01.09.07

Mystery Writing Contest for Children and Teens

Posted in Specials and opportunities at 10:53 pm by Meg

OFFICIAL RULES
The 2007 Joan Lowery Nixon Award
Mystery Writing Contest for Children and Teens

THIS CONTEST IS SPONSORED BY Mystery Writers of America and its MWA:Reads youth literacy program (formerly known as Kids Love A Mystery).

ELIGIBILITY: This contest is open to students in Grades 2-10 (inclusive) in the fifty United States and the District of Columbia.

ABOUT THE CONTEST: The Joan Lowery Nixon Award mystery writing contest is a skill-based contest in which students use their imaginations and their language arts skills to create their own unique mystery stories. The contest has two Categories: Grades 2-5 and Grades 6-10. In other words, submissions from students in Grades 2-5 are judged together, as are those from students in Grades 6-10.

There will be two $250 cash prizes awarded, one for the Winner in each Category.

Stories from students in public and private schools must submitted through their teachers. Only one story per teacher will be accepted. (Exception: Teachers with students in two Categories can submit one story for each Category.)

Home-schooled students can submit stories through their supervising parent, guardian, or tutor. Only one story per parent/guardian/tutor will be accepted. (Exception: Home-school parents, guardians, or tutors who have students in two Categories can submit one story for each Category.) Proof of home-schooling will be required if requested by Mystery Writers of America and MWA:Reads.

Only one story per student will be accepted.

ENTERING THE CONTEST: Submissions for the Joan Lowery Nixon Award mystery writing contest will be accepted via email beginning February 3, 2007 and ending February 28, 2007.

Students in Grades 2-5 are to submit stories of at least 100 words and no more than 500 words.

Students in Grades 6-10 are to submit stories of at least 250 words and no more than 1,000 words.

Stories are to be submitted in the body of an email only. No attachments of any kind are permitted. Emails are to be plain-text only; no formatting is permitted. No tabs or other indentations are allowed. Paragraphs are to be separated with a line space.

The subject line of the submission email must read: Joan Lowery Nixon Award: Category XX (with “XX” being either 2-5 or 6-10)

In the body of the submission email, teachers/parents should supply the following information:

• Student’s full name
• Student’s grade level
• Student’s school (if home-schooled, write “Home-schooled”)
• Contact information (including full name, mailing address, email address, and phone number) of teacher/parent/guardian/tutor submitting the student’s story.
• Story title
• Word count of story
• The text of the submitted story

DISQUALIFICATION: Submissions must conform exactly to all contest rules. Any entry not conforming to all contest rules will be disqualified.

REQUIREMENTS: The submitted story must be the student’s original work, and it must not infringe any rights of any person or entity.

The submission must not contain any content that Mystery Writers of America and MWA:Reads deem inappropriate.

Within one week of notification, the Winner in each of the two Categories will be required to submit a 100-word bio and a suitable JPEG photo for inclusion in the Mystery Writers of America Edgar® Annual.

PERMISSIONS: By submitting stories to the Joan Lowery Nixon Award mystery writing contest, students grant Mystery Writers of America and MWA:Reads the non-exclusive, non-commercial right to reproduce their stories in their entirety on Mystery Writers of America’s website and in its promotional materials.

Winners also grant Mystery Writers of America and MWA:Reads the non-exclusive, non-commercial right to reproduce their bios and JPEGs on Mystery Writers of America’s website and in its promotional materials.

HOW WINNERS ARE CHOSEN: Stories will be judged for creativity and proper use of the English language.

A panel of mystery writers and reviewers will judge the Joan Lowery Nixon Award mystery writing contest submissions, and from these submissions they will select ten Finalists in each of the two Categories.

The ten Finalists in each Category will be judged by a panel of three professionally published mystery writers who will select one Winner in each Category.

All decisions are final.

NOTIFICATION: Winners will be notified in mid-March 2007.

Winners will be announced at Mystery Writers of America’s 2007 Edgar® Awards in New York City on April 26, 2007.

PRIZES: The Winner in each of the two Categories will receive a cash prize of $250 (for a total of two $250 prizes). At the sole discretion of Mystery Writers of America and MWA:Reads, each Winner may receive additional non-cash prizes and certificates.

At the sole discretion of Mystery Writers of America and MWA:Reads, Finalists may also be awarded non-cash prizes and certificates.

PARTICIPATION CERTIFICATES: Beginning May 1, 2007, teachers may request Eddie Award Certificates for their students who participated in the Joan Lowery Nixon Award mystery writing contest. (Parents, guardians, and tutors of participating home-school students may also request Eddie Award Certificates.) Beginning May 1, 2007, check www.mysterywriters.org/MWAreads for request guidelines.

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