2016 JESSAMYN WEST CREATIVE WRITING CONTEST

The English Department of Napa Valley College invites unpublished works of short fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction for the 2016 Jessamyn West Creative Writing Contest. First, second and third place winners will be selected in each of the three categories. A first prize of $150, a second prize of $100, and a third prize of $50 will be awarded in each of the three categories. All winners will have their work published in the 2016 Jessamyn West Creative Writing Contest Anthology (medium to be determined). In addition, winners will receive free entry to all public events, including craft lectures and readings, at the 2016 Napa Valley Writers’ Conference (July 24-29). The contest is open to all Napa Valley College students enrolled in classes on a full or part-time basis during the last twelve months.

The deadline for receipt of entries is Friday, April 15. Entries will be screened by the English Department with final judging done by professional writers from outside the college. All manuscripts must adhere to the following guidelines:

Participants may enter a maximum of one story, one essay, and five poems. All entries must be typed in a standard 12- point font and should be original and previously unpublished works.

Fiction and Non-Fiction: Entries should be typed, double-spaced with 1” or 1 ½” margins and should not exceed twenty pages.

Poetry: Poets may enter a maximum of five poems or five pages of typed poetry.
To clarify: There should be no more than one poem per page and no more than one column of poetry on a page even if the lines are skinny enough to fit two columns side by side. If one or more poems are longer than one page, the total number of poems must be reduced so that the entire manuscript is no more than five pages. Complete an entry form for each poem.

Your name should not appear anywhere on the manuscript itself.

Only electronic submissions will be accepted. Follow all formatting guidelines for submissions. Email your submissions as a MS-Word attachment along with the completed entry form for each entry. Links to any online document storage such as Google Docs, OneDrive, or Dropbox, will not be accepted. Email electronic submissions to gstofan@napavalley.edu.

Submissions must be received by April 15th in order to be eligible.

Manuscripts that do not follow the formatting guidelines or that do not have a completely filled out entry form with complete information will be disqualified.

Results will be announced in early May, and an awards reception and reading will be held in the Community Room at Napa Valley College on Thursday, May 12th, 3:00-5:00 pm. For further information, please contact Gina Stofan, the division secretary at 256-7726 or gstofan@napavalley.edu or Carlene Coury, writing contest coordinator at carlenecoury@yahoo.com.

Winners will be asked to submit a brief bio by email for inclusion in the anthology. 

2016 Napa Valley College Jessamyn West
Creative Writing Contest Entry Form