JUMP TO YOUTH WRITING CONTESTS
or KARNOWSKI YOUTH POETRY CONTEST

For all Kansas Adult Writers
Contest opens April 1, 2013
and closes June 15, 2013, postmarked

2013 THEME CONTEST:
“Our Town (It's Not on Any Map...True Places Never Are)”
Theme Contest Pays $100, $50 and $35, with two unpaid honorable mentions.

A new award for prose and poetry will be introduced in 2013. Details to be announced at the awards ceremony on Oct. 6, 2013, in Wichita.

Categories Note: There will be a variation in categories from year to
year based on quantity of entries and input from judges and club members.

PROSE CATEGORIES (word limit on all prose categories, 2000 words)

1. Theme Contest: Our Town
2. Short Fiction
3. Feature Article
   
4. Memoir/Autobiography
5. Inspiration
6. Story for Children, preschool to Grade 5
7. Book: One-Page Synopsis and First 5 Pages (Synopsis must be included to qualify.) Open to adult fiction and nonfiction.

POETRY CATEGORIES (limit poems to one page)

1. Theme Contest: Our Town.
   40-line limit, any form.
2. Classic Forms: Sonnet (14 lines), Blank
   Verse (iambic pentameter, unrhymed, 40-line
   limit), Sestina (39-line as per structure), all other forms (40-line limit),
3. Free Verse: 40-line limit, no rhythm, no rhyme.
4. Narrative Verse: (40-line limit, tells a story, may be rhymed or not).
5. Whimsy: 20-line limit. Light, humorous, limerick, shaped, or nonsense.
6. Japanese Form: Haiku (3-lines, 17-syllables with 5, 7, 5 per line) or Tanka (5-lines, 31- syllables with 5, 7, 5, 7, 7 per line) or Renga (restricted to ten sentences/lines nad need not rhyme).
7. Song Lyric: Three or four verses, one chorus/refrain, 40-line limit.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR ENTERING (Please read and follow all instructions prior to submitting your entries to the contest. Entries that do not follow guidelines may be disqualified from the contest.)

1. This contest is open to non-member writers residing in Kansas and to all members of the Kansas Authors Club, regardless of residence.
   
2. All entries must be original and not published in print or
   electronically in any format including web-based or individual blogs, websites or other electronic means, or publicly broadcast in any media before the 2013 State Convention.
3. Entries that have won first, second, or third place in previous KAC State contests are not eligible to be entered again. District awards or Honorable Mentions in State Contests may be entered.
   
4. No more than five entries per category may be entered. An entry may not be entered in multiple categories.
   
5. FEES: $4.00 per entry for KAC members. $6.00 per entry for
   non-members. Check or money order must be made out to Kansas Authors Club and included with entries.
   
6. Entries to the Prose and Poetry divisions of the contest (and
   payments) must be made separately to the contest chairs designated below. All entries within each division (prose and poetry) should come in one submission, however. Do not send single entries if you are making multiple submissions to one division of the contest.
   
7. Manuscripts must be typed on 8-1/2” by 11” paper, double-spaced, except for poetry which should be single spaced to keep it on one page. Font size of 12 is recommended. At the top of the page give the following information: KAC contest, category, total number of words (for prose) or number of lines (for poetry). If a manuscript is more than one page, number the pages. Put the title on each page. Submit only ONE copy of each manuscript. Each poem must be typed on a separate sheet. DO NOT put contestant’s name on entries.
   
8. Include separate 8-1/2” by 11” cover sheet (download, above, or look for a copy in your spring newsletter) for PROSE and POETRY with your name, address, district number (members) or NON-MEMBER KAC. List entries by category and title, first line of Haiku or other untitled entries. All prose entries must be listed on one cover sheet and all poetry entries must be listed on one cover sheet. All entries should be mailed FLAT to the appropriate contest manager in one 9”x12” envelope.
   
9. Enclose a 9”x12” self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE) for return of manuscripts. If you believe you will be attending convention to pick up entries, please paperclip appropriate postage to enclosed envelope just in case your plans change. Prizes awarded will be mailed by KAC, but manuscripts (which may include judge’s comments) will not be returned without SASE.
   
10. Judges will not be members of KAC. Prizes will be awarded only if judges find entries of sufficient merit. Judges decisions are final. No correspondence will be entered into concerning manuscripts. Keep a copy of your original manuscript. KAC cannot be responsible for lost manuscripts.
    
11. Manuscripts will not be accepted with postage due.
12. Entries will be accepted April 1 to June 15, 2013, postmarked no later than June 15.
    
    

• 2013 Adult Contest rules [PDF version]
• 2013 Adult Contest Cover Sheet [PDF version]
  —Get Adobe PDF Reader FREE—
  Cover sheet must accompany entries, separately for Prose and Poetry contests.

Mail Prose Entries to:
Alan D’Souza, KAC Prose Contest Manager
652 North Poplar St.
Wichita, KS 67214

Mail Poetry Entires to:
Ronda Miller, KAC Poetry Contest Manager
214 Lawrence Ave.
Lawrence, KS 66049-1900

NOTE: All 2013 Adult Contest prizes will be awarded to members and non-members at the 2013 Kansas Authors Club Convention in Wichita on Sunday, October 6, 2013. Prizes will be mailed after the
convention to those unable to attend. Manuscripts will be returned to those unable to attend the convention ONLY if a SASE is enclosed.

Categories Note: There will be a variation in categories from year to year based on quantity of entries and input from judges and club members.

2013 Youth Writing Contest
Contest deadline is June 30, 2013
Send along the 2013 Youth Writing Contest Entry Form [PDF Download] —Get Adobe PDF Reader FREE—

PRIZES: Medals and certificates for 1st, 2nd and 3rd in each age
division and each category. Certificates for Honorable Mentions (awarded at judges’ discretion). Publication in book format of entries winning 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places and Honorable Mentions, with each winner receiving a copy of the book.

(KAC retains the right to edit the published entries but the entries themselves will remain the property of the individual authors.)

Prizes will be awarded Friday, October 4, 2013, at the 2013 KAC Convention in Wichita, Kansas, or mailed if the winner is not present.

Print your own 2013 Youth Writing Contest Guidelines [Below & PDF Download] —Get Adobe PDF Reader FREE—

2013 Youth Writing Contest Guidelines:
Contest open between April 1, 2013, and June 15, 2013
Five Age Divisions: Grades 1-2; Grades 3-4; Grades 5-6; Grades 7-8; Grades 9-12.

Three Categories (any subject):

• Poetry (to 40 lines; any form, including rhymed verse, free verse, haiku, classical form, song lyric)
• Fiction (to 800 words; short story, chapter of a novel,
  drama)
• Nonfiction (to 800 words; essay, research paper, factual
  narrative or drama based on real events and people).

Official Rules:

1. Contest open to all youth, grades 1-12, residing in Kansas and to student members of the Kansas Authors Club (KAC) regardless of residence.
   
2. All entries must be the youth’s original work and unpublished.
3. No manuscript may be entered in more than one category.
4. Only one author per submission (no co-authors allowed).
5. All entries must be typed on 8 1⁄2 x 11 white paper. Fiction and nonfiction must be double-spaced. Poetry may be single-spaced.
6. The contestant’s name should appear only on the contest entry form for the entry and NOT on the entry itself. If an entry is more than one page, each page should be numbered and the title of the entry should appear on each page.
7. A contestant may submit up to two entries per category. The contestant must use a separate contest entry form for each entry, listing the following:
   • Contestant’s name
   • Home address, including zip code (Please do NOT use school address.)
     
   • Parent’s home and/or cell phone number, including area code
   • Parent’s e-mail address, if available. No school e-mails, please.
   • Grade level of the contestant as of April 1, 2013
     
   • Title of the entry
     
   • Contest Category of the entry (Poetry, Fiction, or Nonfiction)
8. Submit entries postmarked between April 1, 2013, and June 15, 2013.
9. Multiple entries may be mailed in a single 9 x 12 envelope. Enclose: contest entry form (or coversheet) for each entry, manuscript(s), and, for each contestant, a self-addressed stamped envelope with a first class stamp. (The envelopes
   are for notifications to winners and/or copies of next year’s rules.) Manuscripts will not be returned. Entries with postage due will be disqualified.
   
10. By entering the contest, youth writers and their parents give KAC permission to use their names and submissions in print form.
    
11. Mail entries to:
    Kristine Polansky, Youth Contest Chair
    1925 Bluestem Terrace
    Manhattan, KS 66502

See also:

2013 William J. Karnowski
Youth Poetry Contest
—Funded by William J. Karnowski for Youth ages 5-18
(Note: Separate from KAC youth contest, above. Students are encouraged to enter both contests.)
Entry deadline is June 15, 2013

Print your own 2013 Karnowski Contest Rules [PDF Download] —Get Adobe PDF Reader FREE—

RULES FOR COMPETITION:

1. Send submissions to your KAC district Vice-President by June 15, 2013. (Mailing address are below, #9.)
2. Vice-Presidents may submit their three choices for consideration to Bill Karnowski by August 15, 2013.
3. Poetry may be on any subject, in any style, with any structure, and any length.
4. On the back of each entry write the contestant’s name, address, phone or email contact, district number, age on
   August 15, 2013, and grade level for the 2012/2013 school year.
5. All poems will be returned to the poets if a self-addressed stamped envelope is enclosed. Otherwise entries will
   not be returned. If possible, keep a copy of your original poem as a back-up.
6. Three prizes will be awarded: First $100.00, Second $50.00, and Third $25.00.
7. The awards will be presented at the 2013 Annual
   Convention and Writers Conference in Wichita, Kansas on Friday evening, October 4, 2013.
   
8. By entering the contest, youth writers and their parents give KAC permission to use their names and submission in print form.
9. Mail entries to the Vice President of the Kansas Authors Club District in which you live. (Visit our Districts page to find your district, determined by Kansas county.)

District 1 Vice President
Evie Green, 4741 SW Twilight DrivE, Topeka KS 66614

District 2 Vice President
Jack Kline, 34461 Rockville, Louisburg, KS 66053

District 3 Vice President
Louise Click, 503 Spruce Street, Coffeyville, KS 67337

District 4 Vice President
Anne Shiever, 152 N. Broadway, Salina, KS 67401

District 5 Vice President
Dixie Brown, 1112 N. Rutland, Wichita, KS 67206

District 6 Vice President
Doris Schroeder, 2521 E. 44th St., Hutchinson, KS 67502

District 7 Vice President
Millie Horlacher, 750 W. Pine Street, Colby, KS 67701

These represntatives will submit up to five entries from each district for consideration by August 15, 2013 to:
William Karnowski, 20500 Pauling Run Rd., Wamego, KS 66547

Kansas Authors Club--A Not-for-profit organization for creative, academic, technical and journalistic writers. Membership inquiries welcomed

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