Rules

Liberal Arts Network for Development

www.landconference.com

2009

Creative Writing Contest

Fiction ** Essay ** Poetry

Open to all students enrolled in Michigan Community Colleges during 2009.

Deadline: December 11, 2009

(Local campus deadlines occur before December 11)

The Liberal Arts Network for Development (LAND) is pleased to announce its annual community college writing contest, open to all students in Michigan’s community colleges. Individual colleges may submit two entries per category. First, second and third-place finalists in the categories of Fiction, Essay and Poetry receive monetary awards and publication.

First Place in each category $150

Second Place in each category $100

Third place in each category $50

Information, Rules and Procedures for Student Writers

Your college has its own process for selecting its two entries in each category. Consult your college instructor to learn what your local rules and deadlines are.

Read the contest rules carefully. Prepare your manuscript(s) and transmittal form(s) accordingly. Submit these materials to your college instructor for consideration as your college’s entry.

WRITING CONTEST RULES

Eligibility

The LAND Writing Contest is open to any student enrolled in a credit class at a public Michigan two-year college during 2009. Faculty may make judicious suggestions to students for revision of entries.

An official entry form (transmittal form) must be filled out completely. A form must be signed by the student author and college instructor or representative and attached to each submission.

Specifications

Short fiction and essays should be 1,000-2,000 words in length; poems should be 50 lines or fewer.
No previously published work may be submitted.
Work must be original. Any borrowed ideas or language must be appropriately acknowledged.

Format

Neither the author's name nor the name of the author’s college should appear anywhere on any entry.
Entries will be identified by the author’s student number or college identifier, which should appear in the upper right hand corner of each page.
All entries must be titled and paginated.
Fiction and Essay entries must have title pages that include the story or essay title and the author's student number, but not the author’s name or the college name.
Poems do not need title pages but they do need titles.
All entries must have one-inch margins and page numbers.
Essays must be double-spaced. Stories must be double-spaced unless alternate formatting is an integral part of the story’s aesthetic effect. Poems may be spaced and arranged according to the poet’s intent.
All entries must be submitted in MS Word, RTF or PDF format. When format is an integral part of the work’s aesthetic effect, a scanned image converted to a PDF document is acceptable.

Judging criteria

· Judges chosen by the LAND organization will determine first, second and third place in each category.

· Prose will be judged on originality of content, purpose, audience awareness, organization, development, style, and mechanics.

· Fiction and poetry will be judged on imaginative insight, sensitivity to language, and control of formal elements (e.g. point of view, metrics, etc.)

· Contest guidelines are based on those used by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) http://www.ncte.org/positions/statements/contestsguidelines

Prizes and Recognition

· A first prize of $150, a second prize of $100 and a third prize of $50 will be awarded for each category.

· All prize-winning stories, essays and poems will be published in pamphlet form by LAND. Copies will be distributed to all community colleges in Michigan.

· Certificates of Merit will be presented to prize winners at the annual LAND Conference in February. Contest winners will be invited to attend the conference as guests of LAND, which will provide free conference registration and lunch on the day that Certificates are presented. Prize-winners who choose to stay at the conference site overnight will be responsible for the cost of their own lodging.

· Finalists and their institutions will be announced in January.

Stipulations

· Entries become the property of LAND and will not be returned to authors. Rights may revert to the author upon written request.

· If fewer than 10 entries are submitted to the competition and/or, in the opinion of the judges the above criteria are not met, LAND reserves the right not to determine any finalists or present all prizes in one or more categories.

Information and Procedures for Instructors and Campus LAND Representatives

Local Contest

· Each campus must implement its own local contest or other structured selection process for identifying submissions that will represent the college campus. Set local contest deadlines early enough to allow the campus coordinator sufficient time to identify winners and submit entries to the statewide competition.

· Each college may submit TWO ENTRIES PER CATEGORY to the statewide competition. Multi-campus institutions may submit two entries per category for each campus.

Submission of Campus Winners to the Statewide Contest

· The contest deadline is December 11, 2009. Entries received after midnight on that date will not be included in the contest. To avoid exclusion because of technical problems, e-mail submissions a few days early.

· Official entry forms (transmittal forms, below) must be filled out completely for each of the (up to) six entries from your campus and submitted with the entries.

· While various instructors may be identified on the transmittal forms, the entries from a campus must be submitted by one campus coordinator, either via one e-mail or via a series of e-mails sent one after another within a short period of time.

· E-mail submissions and transmittal forms as attachments in one of these formats: .doc, .rtf or .pdf with the following subject line: LAND Writing Contest Entries from Your College Name

· E-mail submissions to the LAND contest coordinator, Dr. Joel R. Brouwer, English Department, Montcalm Community College, at this e-mail address: joelb@montcalm.edu

Verification of Entries

· Receipt of submissions will be promptly acknowledged. If you haven’t received an acknowledgment of submission within 12 hours, re-submit and contact Dr. Brouwer by phone at 988-328-1267.

· Prior to any public announcement of winners, sponsoring instructors will be contacted to re-affirm the authenticity and originality of the entry.

Information About the Sponsoring Organization

Liberal Arts Network for Development (LAND) is open to all people involved in liberal arts at any Michigan community college. LAND was formed to engender close ties, facilitate communications, and meet the needs of those teaching and administering liberal arts programs and curricula throughout Michigan.

Statement of Purpose

LAND seeks to develop and promote a network for strengthening the liberal arts in Michigan community colleges.

Objectives

Explore the values and relevance of the liberal arts to our colleges and communities.
Unify and integrate the liberal arts with other curricula as appropriate.
Identify and work toward improving liberal arts instruction.
Plan for future, short-term and immediate needs of liberal arts education and instruction.
Meet on a regular basis to work toward achieving the above objectives as appropriate within the particular campus.

LAND Membership

Anyone who defines herself or himself as active in the development and/or delivery of instruction or curricula in the liberal arts at any of Michigan's community colleges is welcome to become a member of LAND. There is no individual membership fee.