Community Writers Contest open to all genres, ages
Calling all storytellers from ages 5 to 105.
The annual Community Writing Contest, taking place Saturday, March 22, offers an opportunity to read a favorite five-minute work for cash prizes voted on by an engaged audience of people who appreciate creative minds of all ages.
Contestants are asked to take a paper copy of what they will be reading and have it present at registration. There are no online or pre-event submissions necessary.
The contest is sponsored and presented by Sandpoint Writers on the Lake. Writers are invited to read from any of their unpublished works in one of three age categories — youth, ages 5 to 12; young adult, ages 13 to 18; and adult, 19 and up.
The contest will be held at Sandpoint Library, 1407 Cedar, with doors opening and entry registration beginning at 8:30 a.m. The event starts at 9:30 a.m. with the first readings at about 9:45 a.m.
All writers will be judged by an “appreciative audience,” Bonnie McDade, group president, said. “One of the changes we made for this year is each age category will have its own presentation block with the youth going first, the young adult second, and the final group being the adults.”
“Both writers/presenters and the audience play active roles in the entire contest — with the readers putting their best writing forward for a five-minute presentation and the audience being tasked with attentive and critical listening, then marking their ballots to determine winners in each category,” McDade said.
“We invite the community to attend — whether or not they may know someone giving a presentation. In past years, we’ve noted that one of the hardest things was for audience members to be able to come up with their ‘best’ votes because the caliber of writing and reading were so high. That’s a good thing!” McDade said.
Six total cash prizes of $50 for best of category and $25 for runners-up will be presented at the awards ceremony following the final category and tallying of ballots.
Also, each of the presenters is offered to choose a book published by members of the writers group. Currently the published authors have over 30 works among them, most of which will be available to choose from at the event.
Free snacks and beverages, compliments of the Sandpoint Writers, will be available during the contest.
For more information about the contest, email sandpointwriters@gmail.com.
Sandpoint Writers on the Lake is a group of local writers from Bonner and Boundary counties in Idaho and Pend Orielle County, Wash., who gather every second and fourth Saturday of each month at the Sandpoint library to discuss issues around writing, editing and publishing, as well as conducting active, in-depth critique sessions with their current works. Later this year, the group will be sponsoring a series of workshops on the ins and outs, challenges and benefits of publishing.