ELIGIBILITY

Must be a Maine resident and  enrolled as a junior in the Fall of 2007 at a public or private high school in Maine. 

If home schooled, must be a Maine resident and be at least 16 years of age at time of submission and can not turn 17 years of age before December 31, 2007.
 

ENTRY DEADLINE—2007

Entries will be accepted from October 1, 2007 through December 1, 2007.
 

PROCESS FOR SUBMISSION

A completed Entry Form must be submitted electronically in Microsoft Word format and sent as an attachment to writing@mccs.me.edu.  Incomplete entry forms and entries received by mail or fax will not be accepted. 

Entrants may submit an original poem, essay or short story (fiction or creative non-fiction).  Entries must not exceed 1,500 words in length, use 12 point font and be single spaced.

Only one submission per entrant is allowed.  The submitted piece must represent the original thoughts, research and writing of the author and not be the work product in whole or in part of another individual.

Entrants will receive electronic confirmation that their materials arrived; however, because of the volume of submissions, only those selected as semi-finalists will be informed of the contest outcome.  Please Note:  Review of entries is not intended to provide critical feedback.  All decisions of the review panel and judges are final.
 

 SELECTION PROCESS

All entries will be considered by a team of reviewers from the Maine Community College System.  Those deemed as superior will be considered for semi-finalist status.  Up to 15 semi-finalists will be announced in April 2008 in the Maine Sunday Telegram.  Semi-finalist entries will be posted on the Contest and MaineToday.com web sites. 

Semi-finalist works will be judged by a panel of distinguished Maine authors and three winners will be selected.  Winners will be announced in May 2008.  Winning entries will be posted on the Contest and MaineToday.com web sites.  The semi-finalists and three winners will be recognized at an awards ceremony and luncheon to be held in late May 2008. 

EVALUATION CRITERIA

What does a "Superior Entry" look like?

Superior writing is creative:  Engages the reader and captures his/her attention; emotionally compelling; contains original thought and ideas; a sense of personal authenticity.

Superior writing entertains and instructs:  Serves to help reader achieve insight or enhanced understanding; contains layers of meaning; avoids didactic lessons or heavy-handed moralizing.

Superior writing uses literary techniques effectively:  Language is fresh, vivid, interesting, and free of clichés; specific details to develop images of people, places, time periods, ideas; writing "shows" rather than "tells".

Superior writing is well-organized:  Writing achieves a sense of coherence; organization may be conventional or unconventional, but is always easy for the reader to follow; achieves a sense of unity or completeness.

Superior writing utilizes mechanics of Standard Written English:  Correct usage in grammar, punctuation, spelling, and sentence structure.
 

PLEASE NOTE:

Any award that totals over $600 will be subject to an IRS 1099 form.  The recipient must provide a valid social security number.  All taxes for any award that is subject to IRS taxation will be the responsibility of the recipient.

Publication and public recognition are central to the purpose and role of the Journey into Writing contest, thus all submissions are deemed to grant consent to such publication and to participation in such public recognition.

A Journey into Writing | Contest Rules | Entry Form | Contest Judges | 2007 Semi-finalists | 2007 WINNING ENTRIES | Sponsor Links