League of Utah Writers: Home Page

Poetry

Winners announced Friday night at banquet. Only two entries per category per person, please.

1. Poetry for Children (Members only, fee $3.) Up to 40 lines. Written for children in age-appropriate language, such as for a children’s book or magazine. Any form. Electronic submissions also accepted.

2. Free Style Poetry, Subject: A Special Event (Members only, fee $3.) Up to 40 lines. No patterned rhyming. Event may be a holiday, family gathering, or personal achievement or insight.

3. Love Poetry (Members only, fee $3.) Up to 40 lines. Any style or form. May be romantic, of love lost or gained. Must be in good taste.

4. New Talent Poetry, Free Verse (Members only, fee $3.) Up to 40 lines. Any style of free verse. Any subject. Open to anyone who has not won a cash award in this category at Roundup. Electronic submissions also accepted.

5. New Talent Poetry, Humorous (Member fee $3; non-member fee $6.) Up to 40 lines. Any form except limerick. Open to anyone who has not won a cash award in this category at Roundup.

6. Haiku, Subject: Things in Nature that Fly (Members only, fee $3.) Three lines. Up to three haiku per entry. Traditional haiku have five syllables in the first line, seven in the second, and five in the third. It paints a picture with words, capturing the essence of what’s happening. Electronic submissions also accepted.

7. Narrative Poetry (Members only, fee $3.) Up to 50 lines. Any style or subject. A poem that tells a story.

8. Historical Poetry (Members only, fee $3.) Up to 40 lines. Features a moment in history. May be family or local history as well as world or U.S. history. Electronic submissions also accepted.

Children’s Prose Winners announced Saturday at luncheon.

9. Children’s Story, Ages 4-8 (Member fee $3, non-member fee $6.) Up to 2,000 words. A fictional, prose narrative written for children. Include target age with category name at the top of the page. Excerpt required.

10. Children’s Story, Ages 9-12 (Member fee $3, non-member fee $6.) Up to 5,000 words. A fictional, prose narrative, written for children. Include target age with category at the top of the page. Excerpt required.

12. Children’s Article, Ages 3-7 (Member fee $3; non-member fee $6.) Up to 800 words. Suitable for children’s magazine. Include references. May also include photos (no originals and no personal pictures a judge could recognize). Include target age with category name at the top of the page. Excerpt required.

13. Children’s Article, Ages 8-12 (Member fee $3; non-member fee $6.) Up to 800 words. Suitable for children’s magazine. Include references. May also include photos (no originals and no personal pictures a judge could recognize). Excerpt required.

Full-length Children’s Books

14. Picture Book (Member fee $5; non-member fee $10.) Up to 1,000 words. Suitable for children ages 3-7. Focus on the pictures. Write to give the illustrator inspiration for at least 12-13 good scenes. Excerpt or copy required.

15. Early Chapter Book (Member fee $ 5; non-member fee $10.) Up to 5,000 words. Suitable for children ages 5-8. Use action, dialog, short-paragraphs, and a simple story line. Vocabulary is not more than 2-3 syllable words with basic sight words included. Helps young readers get ready for full-length children’s books. Excerpt and synopsis required.

16. Middle Grade Book (Members only, fee $12.) No word limit. Suitable for children ages 9-12. Character-oriented stories in which children solve the problems. Fiction or nonfiction subjects may include adventure or humorous stories written about families, friends, animals. Excerpt and synopsis required.

General Prose

Winners announced Saturday night at banquet.

17. Anecdote (Member fee $3; nonmember fee $6.) Up to 150 words. A short narrative detailing the particulars of an interesting, true episode. It is often biographical and dramatizes a situation of human interest, not necessarily humorous. Something one could sell to a magazine for a short or filler. Excerpt or copy required. Electronic submissions also accepted.

18. Article (Members only, fee $3.) Up to 1,500 words. A nonfiction composition that deals with a single topic. It may be instructive, informational, or persuasive, and focus on people, new ideas, how-to, or personal experience. May include sidebars, references, and photos (except personal pictures the judge might recognize). Usually appears in magazines, newspapers, and journals, and often involves research. Excerpt required.

19. Travel Article (Members only, fee $3.) Up to 3,000 words. A nonfiction composition that deals with travel near and far. It may be instructive, informational, or persuasive, and focus on places, people, or personal experience. May include sidebars, references, and photos (except personal photos the judge might recognize). Usually appears in magazines, newspapers and journals. Excerpt required.

20. New Talent Personal Essay (Member fee $3; non-member fee $6.) Up to 1,200 words. Nonfiction prose expresses personal experiences and opinions dealing with aspects of everyday life. It can be entertaining or persuasive in nature, varying from serious to light and humorous. Open to anyone who has not won a cash award in this category at Roundup. Excerpt required.

21. New Talent Short Story (Member fee $3; non-member fee $6.) Up to 5,000 words. Imaginative narrative typically deals with a limited group of characters involved in a single event or situation. Character is demonstrated through action, which ultimately reveals the message or purpose of the story. Open to anyone who has not won a cash award in this category at Roundup. Excerpt required.

22. Short Short Story (Member fee $3; non-member fee $6.) Up to 3,000 words. This story is a concise, sharply-focused work of fiction that explores a single idea or emotion, set off by conflict. Excerpt required.

23. Short Story (Member fee $3; non-member fee $6.) Up to 5,000 words. Imaginative narrative typically deals with a limited group of characters involved in a single event or situation. Character is demonstrated through action, which ultimately reveals the message or purpose of the story. Excerpt required.

24. Romance (Member fee $3; nonmember fee $6.) Up to 5,000 words. An intriguing plot and well-developed characters with a focus on the romantic relationship. Make us believe that love will indeed conquer all. Most romances have a happy ending. May be edgy and deal with hidden and dangerous recesses of human behavior, but no graphic sexual details or offensive language. Excerpt required.

25. Speculative Fiction (Member fee $3; non-member fee $6.) Up to 5,000 words. Indicate genre in parentheses next to category in the heading (science fiction, fantasy, or horror). Science fiction must be based on actual or projected scientific principles in biology, physics, social science, mathematics, or logic. Fantasy deals with a world based on magical or mythical elements. It considers questions of morality, principle, and duty. Horror usually takes place in a contemporary setting and deals with aspects of nature that cannot be understood or controlled. Excerpt required.

26. First Chapter (Member only, fee $3.) Up to 3,000 words. Written for adults on any subject. May be the first chapter of novel of a romance, science fiction, fantasy, or whatever. Indicate genre in parentheses next to category in the heading. Excerpt required.

Full-length Books

27. Full-length Book, Fiction (Members only, fee $20.) No word limit. Written for adults on any subject. If more than one author collaborates, every author must be a member of LUW. Excerpt and synopsis required.

Additional Information

• For categories that accept electronic submissions, send your entry by PDF or XPS attachment, or in the body of an email.

• Please send work produced in Microsoft Word only (WordPerfect corrupts during electronic transmission to my computer.)

• You may still send paper submissions to categories that accept electronic submissions. We’ll scan these entries into an electronic form for the judges.

• Paper submissions will be returned the old way. Entries sent by email will be returned by email after Roundup.

• A personal submissions chart must accompany each group of electronic entries. If electronic submissions are sent later please indicate “Additional Entries.”

• You must send the fee for electronic submissions by snail mail with your other hard copy entries. Perhaps next year we can use PayPal. Mail entries to:

Ceil DeYoung

224 S Main St., #435

Springville, UT 84663

Email electronic submissions to contest@luwrite.com.

If you have questions, email contest@luwrite.com, go to LUW message board at www.luwrite.com, or call Ceil at 801-722-4718.