1st prize and 2nd prizes will be named in each of six categories:
Grades 7-9: Short Fiction and Memoir
Grades 10-12: Short Fiction and Memoir
NEW! Adult: Short Fiction and Memoir
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 2022; winning entries will be published on the Library website.
Entries accepted September 7 through December 3, 2021.
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.
All submissions must include the following information in a cover page (print) or in the email body (electronic):
- Writer’s name, address, email, and telephone number
- Title, word count, and category (short fiction or memoir)
- Age: either Adult, or grade and school name, or note as homeschooled
E-mail submission:
- Include the above information in the body of the email and submit your work(s) as an attachment. Acceptable formats include Word, .rtf or .pdf.
- Email to Hannah Lackoff at hlackoff@patten.lib.me.us
- Put “PFL Writing Contest Submission” in the subject line
Print submission:
- Include the above information on a cover sheet and deliver to the Information Desk, or
- Mail to:
Teen Writing Contest c/o Patten Free Library
33 Summer Street
Bath, ME 04530
Questions? Call or email Hannah Lackoff
207-443-5141, ext 21
