Writing Contest for Study Abroad with the University of New Orleans

Submission Deadline — January 31, 2010

Click here to read about 2009 and past years' winners and runners-up.

Studying in Madrid with UNO was an unforgettable gift. It offered new insights, experiences, exchanges, and it helped me build a stronger foundation for my writing. We grew as writers and communicators in a program that imparted confidence to the writer’s intuition. It helped us open our minds so that what emerges is intact and not squashed in the process.
The strengths of this program are numerous: a new setting that may aid reflection and/or spark a new direction; dynamic classmates; sincere, conscious, analytical and talented faculty; a highly enjoyable reading series; an interaction of genres; an overlapping of languages. I left with a better understanding of my own writing and have given it even more priority since the program. It was a blessing and an honor to attend.

--Christina Vega-Westhoff, poetry winner, 2007.

When I was notified about the award, I'm not sure what the most exciting prospect was: going to Madrid for a month or studying with such terrific writers. After the first day of class, I knew I'd be a better writer by the end of the summer's workshop. At the end of the month, not only was my writing better, but the way I saw myself as a writer had changed. And that is perhaps one of the most important tasks any MFA program can undertake, to impart to students not only the craft but the confidence and empowering practices of writing. Add to this the bonus of getting to know and love an amazing bunch of students and faculty. I can't see how it's possible to go to Madrid with the UNO people and not come out the other side of it all as a better writer with the support of a close writing community. Thank you, UNO!

--Jill Drumm, nonfiction winner, 2006.

The University of New Orleans, the pioneer in writing programs abroad, is pleased to announce the sixth annual writing contest for study-abroad, Summer, 2010. This year the contest is co-sponsored by The Normal School, who will judge the entries and publish the winners. Full fee waivers, including housing allowance, will be granted to one writer each in the genres of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction. Partial awards and honorable mentions may also be granted. Winners may attend any of UNO’s 2010 study-abroad writing programs:

Writing Workshops in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
Writing Workshops in Montpellier
The Ezra Pound Center for Literature, Dorf Tirol, Italy

Guidelines

Please note that these are the complete guidelines. Queries are not necessary. Note that we have greatly simplified the submission and payment process this year.

Submission Deadline: January 31, 2010.

Eligibility: Anyone writing in English who has not yet published a book of 45 pages or more in the genre of application, except faculty and administrators employed by the University of New Orleans.

Entry Fee: An entry fee of $25 must be paid for each submission. Fees can only be paid online using the link below.

Submission Format: The submission process is entirely electronic. No paper manuscripts will be accepted. To submit your entry, go to the submission module on the UNO Press site (http://www.unopress.org/writingcontest).

Multiple Submissions: Applicants may submit multiple applications in one or more genres, however each application must be complete with entry fee. Payment for multiple submissions may be made in aggregate (see below), but each submission must be uploaded separately at the submission site.

Submission Limits and Format: Prose submissions should not exceed 4500 words (about 15 pages double spaced). Poetry submissions should not exceed 5 pages and may include a maximum of 3 poems. The submitted work must be unpublished at the time of submission, though it may be under consideration. The author's name must not appear anywhere in the work, including in headers or footers.

Acknowledgments: Acknowledgments by email query only. Each applicant will be emailed a list of winners when the contest has been decided, around the end of March.

Questions and comments may be emailed to contest@unopress.org.

END OF CONTEST GUIDELINES

Payment

Use the paypal link below to select your number of entries and pay the fee. Please note that you do not need a Paypal account to pay by this method, but may pay with any credit card. Paypal is one of the safest, most secure ways to pay on the web.
Note that we will be matching your payment information with your registration information on the submission page, so you will need to notify us if payment is made under a different name than your contest registration.

Please feel free to email with any questions or concerns.