Bethesda Literary Festival Writing Contests Beginning

The 2014 Bethesda Literary Festival writing contests applications are now live! You can find more information and links to the application below.

Essay Contest
DEADLINE: January 24, 2014
Apply Online

Topic: Open

Awards
Adult:
First Place: $500 and published in Bethesda Magazine
Second Place: $250
Third Place: $150
Honorable Mention: $75

High School
First Place: $250 and published in Bethesda Magazine
Second Place: $150
Third Place: $50

All winning essays will be published on the Bethesda Urban Partnership and Bethesda Magazine websites and will be honored at a special event during the Bethesda Literary Festival on Friday, April 11, 2014.

Requirements
Essays must be limited to 500 words or less about a topic of the writer's choosing. Only one entry per person. Your essay must be your original work. Any essays containing material that is obscene or objectionable will be disqualified. Previously published essays are not eligible.

Eligibility
Residents of Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia are eligible. Current and former employees, contractors, directors, and officers of the Bethesda Urban Partnership (BUP) and their immediate family members are ineligible. Current students, relatives, or close personal friends of the judge(s) are also ineligible.

Judging
The judges for this contest are Lisa Page, acting director of the Creative Writing Program at George Washington University; and Lisa Shroder, editor at Bethesda Magazine.

Notification
Winners will be contacted by March 28, 2014.

Copyright
All entrants retain the copyright rights that they have in the essays they submit, but by participating in this contest and submitting essays, all entrants grant Bethesda Urban Partnership (BUP) the right, license, and ability to use and publish all submitted essays (in complete form or in excerpted form) on the BUP Web site, on other Web sites, and in other media.

Questions? Please email essay@bethesda.org or call 301-215-6660, Ext. 117.

For more information, please visit www.bethesda.org.


Short Story Contest

DEADLINE: January 24, 2014
Apply Online

Topic: Open

Requirements: Stories must be limited to 4,000 words or less.

Eligibility: Residents of Montgomery County, MD and Upper NW Washington, D.C. (20015 and 20016 ZIP codes) are eligible. The contest will take entries in two categories: High School (grades 9-12) and Adult (ages 18+).

Awards
Adult:
First Place: $500 and published in Bethesda Magazine
Second Place: $250
Third Place: $150
Honorable Mention: $75

High School
First Place: $250 and published in Bethesda Magazine
Second Place: $150
Third Place: $50

The first place winners in both categories will also receive a gift certificate to The Writer’s Center.

All winners will be published on the Bethesda Magazine and Bethesda Urban Partnership websites and will be honored at a special event during the Bethesda Literary Festival.

Poetry Contest
DEADLINE: February 14, 2014
Apply Online

Awards
First place: $500, published on The Writer's Center's "First Person Plural" blog, and a free class and membership to The Writer's Center.
Second Place: $250
Third Place: $150|

All winners will be published on the Bethesda Urban Partnership Web site and honored at a special event during the Bethesda Literary Festival, held April 11-13, 2014.

Requirements
Poems cannot be more than 21 lines of text. Do not double space your entry. Only one entry per person. Your poem must be your original work and must be currently unpublished. Any poems containing material that is obscene or objectionable will be disqualified.

Eligibility
Open to residents of Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. who are 18 or older at the time of the entry deadline. Current and former employees, contractors, directors, and officers of the Bethesda Urban Partnership (BUP) and their immediate family members are ineligible. Current students, relatives, or close personal friends of the judge(s) are also ineligible.

Judging
The judge for this contest is Professor of English at George Washington University, David McAleavey.

Notification
Winners will be contacted by March 24, 2014.

Copyright
All entrants retain the copyright rights that they have in the poems they submit, but by participating in this contest and submitting poems, all entrants grant Bethesda Urban Partnership (BUP) the right, license, and ability to use and publish all submitted poems (in complete form or in excerpted form) on the BUP Web site, on other Web sites, and in other media. Questions? Please email poetry@bethesda.org or call 301-215-6660, Ext. 117.