Missoula Writes
Do you have the write stuff? Missoula Public Library’s annual writing contest is now in its fifteenth year!
2023 Official Rules
Please read the rules and follow them closely. Double check your work before submitting. Please call us at (406)721-2665 with any questions regarding Missoula Writes.
Eligibility
- Open to all full-year and part-year residents of Montana
- One entry per category per age group. Categories are fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. Age groups are 8-10, 11-14, 15-18, and 19+
- Must be an original work not previously published; no pseudonyms; plagiarism results in disqualification
- Author’s name must not appear anywhere on the entry or in the file name
- Submit entries electronically to Submittable by 5 PM, Saturday, February 19, 2021
Submission Process
- Entries will be judged by professional writers, editors, educators, librarians, and booksellers
- Winners will be notified in early April
- Awards Reception details will be announced at a later date
- Missoula Downtown Association gift cards will be awarded in each category for each age group: 1st Place - $100, 2nd Place - $50, 3rd Place - $25
- Prizes will be given to the winner or their authorized proxy at the Awards Reception, or mailed to the winner
- Winners’ names will be submitted to the local newspapers and published on the various Missoula Public Library social networking sites and our own webpage
Entry Format
- Prescribed formatting MUST BE FOLLOWED in order to qualify!
- Fiction and non-fiction entries must be 2,000 words or fewer; poetry entries may be one original work of no more than 3 pages
- Entry must be self-contained (i.e. not a single chapter from a longer story, an excerpt, or a story that is ‘to be continued’)
- Use an easy to read font; do not use ALL CAPS, cursive, or bold fonts
- Entry must be typewritten and double-spaced (poems may be single-spaced); authors in 8-10 age group may handwrite their entries, but writing must still follow all other formatting requirements
- The title must appear at the top of the first page. Do not include the author’s name anywhere on the entry
- Each page must be numbered (the first page and/or single page entries are not required to be numbered).
- Entry must be uploaded and submitted electronically. Handwritten entries from the 8-10 group must be scanned prior to uploading
For assistance with uploading an entry, or with scanning and uploading handwritten entries in the 8-10 age group, please contact us.
Attention teachers and parents. If you are encouraging children to submit an entry, please stress to them the importance of following the entry format and submission guidelines. To avoid disqualification, review their entries prior to submission.
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