Creative Writing Contest

  • CW

    The more you write, the better writer you become. Through writing you learn about yourself and your abilities as a writer. Entering this contest is a great way to showcase your talent, skills and creativity and get people reading your work. Whatever you do, KEEP WRITING. You will find that writing can open a lifetime of opportunities, and it is a lifelong skill to have. 

    We welcome all writing students in southwest Minnesota to enter this contest. You all have amazing stories that deserve to be read and showcased. There are many changes to be selected as a finalist. Please make sure to follow the rules and guidelines in the brochure, so your entry is not overlooked. Your entry cannot be selected unless you keep writing and keep submitting. There are many areas to be recognized.

For inspiration: Anthologies from Past Years

Guest Speaker

  • nickNick Northrup/Crowfather, rapper and writer from Minneapolis

    Born and raised on the South Side of Minneapolis, Crowfather has been rapping for nearly a decade, honing a unique storytelling style that draws from personal life experiences and carefully crafted cadences. Inspired to rap since the age of nine, Crowfather pursued a college education (former SMSU student) in writing to ensure he had a clear message to convey. It wasn't until therapy that he discovered the true story he wanted to tell.

    Crowfather's music aims to be a source of solace and understanding, pulling back the curtain on cycles of generational trauma, inner demons, and the resilience that keeps us going.

Categories & Fees

  • Celebrating 21 years of this contest.

    Who can submit entries: This contest is for students in grades 3-12 in southwest Minnesota regions 6 & 8.

    There are many areas to be recognized. The top three entries in each category and each grade group will receive recognition at the ceremony.

    Poetry (grades 3-12); $5 per 3 poems
    Fiction (grades 3-12); $5 each
    Non-Fiction (grades 5-12); $5 each
     
    Students can enter one category or all three; up to three per category.
    Entries are judged in grades groups of 3-4, 5-6, 7-8 - 9-10 & 11-12 for each category.

Improve your chances to win by reading “Taboos—Common Writing Errors to Avoid”.

  • How to Enter
    * Create a poem, fiction or non-fiction story.
    * Follow the Contest Rules and Guidelines listed on the flyer.
    * Category descriptions are listed below.
    * Submit your entry piece on the entry form online and payment.
     
    Categories and Descriptions 
     POETRY (grades 3-12)
    What is poetry? The language of the imagination and feelings. Prose explains, and poetry sings, but it doesn’t have to rhyme. Poetry is precise, concrete, fresh, memorable, and magical. A poem, like food, can feed us. It can be a peach, a pizza, a taco, or a four-course meal. But it can also be popcorn or a candy bar. Always, poetry uses words as ingredients to let us taste, touch, see, smell or hear something in the world as if for the first time.
    FICTION (grades 3-12)
    What is Fiction? The art of storytelling. To build a good story, a writer needs: plot, characters, place or setting, point of view, dialogue, action and conflict. When we read a good story we’re pulled into another world and leave this one far behind. We travel to different places in our imagination, and when we return, we often see our world with new eyes.
    NON-FICTION (grades 5-12)
    What is Creative Non-fiction? An essay with real events and people that mattered or changed you—the day your pet chicken died, that summer your best friend moved away. The characters, settings, and events are true. The writer decides the best way to grab our attention, how to start, what elements of poetry to add as spice—images, metaphor, simile—and what elements of fiction to add zing—characters, place, dialogue. This genre is popular because we read it and think, “Wow, this really happened to someone else, but I feel like I was there!”
     
    *Copyright reverts to authors upon publication. (Meaning: If a student wishes to publish an entry, they just need to mention that it was printed in a small anthology of contest-winning pieces. We do not hold first publication rights.)
     
     *Photos & media: By participating in this event you are giving SWWC permission to use any audio/video recordings and photographs that are taken during the event.

Dates

  • Submission Deadline:
    January 17, 2025
    No entries accepted after deadline
     
    Recognition Ceremony:
    April 13, 2025

Printable Items

Recognition Ceremony:

Google Map/Directions to SMSU