Anyone can enter! What make you hungry when you sit down to watch the Superbowl? You won’t be writing about the actual sport, but instead concentrate on the snacks! An ode to guacamole, buffalo chicken wings, or whatever you crave.
Write three lines in a 5-7-5 syllable pattern on this theme and send it to [email protected] by noon Jan. 25.
To read last month’s film noir contest winners along with this contest guidelines:
The 2010 Neuroscience for Kids POETRY WRITING CONTEST is OPEN and entry forms are now available.
Here are the rules of the contest:
Entry Form (PDF File) OR Entry Form (WORD File)
If you are in Kindergarten to Grade 2, your poem can be in any style; it doesn’t even have to rhyme.
If you are in Grade 3 to Grade 5, your poem must rhyme. You can rhyme the last words on lines one and two; the last words on lines three and four, etc. or you can choose your own pattern.
If you are in Grade 6 to Grade 8, your poem must be in the form of a haiku. A haiku has only THREE lines. Also, haiku MUST use the following pattern: 5 syllables in the first line; 7 syllables in the second line; 5 syllables in the third line.
Example Haiku:
Three pounds of jelly
wobbling around in my skull
and it can do math.
If you are in Grade 9 to Grade 12, your poem must be in the form of a limerick. A limerick has 5 lines; lines one, two and five rhyme with each other and have the same number of syllables; lines three and four rhyme with each other and have the same number of syllables.
Example Limerick
The brain is important, that’s true,
For all things a person will do,
From reading to writing,
To skiing to biting,
It makes up the person who’s you.
Dr. Eric H. Chudler
Dept. of Bioengineering; UWEB E/O
BOX 355061
1705 NE Pacific Street
University of Washington
Seattle, WA 98195-5061
Contest prizes provided by:
NEURO4KIDS.COM | Capstone Press
Copyright © 1996-2009, Eric H. Chudler All Rights Reserved.
Entry form and other details below:
While in Australia last month, I discovered a magazine, Writers’ Forum, that offers MONTHLY contests to students who are under 16 at the time of submission.
*Entries must be no longer than 800 words and need to be emailed as a Word attachment or in the body of the email.
*The competition is open WORLDWIDE but entries must be in English.
*You should include a small photo of yourself – – preferably a recent school photo if possible – – as a jpeg attachment.
*A parent or guardian must declare that your entry has not previously been published.
*The deadline is the 15th of each month. You’ll be emailing your stories, poems and news features!
*For specific details which will answer any questions you may have, visit: http://www.writers-forum.com/youthcomp.html
Do you haiku? Love film noir? (If you don’t know what it is, Netflix “The Maltese Falcon,” one of the greatest movies of this genre.)
Now write three lines in a 5-7-5 syllable pattern. Can you work in references to “The Maltese Falcon,” Raymond Chandler, an author of other great stories in this genre, gumshoes or dames?
Want to play? Send your haiku to [email protected] by noon (California time) Monday, Dec. 28.
Read more reader-written poetry at ContraCostaTimes.com/haiku or InsideBayArea.com/haiku
Winners get published in the Contra Costa Times newspaper or in their online edition.
(Another credit is always good for the resume or college application!)
Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest
Now in its ninth year. We seek today’s best humor poems. Total cash prizes have been increased to $3,600, with a top prize of $1,500. This contest is free to enter. Click here to read winning entries from the past.
Submission Period
Entries accepted August 15, 2009-April 1, 2010
How to Submit Your Entry
New simplified procedure! Just click here to submit your entry online. There is no fee to submit to the Wergle Flomp Poetry Contest. Poets of all nations may enter. Your poem must be in English (inspired gibberish also accepted). Please submit only one poem per year. Your poem may be of any length. Both published and unpublished work are welcome.
Prizes
First Prize of $1,500 and publication on WinningWriters.com
Second Prize of $800 and publication on WinningWriters.com
Third Prize of $400 and publication on WinningWriters.com
Twelve honorable mentions will receive $75 each and publication on WinningWriters.com
The winners and honorable mentions will also all receive official Winning Writers polo shirts.
Announcement of Results
The winner and honorable mentions of the ninth contest will be announced in our free email newsletter and on WinningWriters.com on August 15, 2010.
For more information:
http://www.winningwriters.com/contests/wergle/we_guidelines.php
Got a yen to haiku?
As the weather chills, thoughts turn to the holidays. So the Contra Costa Times is going cold turkey for their next poetry contest. Pen a haiku, inspired by any aspect of Thanksgiving Day — the food, the pilgrims, the football or parade. Send your haiku — three lines in a 5-7-5 syllable pattern — to [email protected] by noon Oct. 26.
Online
Read more reader-written haiku at ContraCosta
Times.com/haiku or In
sideBayArea.com/haiku
News from the Rat Lady about Bogey! She is settling into her new home quite well. Although she doesn’t bite, she’s not really comfortable being handled, which tells us she hasn’t had a lot of cuddling in her previous home.
Rat Lady has changed Bogey’s name. First it became Boo. Then Baby Boo. Now it’s Little Baby Boo. She’s getting comfortable with her new cage, and will soon meet her “adopted brothers and sisters.” We’ve been promised some pictures, which I’ll post.
Many thanks to the heroine – – three cheers for Rat Lady!
Writing Exercise: Do you have just the right name for your characters? Try them out very carefully. If the name doesn’t “feel” right, experiment with other names until you’ve got the perfect fit. You’ll know it when you have it. Names say a lot about a character.
Where do you find names? I’ve discovered them in movies, books, name books, telephone books, and school roll call lists! If I need a name for a child in 1936, I’ll just open my dad’s diary or yearbook.
I keep a list of unusual names for future stories. Ever hear a name and get a perfect image of a character to go with that name?
*Open a name book and point your finger to a name. Now write a quirky story about that character!
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Writing Contests for Kids!
READ’s annual student poetry contest. Open to grades 6–12. Six winners will receive $100 each and will be featured in a special electronic issue of READ. All submissions must be postmarked by Dec. 31, 2009.
Send poems (maximum of two) to:
Ann Arlys Bowler Poetry Contest
READ Magazine
1 Reader’s Digest Road
Pleasantville, NY 10570-7000
READ’s annual essay contest. Open to grades 6–12. Students are asked to imagine waking up 100 years from now. What is the year 2109 like? What do they see? What is the current technology? How do people live? Four winners will receive $100 and have their essays published.
Send essays to:
“Write Into the Future” Contest
READ magazine
1 Reader’s Digest Road
Pleasantville, NY 10570-7000
All submissions must be no longer than 500 words and must be postmarked by Dec. 31, 2009.
On Sunday I attended the most active poetry reading in the San Francisco Bay Area! Would you believe it’s in Crockett? Held on the second Sunday of the month, from 4 – 6 pm at Valona Market, 1323 Pomona Street, and led by Pleasant Hill poet David Alpaugh, the event has been an ongoing creative entertainment and expression for the past seven years.
I was amazed at the number of diverse poets we have in the area. Some performances were of famous dearly departed poets such as Ida Coolbrith. Others were the performer’s own works.
Not everyone in the packed cafe took the stage. Many people, like me, were there to appreciate the poetry and the poets. One man read a poem which felt and sounded like a picture book. I told him so and hope he’ll do something with it.
Some poems had me blinking away tears. Others . . . one about old men playing bocce ball, had me thinking about poetry and metaphor. Some made me smile and outright laugh.
Interested in sparking your own creativity? Join the next reading on July 12. Hope to see you there!
When is the due date? Is there a link with additional information? Fatima
There is no set due date. They anticipate more publications so I assume if a ms. doesn’t make the editorial cut for on issue, it will be considered for the next, just like in other newspapers and magazines.
Just like you, when I found out about them, I wondered about a website but they don’t have one. They are full-time students so are concentrating on putting out the journal right now. You know how busy students are!
A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of being invited to the opening party of Bread and Circuses, the lit journal from our very own Contra Costa County. The first issue was made possible by a grant from Youth Speaks. Although students from Miramonte High School are its editors, it is unaffiliated with the school.
Senior Annelyse Gelman, editor-in-chief, tells me they are open to submissions of poetry, prose, letters, recipes, reviews, interviews, manifestos, photos, scripts, confessions, paintings, collages, essays, cartoons, found art . . . all can be submitted by anyone . . . any age.
The second issue will be out this summer, so submit your best work to breadandcircuseszine (at) gmail (dot) com. Her note says to leave the email formatted like that so she doesn’t get spam. My question is how will the email get through like that? But then, this is from me, the most non-techno person blogging today . . .
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