Awards:

First Place in Fictional Short or Short, Short Story – $250 Second Place – $100

First Place in Poetry – $250 Second Place – $100

First Place in Creative Nonfiction – $250 Second Place – $100

Special Awards may be designated each year

1. Short Story: A tightly crafted fictional narrative, generally 1,300 – 3,000 words in length.

2. Short, Short Story: A highly focused story concerning one central idea or conflict of situation, generally 600 – 1,000 words in length.

3. Essay / Nonfiction / Persuasive Writing: A nonfiction work intended to instruct, inform, explain, persuade, or entertain, such as essays (serious or humorous); journalistic articles; editorials; literary works.

4. Poetry: Entry may consist of one or up to four (4) poems, in any form of verse, on a single or various themes. Award conferred for overall entry.

1. Manuscript Preparation: Manuscripts must be

A. Typed or printed by computer in clear, legible black type using a single font.

B. Printed on one side of 8.5" x 11", white paper.

C. Have 1" margins on top, bottom, left, and right (except poetry).

D. Have completed entry form on top.

E. Stapled in the upper left hand corner (not bound or enclosed in folders).

F. Sent flat (folded manuscripts will be disqualified).

2. Student and School Names must not appear anywhere on the manuscript itself. Student and school names should appear on the Entry Form only. Entries violating this rule will be disqualified.

3. Titles: Do not use a separate title page. The title of each work should appear at the top of the first manuscript page, except for short poems.

4. Poems: Each poem must be titled individually. Short poems may be printed together on a page provided each poem appears in its entirety on the page.

5. Signatures: All Entry Forms must have the original signature of the student, the student’s teacher, counselor, or principal.

6. Copies of Manuscripts: Keep a copy of your manuscript. Manuscripts cannot be returned.

Originality: All entries must be original. No work that has been directly copied from any published source may ever be entered. If there is any doubt about the originality of a work, do not submit it. In signing the Entry Form, the teacher, counselor, or principal certifies the originality of the entry. Any submitted work found to be plagiarized will be disqualified and awards withdrawn.

* Note to Teachers: Teachers are discouraged from submitting numerous similar entries from the same class assignment.

Criteria For Judgment: The three most important characteristics judges look for are:

1. Imaginative Content: Judges will look for material that is invested with a sense of life and that contains a strong and original idea or feeling at its core.

2. Skill / Technique: Judges will look for works that demonstrate a graceful use of language and clarity of thought.

3. Voice: Judges will look for the emergence of a personal voice or writing style and the expression of personal ideas, thoughts, feelings, or opinions.

Eligibility: All students in grades 9 - 12 who are currently enrolled in public and non-public schools in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas are eligible. Each student may submit up to three entries in each category, except poetry. Home schooled students of high school age are eligible under separate guidelines. Requests for those guidelines should be made to: Cedar Creek School, 2400 Cedar Creek Dr., Ruston, LA 71270

Copyrights: All entries become the property of Southern Voices and Cedar Creek School, who reserve the publishing rights for all award- winning works for one year. The rights to all submissions not accepted for the 2007 issue automatically revert to the authors April 1, 2007.

An exception to this rule is the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards competition. Southern Voices will accept manuscripts which have also been submitted to the Scholastic Writing Awards competition. Other exceptions may be made upon request.

Judging: Final judging for Awards in each category will be done by professional writers and/or writing professors.