEMC’s service area. Students will take a written test on material you’ll be provided covering subjects like electricity, cooperatives, Walton EMC and the electric utility industry. Winners will spend an incredible week in Washington D.C. The entry form deadline is Friday, February 12th at 5 p.m.
The Wonders of Plastic Essay contest offers you an opportunity to write about how plastics have benefited your life and carries a top prize of $1000. Entries must be in by February 1st. Check this website: http://www.4spe.org/essay-contest . Then see Mr. Stachura for more details.
The Georgia Farm Bureau’s 2010 Art Contest invites all Georgia High School Students to enter a work of art in black ink or dark pencil on 8.5 x 11 inch white paper. Entries are due by Friday, February 26th. Prizes range from $75 to $250. See Mr. Stachura for more details.
The Athens Optimist Club invites students to participate in a scholarship contest on the topic “The Internet: Today’s Evolution or Tomorrow’s Menace?” This contest has a top price of a $6000 scholarship and all essays are due January 11, 2010. See Mr. Stachura for more details.
Norman Mailer produced extraordinary works in many genres, including the category of this year’s award: creative nonfiction. Students who will be seniors in fall 2010 may submit work in any of the many subgenres of creative nonfiction: memoir or autobiography, essay, literary journalism, profiles of people or places, and so on. Whatever its type, the best work will be true material presented with compelling literary merit. This year submissions will be accepted between February 1 and May 1. The top winner will receive a $5,000 cash award, with plaques and citations also awarded to national finalists and semifinalists.
Submission and Formatting Guidelines
Students may submit one or more pieces of writing for a total of up to 10 single-spaced pages, though quality is far more important than quantity. The writing you upload must include a title, your name, and page numbers within your file. Use a plain, common, and easily readable font, such as Times New Roman; 11 or 12-point only, please. Accepted file types: .pdf, .doc, .docx, and .txt (maximum file size: 8 megabytes). Submissions will be accepted online only and must be endorsed by a teacher and released by a parent or guardian.
See Ms. Sweetapple for more details.
Is integrity especially important in your life? If so a 500 word essay on “the importance of trust in your life” may be worth a $1000 scholarship from the Better Business Bureau. Essays are due January 31st. See Mr. Stachura for more details.
Legacy and Lessons of the Civil Rights Movement Essay Contest
This contest is tied to a documentary scheduled to appear on PBS during Black History Month, Legacy: Black and White in America. All high school classes are invited to participate by submitting essays on the theme: "What are the legacy and lessons of the Civil Rights Movement?" Teachers/classes may participate in two ways:
1. You can start your own "Legacy" local writers gallery in the National Gallery of Writing, and invite each student to submit an essay on this theme prior to the December 15 deadline. Once your students' work is in, you can select the essay you consider the best in your class and submit it to the National Partner Legacy Essay Contest Gallery.
2. Alternatively you can collect essays from your class and post only the top essay to the National Partner Legacy Essay Contest Gallery -- note the "contribute to this gallery" button at the bottom of the web page. Again, December 15 is the deadline for submissions, with awards to be announced in February 2010.
This contest offers cash awards and laptop computers to the national finalists, and the top winner will take part in a VIP Capitol ceremony that may include President Barack Obama. The underlying purpose of the contest is to motivate high school students to take a serious look at what it means to be black or white in America today, how this has and hasn't changed since the days of the Civil Rights Movement, and what lessons we have learned about how to further the quest for genuine racial equity. In addition to NCTE, the contest is supported by the Congressional Black Caucus, the National Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers, the National Council for the Social Studies, and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, among others.
Istanbul Center
Middle and high-school students in the state of Georgia are invited to submit an original work of art and/or written composition on the theme of "Who's My Neighbor?" By way of explanation, the theme of "Who's My Neighbor?" means much more than knowing a person's name and saying "Hello" in a cordial manner. When composing your work, feel free to be creative. Just remember that whatever type of submission you choose, you want to create a work that makes the reader think and realize Who is My Neighbor? and why it is important to consider. First place price for this contest is a trip to Turkey. Check their website http://www.istanbulcenter.org/contest/ for more information.
The Georgetown Club’s Georgia High School Writing Contest is strictly for high school juniors. Juniors are invited to submit a three to five page essay asking the writer to speak as the Secretary General of the United Nations in 2009 concerning what three topics should are currently most important to the world. The first place award is $1,250 and the deadline for entry is 11/22/09. See Mr. Stachura for more details.
The Voice of Democracy is a contest sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars encouraging students to enter a three to five minute audio essay on a cassette or CD on the theme “Does America Still Have Heroes?” The entry deadline for submission is 11/1/09. With over $145,000 in prizes to award, this contest should be interesting. See Mr. Stachura for more details.
The 47th Annual Nancy Thorp Poetry Contest for high school sophomore and junior girls is sponsored by Hollins University and awards prizes for the best poems submitted by girls. Check out www.hollins.edu/poetrycontest and see Mr. Stachura for more details. Contest closes November 15.
Creative Communication invites you to “A Celebration of Young Writers,” the 2009/10 poetry and essay contest. Students will be able to compete for thousands of dollars in prizes and awards. The fall contest closes 10/15, the spring contest 2/17 and the summer contest 4/15. See Mr. Stachura for more details.
The First Freedom Center announces the 17th annual First Freedom Student Competition. This national essay contest offers 9th - 12th grade students an opportunity to compete for a $3,000, $1,500 and $750 award, as they examine the history and implementation of religious freedom-the freedom of conscience-in American democracy and the world today. Student online registration is required on or before Monday, November 23, 2009, and the postmark entry deadline for mailing the essay with its accompanying entry materials is Saturday, November 28. See Mr. Stachura for more details.
The Tapestry of Bronze wants to tell you about the Odes to Olympians, a poetry contest featuring Demeter/Ceres. There is a $50 prize for those 18 and older and another for those under 18. The contest may be entered until November 30, 2009 and it costs nothing. To learn more about the contest, go to http://www.tapestryofbronze.com/OdeForm.html
The American Legion High School Oratorical Scholarship Program presents “A Constitutional Speech Contest” for 2009-2010. Any eligible participant in The American Legion National High School Oratorical Scholarship Program shall be a citizen of or lawful permanent resident of the United States and a bona fide student. The subject to be used for the eight to ten minute prepared oration in the Constitutional Speech Contest must be on some phase of the Constitution of the United States with emphasis on the duties and obligations of a citizen to our government. With a top prize of $18,000 and many other prizes and scholarships this is a major opportunity. Contest closes in February. See Mr. Stachura for more details.
For this essay competition, students should read a Korean folk tale and its European counterpart then write an essay exploring and analyzing cultural differences and similarities that may have contributed to a discrepancy or likeness in folklore. Several prizes worth hundreds of dollars are available. See Mr. Stachura for more details.
Calling all artists – Congressman Broun invites you to participate in the 2009 Congressional Art Competition. Winners will have their art on display in the US Capitol for an entire year and will be eligible to receive a scholarship from the Savannah College of Art and Design. Art must be two dimensional and in to Dr. Broun’s office by May 5th. Academy student Amy Michel won this event last year – a repeat would be great. See Mr. Stachura for more details.
The Walnut Hill Creative Writing Program’s fifth Annual Elizabeth Bishop Writing Awards in Verse and Prose will open for submission on March 1 with a deadline of March 31st. Many prizes are available, with a top prize of a full tuition scholarship to the Walnut Hill Summer Writing Program which will begin in Boston and then conclude in Cambridge, England. See Mr. Stachura for details.
Want to go to Turkey? Want to go to Six Flags? Want 400 dollars? The Istanbul Center is offering these generous prizes for contests in visual art and writing. From their email “The theme of the contest is "Alliance of Civilizations" which is the United Nations’ concept of interaction and coordination among nations and cultures globally. Its purpose is to establish relations and facilitate cross-cultural and interfaith dialogue, understanding, reconciliation and cooperation.” January 23rd is the fast approaching due date – see Mr. Stachura soon for details.
The Annual Optimist International Essay Contest invites you to write on the topic “The Power of Youth” for a chance to win a $6000 scholarship given to the ultimate winner. All essays must be received by 1/1/09. See Mr. Stachura for more details.
The Colonial Dames of America sponsor the Scholarship for the Congressional Seminar National Essay Contest. This year’s topic, “over the course of history which American Leader has provided the greatest visionary leadership,” must be responded to in essay format of approximately 500 words. The deadline to submit is January 13th. Essays are judged on the local, State, and National level. Three winners from Georgia will receive scholarships to attend a week long seminar in Washington D.C. this summer.
Creative Communication gives young writers an attempt to be published and win cash prizes. With contest due dates throughout the year and over $80,000 in cash and prizes available students should consider submitting their original poetry and short (less than 250 words). See Mr. Stachura for more details.
The John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Essay Contest asks students to write an original and creative essay of less than 1,000 words that demonstrates an understanding of political courage as described by John F. Kennedy in Profiles in Courage. Top prize for this contest is $5,000. All entries must be submitted by January 10, 2009. See Mr. Stachura for more details.
The Georgetown Club of Georgia invites you to participate in their Sixth Annual Georgia High School Writing Contest. Students will write an essay envisioning what they would do as Secretary General of the United Nations in 2008, focusing on three essential topics. Top Prize for this contest is $1250. See Mr. Stachura for more details.
The Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2872 invites students to participate in its organization’s national annual Youth Audio-Essay Speaking program, code named “Voice of Democracy.” Students grades 9-12 are encouraged to enter a three to five minue audio essay on the theme “Service and Sacrifice by America’s Veterans Benefit Today’s Youth by…” The entry deadline for submission is November 1. Over $145,000 in prize money will be awarded in this contest. See Mr. Stachura for more details.