Drumroll and trumpet fanfare! The Writing Academy is pleased to announce. . .

Writing succinctly is a skill. When writing a letter to a friend, Mark Twain said, "I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead."

The Writing Academy’s writing contest for 2007 asks you to write short – no more than 500 words of prose (no poetry). For some leeway, you get to choose one of two categories – serious or humorous. Serious pieces could be short story (including fantasy), essay (analytical or point of view), devotional, personal experience. Humorous writings also could fit those categories, though not many devotionals would qualify as humorous.

In addition to deciding prize winners, the judge will offer brief comments on each manuscript.

The Writing Academy's annual writing contest is offered each year for members in loving memory of Marion Fairman, one-time Academy executive director and a writing teacher par excellence. She is remembered as a tough critic of student writing, but her famous red pen helped countless students to become better writers.

Prizes in each category:

First . . . . $50

Second . . .$25

Third . . . . $15

Honorable mention will carry no prize.

Contest Rules

1. 1. The entry must be the original, previously unpublished work of the person submitting it. New, Associate, Active and Reserve Academy members are all eligible to enter. Limited to one entry per participant. No fee required. Winners to be announced at seminar.
2. 2. The entry should be no more than 500 words in length. No poetry.
3. 3. Entry should be titled.
4. 4. Entry should be typed or computer-printed, double spaced.
5. 5. Please submit two copies - one without ID, the other with the author's name, address, phone number and email address in the upper LEFT-HAND corner of the first page.
6. 6. In the to RIGHT-hand corner of Page 1 on both copies, please state the type of manuscript you are submitting - serious or humorous.
7. 7. The copy with ID becomes the property of The Writing Academy for Publication in Showcase! And in print form in The Writing Academy News. (By entering the contest, you are consenting to publication.)
8. 8. Mail-in entries only.
9. 9. Postmark deadline: June 15, 2007.
10. 10. Send to
    

    Jerry Elsea
    4609 Northwood Drive NE
    Cedar Rapids IA 52402

11. 11. The contest judge is Tom Mullen, author, pastor and professor of writing.

Contest Judge: Tom Mullen

Author and humorist Tom Mullen is the judge for the Writing Academy's Writing Contest for 2007. Tom, keynote speaker at the Academy's 2001 Writer's Weekend, has a unique gift for blending humor and poignancy in his speaking and his writing. His books include Living Longer and Other Sobering Possibilities; Laughing Out Loud and Other Religious Experiences; Birthdays, Holidays, and Other Disasters; Where Two or Three Are Gathered: Someone Spills the Milk; and A Very Good Marriage. Recently retired, Tom taught popular classes in preaching and "Writing for the Religious Market" at the Earlham School of Religion, a Quaker seminary in Richmond, Indiana. Earlham hosts an annual writing colloquium in his honor. Tom has served as advisor, critic, and friend for many of the recipients of the seminary's Writing Scholarship. He received the Award for Distinction in Theological Education from the Yale Divinity School Board of Alumnae Affairs in 2002.

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