Short Story Contest for High School Students
To celebrate the work of Kathryn Schwille, Fairmont State University's 2008 Artist-in-Residence,
the Department of Language and Literature invites currently enrolled high school students
(grades 9-12) in 13 North Central West Virginia counties to submit original short
stories.
Top prize is $100 and publication in Fairmont State's art and literary journal, Whetstone.
Second prize is $50 and publication in Whetstone. All qualified entrants will receive
an invitation to a reading and reception to take place at Fairmont State on Friday,
April 19.
Entries are requested from the following counties: Barbour, Braxton, Calhoun, Doddridge,
Gilmer, Harrison, Lewis, Marion, Monongalia, Randolph, Taylor, Upshur, Preston. Entries
must be typed and double-spaced using a conventional font such as Times New Roman
12; entries may be no longer than 3,000 words, no shorter than 1,500 words, and must
be commercially unpublished. There are no restrictions on subject matter, though genre
fiction (sci-fi, horror, romance) are discouraged.
All entries must include a cover sheet that includes the writer's name, address and
telephone number, as well as the writer's school, grade and teacher's name. The writer's
name should NOT appear on subsequent pages of the story. The cover sheets will be
removed on receipt at Fairmont State's Department of Language & Literature and each
entry will be assigned a number before the submission is sent to the judges. All entries
MUST follow this format; any submission not following the proper format will be disqualified.
Entries must be postmarked no later March 15. There is no entry fee. Entries will
not be returned. All entrants will be notified by April 15.
Entries should be sent to Fairmont State University, Department of Language & Literature,
"Artist in Residence Short Story Contest," 1201 Locust Avenue, Fairmont, WV 26554;
alternatively, entries may be submitted to jmatthews1@fairmontstate.edu. For more information on the contest, call (304) 367-4717.
Schwille's residency will begin with a public reading on Tuesday, Feb. 12, at 6 p.m.
in Multi-Media Room A of FSU's Ruth Ann Musick Library.
