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2013 Creative Writing Competition

Start
01 Nov 2012
End
01 Feb 2013
Location
No location. Winners will be announced on or about April 1, 2013.

2013 Creative writing contest

CLEA is thrilled to announce the official opening of the 2013 Creative Writing Competition! Detailed contest rules are below, but be sure to note the following: Contest submissions will be accepted between November 1, 2012 and February 1, 2013. Winners will be announced on or about April 1, 2013. Entrants may submit in any (or all) of four categories: Poetry; Fiction; Creative non-fiction; and/or Short Form. Entries should have a law or social justice component or theme. Winners will receive gift prizes, their work will be published in the CLEA newsletter and on the CLEA website, and they will have the opportunity to share their work in San Juan.

In addition to the competition, CLEA is looking to create and implement strategies for the collection, narrative development, and dissemination of stories of, by, and for populations underserved by the justice system; to foster a broad range of disciplined writing projects; to promote diverse educational practices; and to directly give voice to underserved client populations. Any ideas about how to best pursue these goals are welcome. Contact any of the Creative Writing Committee members: Nancy Cook nlcook@umn.edu; Leigh Goodmark lgoodmark@ubalt.edu; Maritza Karmely mkarmely@suffolk.edu; or Liz Solar esolar@law.harvard.edu.

CLEA CREATIVE WRITING CONTEST 2013

RULES

1.       CATEGORIES: Submissions may be made in any of four categories: fiction; poetry; creative nonfiction; or short form. For purposes of this competition, “fiction” includes short stories and book chapters. For purposes of this competition,“creative nonfiction” includes memoir, true stories, personal essays, and lyric essays. For purposes of this competition, “short form” is defined as any piece of prose of 750 words or less, including, but not limited to, flash fiction and prose poems.
2.       THEME: Entries should have a law or social justice component or theme. The theme is intended to be broadly defined, but writers should keep in mind that one goal of the project is to promote the development and dissemination of literature that serves clients or promotes justice and equality.
3.       An entrant may submit in one, two, three, or all four categories.
4.       An entrant may submit up to four entries, but no more than two entries in any particular category. A single entry consists of one piece of prose (fiction or creative nonfiction); up to two pieces of a short form; or up to three poems.
5.       Each submission must be the sole work of the entrant.
6.       Submissions must be previously unpublished. For purposes of this competition, “unpublished” is defined as not having appeared in print in any publicly distributed publication or on any web site outside of the entrant’s personal website.
7.       It is permissible for submissions to be under consideration elsewhere.
8.       Entries will be read “blind.” Each entry should have a cover page on which appear the entrant’s name; contact information (phone, e-mail and address); and title(s) of work(s). Neither the author’s name nor any other identifying information should appear on the work itself.
9.       No revisions or substitutions will be permitted after an entry is received.
10.   FICTION: Short story submissions should be between 750 and 5,000 words in length, exclusive of title. Book chapter submissions should be accompanied by a book synopsis of no more than one page, single-spaced, in length. Book chapter submissionsshould be between 750 and 5,000 words in length, exclusive of title and book synopsis. Include word count on the first page, under the story or book title. Use conventional 12-point font and one-inch margins. Manuscripts (except one-page book synopsis) must be double-spaced. Pages should be numbered.
11.   POEMS: Each poem should have a title and consist of no more than 100 lines. Use conventional 12-point font and one-inch margins. Poems may be single- or double-spaced. If submitting more than one poem, begin each new poem on a separate page. A single entry may consist of up to three poems.
12.   CREATIVE NONFICTION: Submissions should be between 750 and 3,500 words in length, exclusive of title. Include word count on the first page, under the title. Use conventional 12- point font and one-inch margins. Manuscripts must be double-spaced. Pages should be numbered.
13.   SHORT FORM: Each short form piece should have a title and be 750 words or less in length, exclusive of title. Include word count on the first page of each submitted piece, under the title. Use conventional 12-point font and one-inch margins. Manuscripts must be double-spaced. Pages should be numbered. A single entry may consist of one or two short form pieces.
14.   JUDGING: Independent judges from the literary field will choose first and second place winners in each category. At the judges’ discretion, one or more Honorable Mentions in some or all categories may also be identified. The decisions of the judges are final.
15.   AWARDS: All winners will receive appropriately exciting but modest prizes. Winning entries will be published in the CLEA Newsletter and on the CLEA website. Authors retain all rights and are free to publish their work elsewhere. CLEA may provide some suggestions about other possible publication resources. Opportunities for all entrants to read their work will be provided at an informal venue in conjunction with the May clinical conference.
16.   DATES and DEADLINES: The competition opens on November 1, 2012. Entries must be received by midnight CENTRAL Standard Time on February 1, 2013. No exceptions. Winners will be announced on or about April 1, 2013.
17.   HOW TO SUBMIT:
a.       Each entry (as defined in Rules 1 & 3 above) should be contained in a single document and include a cover page (as described in Rule 8 above).
b.      Send the single document as an attachment in an e-mail.
c.       The e-mail should be sent as follows:
To:jlhubbar@umn.edu
Subject: YourName-Category (eg:BeaWriter-Short Story; AbeElbard-poetry)
Text: No cover letter or message is needed.
d.      If submitting more than one entry, submit each entry in a separate e-mail.
18.   QUESTIONS: Contact any of the Creative Writing Committee members:
Nancy Cook, nlcook@umn.edu; Leigh Goodmark, lgoodmark@ubalt.edu;
Maritza Karmely, mkarmely@suffolk.edu; or Liz Solar, esolar@law.harvard.edu .
19.   Have fun and good luck!!!

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