Inkblot Writing Contest
Inkblot Writing Contest is open to any Maine students in Grades 4 through 12 during the 2024-2025 school year. Students are invited to participate in Fiction and Poetry categories for each of the following age groups: Grades 4 - 5, Grades 6 - 8 and Grades 9 - 12.
Submissions
Submissions will be accepted from October 1 through October 15, 2024.
AWARDS Reception
A public reception celebrating all entrants and awarding prizes will be held on Tues, November 19 at 6 pm at Maine Coast Waldorf School in Freeport.
Categories
Inkblot Writing Contest offers Fiction and Poetry categories for the following age groups: Grades 4 - 5, Grades 6 - 8, and Grades 9 - 12. Prizes will be awarded to winners and runners-up in each age category for Fiction and Poetry.
The Fiction and Poetry categories for Grades 4 - 5 and Grades 6 - 8 will be judged by high school students. Grades 9 - 12 Fiction submissions will be judged by Rae Chalmers. Grades 9 - 12 Poetry submissions will be judged by Lauren Saxon.
Submitting your Work
Submissions for the Inkblot Writing Contest will be accepted from October 1 at 6:00 am through October 15 at midnight. To submit a short story or poem, please select your age category below and complete the linked entry form.
Submission Requirements
Entries will be accepted between October 1 and October 15, 2024 via this webpage. Entries are free. Students may submit one short story up to 3,500 words, or up to three poems (of no more than 10 total pages). You may submit in both short story and poetry categories, but you may only enter each category once.
Submissions may not have been previously published online or in print. Entries will be read blind, so please do not include your name on your submission. Ideally, submissions are typed, but a legibly handwritten scan is also acceptable. Teachers may submit work on behalf of students.
High School Fiction: Judge
Rae Chalmers grew up reading Harriet the Spy and Nancy Drew mysteries. She and her best friend would bike through their neighborhood with notepads and pencils, jotting down license plates and clues for crimes that surely would be committed. She is the author of the popular middle grade Oxbow Island Gang series that celebrates the values and ecosystems of small island communities.
High School Poetry: Judge
Lauren Saxon is a queer, Black poet and engineer living in Portland, ME. She loves her cats, her Subaru, and being chronically online. Lauren's work is featured in Barrelhouse, Empty Mirror, Across the Margin, Homology Lit, and more. Her debut chapbook, You're My Favorite won the 2023 Maine Literary Award for Book of Poetry, and is out now with Thirty West Publishing.
A school of thought and exploration
In a complex world, education requires self-knowledge as well as world- knowledge. At Maine Coast Waldorf School, we believe one enhances the other and allows students to find their place in the world. See it for yourself at an upcoming Open House for Early Childhood, Grades 1 through 8 or High School.