2022 Annual Writing Contest

1st prize and 2nd prizes will be named in each of six categories:

Grades 7-9: Short Fiction, Non-Fiction
Grades 10-12: Short Fiction, Non-Fiction
Adults: Short Fiction, Non-Fiction

Entries will be judged by a panel of library staff, trustees, local teachers, and Teen Library Council members. First ($100) and second prize ($50) gift certificates will be awarded in each category. Winners will be honored at a reception in January 2023; winning entries will be published on the Library website.  The Writing Contest is made possible with support from the Friends of the Patten Free Library.

Entries accepted September 9 through December 3, 2022.

Guidelines:
• One submission limit per author per category; no co-authors.
• Teen entrants must be in grades 7-12, live in the library service area; or attend an R.S.U. 1 school, Chop Point School, Hyde School, or Chewonki Middle School.
• Adult entrants must be 18 years or older and live in the library service area (Arrowsic, Georgetown, Bath, West Bath, or Woolwich) or hold a valid Patten Free Library card. Library staff are not eligible for consideration.
• Previously published work will not be accepted.
• Entries may be up to 3000 words.
• Include a header on each page with title, category, and page number.
• Submissions will be judged blind. DO NOT include writer’s name anywhere on the submission itself.
• No “fan fiction,” please.

Submissions accepted via online submission form or in print.

Electronic submission:

• Fill out the form at the bottom of the page.

Print submission:

• Include the following information on a cover sheet and deliver to the Information Desk, or mail to:

              Writing Contest c/o Patten Free Library

              33 Summer Street

              Bath, ME 04530

• Writer’s name, address, email, and telephone number
• Title, word count, and category (short fiction or non-fiction)
• Age: either Adult, or grade and school name, or note as homeschooled

Questions?  Call or email Hannah Lackoff (207-443-5141 x1021, hlackoff@patten.lib.me.us)

The contest is made possible with support from the Friends of the Patten Free Library.