Spring 2012 Creative Writing Competition

Important - follow all guidelines carefully

Entries not meeting guidelines and entry requirements may be rejected.

Mesa Community College (MCC) announces its Creative Writing Competition for 2012. The three categories are poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction.

General Eligibility:

1. A contestant must be a currently enrolled “for credit” student at Mesa Community College during the semester of the competition (Spring 2012). All faculty are excluded. Entries must be works written during the students’ enrollment in credit courses at MCC.


2. Students who have previously won First Place in a category are not eligible to participate again in that category. Entries must be received by Josh Rathkamp, the Creative Writing Coordinator, no later than 12:00 Noon on Friday, March 30, 2012.


3. Entries must be unpublished works that have not won previous awards.


4. Three (3) duplicate hard copies of each entry must be formatted as follows: MS Word, 12 point type, and double spaced. Poetry entries may be single spaced. The submission must be printed on 8 ½ x 11” white paper. Submit the entry in a 9 x 12” envelope. Your name must be printed on the outside of the envelope, along with the words MCC Creative Writing Competition AND the category of the entry. Each envelope may contain only one entry. Entries not submitted as requested will not be accepted.


5. Only one entry per category may be submitted by one individual. Contestants must include the completed MCC Spring 2012 Official Creative Writing Competition Entry Form with each entry. Download the form here.


6. The contestant's name must not appear anywhere on the submission. The upper right corner of each page of the entry must include TITLE OF ENTRY and PAGE NUMBER.


7. Maximum Length:   Poetry - 100 lines   |   Fiction - 4000 words   |   Nonfiction essay - 2500 words

Judging:
All judges will be MCC faculty. All decisions of the judges are final.

Awards:
Three (3) Scholarship Awards will be distributed in the following manner for EACH CATEGORY at an Awards Reading/Celebration on May 2, 2012 at noon. The winners are expected to attend.   |   First Place - $600   |   Second Place - $400   |   Third Place - $300

All questions should be directed to the Mesa Community College Creative Writing Coordinator.

Contact

Joshua Rathkamp
Creative Writing Coordinator
Office: LO 17
Phone: 480-461-7560
Email: joshua.rathkamp@mcmail.maricopa.edu