Tempe Community Writing and Cover Design Contest

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Arizona State University and Tempe Public Library are partnering once again to host the second annual Tempe Community Writing and Cover Design Contest. The contest first launched a year ago as a collaboration between Arizona State University’s College of Letters and Sciences, the writing programs in the Department of English in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and the Tempe Public Library.

“We had a fantastic response for the first contest, receiving 190 writing submissions — many from ASU students,” said Tempe Public Library adult-services librarian Jill Brenner, who teamed up with Jeanne Hanrahan, faculty associate and liaison for ASU Academic Success Programs, to organize the contest.

Last year’s winning contributions included imaginative, expressive poetry; fiction that ran the continuum from funny to fear-inducing; and memoir writing that took readers into some of life’s most fragile emotional spaces — from nurturing premature babies to health, to helping hospice patients die with grace.

Tempe residents, Tempe Public Library cardholders, high school students, and ASU students are invited to submit one work of poetry, short fiction, or creative nonfiction (including essays and memoirs). There is also an opportunity for designers to submit one 9.5-inch by 6.5-inch vertical color design for both online and print publication. Submissions for both portions of the contest will be be open until February 15th. 

Writing contest entries are read anonymously by members of the ASU creative writing community, and winners will be chosen from each genre for the three entry categories: high school student, college student, and community adult. In addition to having their work published in volume two of the printed Tempe Writers Forum and on the library’s website, the winners will be celebrated at a reception event at Tempe Public Library in the spring.

For more information on the contest and submission details, visit Tempe Public Library’s website. 

First-Ever Tempe Community Writing Contest

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November may be National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), but for ASU students and Tempe residents who’d rather try their hand at shorter works, this is also the month to start preparing for a new spring writing challenge.

ASU’s College of Letters and Sciences and the writing programs in the Department of English in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences are partnering with Tempe Public Library to host the first-ever Tempe Community Writing Contest.

The writing contest, which invites submissions in the genres of poetry, short fiction and nonfiction, is open to all Tempe residents, Tempe Library cardholders and all ASU students.

Entries will be accepted between Jan. 15, 2015 and Feb. 15, 2015 at this online submission link, and individuals may submit one piece in each genre if they wish. Entries will be read anonymously within three judging categories: high school student, college student (undergraduate or graduate) and community adult. One winner from each entry category will be chosen for each genre.

“The contest was the idea of several of the Tempe Public Library staff,” explains Jill Brenner, adult services librarian. “We’ve recently been offering more programming for writers as a natural extension of library services. The response has been fantastic, so we wanted to take it one step further.

“We immediately thought of ASU as a partner, since several of our writing workshops are being presented by ASU faculty members,” says Brenner.

She began collaborating in August with Jeanne Hanrahan, faculty associate and liaison for ASU Academic Success Programs, and Duane Roen, College of Letters and Sciences interim dean, to organize the contest and enlist judges from the university’s creative writing community.

“I thank the many faculty and staff who have enthusiastically stepped up to support the contest, and hope faculty across ASU will encourage their students to submit their writing,” observes Roen, who enjoys leading Tempe Public Library workshops to inspire family-history writing. “The process of writing, like any of the arts, can be an outlet for expression and a lifelong journey that enriches our individual lives and our communities.”

The Tempe Community Writing Contest winners will be announced in the spring and celebrated at a reception at Tempe Public Library. Winning entries will also be published on the library’s website. Additional information and contest details and a PDF of the contest announcement can be found at the Tempe Public Library events webpage.

For more information visit: https://asunews.asu.edu/20141110-tempe-writing-contest