Ensure your story makes it to the judges!
We encourage thorough understanding and adherence to our guidelines to ensure your story makes it to the judging panel.
General Contest Rules & Guidelines
● For the purpose of this contest, an acceptable short story should contain 4,000 words or less and can be a personal narrative, memoir, true story or work of fiction
● Judging will emphasize writing quality rather than length
● Limit of one entry per contestant
● Contestants must live in or near Douglas County.
● The story must be appropriate for all ages. Any entry deemed inappropriate or that fails to meet the contest rules may be disqualified at the discretion of the contest coordinators
● One winner will be selected for each of four age groups: Adult, High School, Middle School, Elementary School
● Submission deadline is Sunday, October 13th, 2024. Late entries will not be considered
Instructions to Enter
● Entries must be shared as a fully editable file for the purpose of proof-reading and word count (Microsoft Word, Google Doc, etc) *Stories pasted in the body of an email or attached as a “view only” document or PDF file will be returned to the author
● Include ALL of the following information at the top of your document. *Your address, phone number and email address will NOT be shared
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Title of story
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Your first and last name
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Your current grade in school or ‘Adult’
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Name of school, if attending
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Your permanent home address
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Your phone number (or a parent’s)
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Your email address (or a parent’s)
● Email your story to halloweenwriterscontest@gmail.com or enter it through our Story Submission page on this website
● Winners will be notified on or before Sunday, October 20th, 2023
Story Length
Your story must be 10 minutes in readable length. A 10-minute story is roughly the same length as a 1,500-word paper if spoken at an average speed.
Note to the Winners
If your story is read you will be allowed to read your story on stage to an audience. If you do not wish to read aloud then a contest representative may read your material for you.
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