10th Annual Writing Contest

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

Grades 6-9: Short Fiction, Non-Fiction
Grades 10-12: Short Fiction, Non-Fiction
Adults: Short Fiction, Non-Fiction

Entries will be judged by a panel including Library staff, trustees, local teachers, community members 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 2024 and 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 October 1 through December 1, 2023.

Guidelines:
• One submission limit per author per category; no co-authors.
• Teen entrants must be in grades 6-12, live in the Library service area; or attend an R.S.U. 1 school or school located within the Library service area (Arrowsic, Georgetown, Bath, West Bath, or Woolwich).
• 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.  Entries longer than 3000 words will not be considered.
• 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:

Submit Here

 

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.

View last year’s winners.