Education Everywhere — Students are invited to enter their unpublished work in the 13th annual Write Michigan Short Story Contest.
Held by Kent District Library since 2012, the contest partners with the Traverse Area District Library, the Bayliss Public Library in Sault Ste. Marie and Schuler Books, which has four locations around the state. The Write Michigan event series also includes a poetry competition for Kent County teens and seminars for writers at the Wyoming and Cascade branches.
The short story contest has three categories:
- Adult, ages 18 and older
- Teen, ages 13-17
- Youth, ages 12 and younger
There is no entry fee for students, including high school and college students who are 18 or older. Adults who are not students pay a $10 entry fee.
Three cash prizes are awarded in each category:
- Judges’ Choice – $500
- Judges’ Runner-Up – $250
- Readers’ Choice – $250
All winning entries will be published in an anthology by Chapbook Press. Past student winners from Kent County-area schools include Rockford, East Grand Rapids, Caledonia, Forest Hills and Lowell.
Stories must be submitted by Nov. 30. Stories should be 3,000 words or fewer and must be in a PDF format. For entry requirements, visit the contest webpage.
The top 10 stories will be published on the Write Michigan website to allow the public to vote from Jan. 10-31, 2025. Winners will be announced on Feb. 5, 2025.
Read about the past youth winners:
• This third-grader’s writing is tops with readers
• Fifth-grader’s story tops with readers
