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Issue date: January 7, 2001
Teens:
Your
story could win $2,000
In this article:
How to enter
Detailed contest rules
Last
year's winner
"Reminiscent
of Orange Juice After Chocolate," by Jenny Leong
Last
year's runners-up
"Dancing" by Margaret Maloney
"Perfect" by Corin Heymann
"Strawberry Tears" by Meghan Teresa Barr
"The Runner" by Derek T. Muller
"Wog Is Me" by Mary Rebecca Wilkinson Seltzer
Are you a teen who
enjoys writing short fiction? Would you like your original story
to be read by 47 million people? Then enter USA WEEKEND's seventh
annual Student Fiction Contest for grades 9-12. Entries will be
judged by the magazine's editors.
Grand Prize winner.
Your story will appear in the June 1-3 issue of USA WEEKEND, and
you'll receive a $2,000 college scholarship.
Five finalists. Your
name, story title, hometown, school and sponsoring teacher will
be announced in that same issue, and your story will appear online
at usaweekend.com. You'll receive a $250 gift certificate for books
or software.
Teachers. Sponsors
of the winner and finalists will receive $100 gift certificates
for books or software.
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How to enter
Eligibility: No purchase necessary to enter. Open only to
high school students, grades 9-12, enrolled full time as of Feb.
16, 2001, in accredited public, private, parochial or home schools.
Relatives of employees of the Gannett Co. Inc. are ineligible.
To qualify, all entries must be:
- Fiction stories no more than 1,500 words in length.
- Typed, double-spaced, on 8.5 x 11-inch paper, using only one
side of the paper.
- Original work, with a substantial part of the action taking
place in the present and in summer.
- Written in English with proper grammar and spelling. Language
must be appropriate for national publication.
- Received no later than Feb. 16, 2001.
Send to:
USA WEEKEND Student Fiction Contest, P.O. Box 4087, Blair, Neb.
68009-4087.
Send overnight packages
to:
USA WEEKEND Student Fiction Contest,
D.L. Blair, Job #1296
1548 Front St., Blair, Neb. 68008
(402-426-4701).
On an official entry form or separate sheet of paper, type or print
clearly the student's name, address and home phone number; the school's
name, address and phone number; and the sponsoring teacher's name.
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USA
WEEKEND STUDENT FICTION CONTEST
Official
rules
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY
1. HOW TO ENTER:
On an Official Entry Form or on a piece of paper no larger than
8-1/2" x 11", type or print your complete name, address, zip code,
area code, home telephone number, the name, address and telephone
number of your school and the name of any sponsoring teacher. On
one side only, type your original short story, double-spaced, not
to exceed 1500 words in length. A substantial part of the action
of the short story should take place during the summer months, some
time in the present. Entries must be received no later than 2/16/01.
Send your completed entry to: USA WEEKEND Student Fiction Contest,
P. O. Box 4087, Blair, NE 68009-4087. Overnight packages should
be mailed to USA WEEKEND Student Fiction Contest, D. L. Blair, Job
#1296, 1548 Front Street, Blair, NE 68008 (402-426-4701). All entries
become property of sponsor and none will be returned.
2. JUDGING:
Entries will be preliminarily judged by D. L. Blair, Inc., an independent
judging organization whose decisions on all matters relating to
this contest are final, to determine 50 finalist entries. Final
judging to determine 1 Grand Prize winner and 5 Honorable Mention
winners will be accomplished by a panel of USA WEEKEND editors and
a well-known author. All judging will be based on the following
criteria: originality and creativity - 30%; writing ability - 30%;
correct use of the English language (including grammar and spelling)
- 20%; appropriateness of story for printing in USA Weekend - 20%.
In the event of a tie, tied entries will be rejudged in accordance
with criteria listed above to determine final winner. Winners will
be notified no later than 5/1/01.
3. PRIZES AND APPROXIMATE
RETAIL VALUES: (1) Grand Prize: A $2000 scholarship to
be used towards college education expenses; (5) Honorable Mention
Prizes: A $250 gift certificate redeemable at a book or computer
store (not redeemable for cash). Limit 1 student prize per household.
Grand Prize is intended to be used towards education expenses. Sponsoring
teachers of winning students, (up to 6 teachers), will each be awarded
a $100 gift certificate redeemable at a book or computer store (not
redeemable for cash).
GENERAL RULES: Contest
open to U.S. residents who, as of 2/16/00, are high school students
(grades 9-12) enrolled full-time in accredited public, private,
parochial or home schools. Employees of Gannett Company Inc., their
affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising and promotion agencies and
their immediate families and/or those living in the same household
of each are not eligible. Void where prohibited by law. All federal,
state and local laws and regulations apply. All prizes will be awarded
and winners notified by mail. Winner may make no substitution or
transfer of prize. All federal, state and local taxes are the sole
responsibility of winners. Not responsible for lost, late, misdirected,
mutilated or illegible entries. Potential prize winner and parent
or legal guardian of potential winner must sign an Affidavit of
Eligibility certifying that submission is entrant's original work,
that entrant owns right to the work, that the submission has not
previously won a prize in a national contest nor has been previously
published in a national publication, and that entrant has followed
the Official Rules of the contest. Affidavit, along with a Release
of Liability/Prize Acceptance Form, must be returned within 7 days
of attempted notification. Noncompliance within this time period
may result in disqualification and an alternate may be selected.
Return of any prize/prize notification as undeliverable will result
in disqualification and an alternate will be selected. Sponsor reserves
the right to substitute prize of equal or greater value. By acceptance
of prize, winners consent to use of name and/or likeness and entry
material submitted in any manner by sponsor for advertising or trade
without further compensation, unless prohibited by law. Prizewinner
assumes all liability for any injuries or damages caused, or claimed
to be caused, by participation in this promotion or use or redemption
of any prize. By participating in this promotion, entrants agree
to be bound by the Official Rules and the decisions of the judges.
5. For names of winners,
available after 5/15/01, send a separate, self- addressed,
stamped (#10) envelop to: 6th Annual USA WEEKEND Student Fiction
Contest Winners, 535 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10022. Request
will be fulfilled up to 7/3/01; or visit our website: http://www.usaweekend.com
and click on TEENS. Winners list will not be available via e-mail
or fax.
Contest sponsor:
USA Weekend, 1000 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA 22229.
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