1 | Cathy C. Hall Writes

Bless my little wooden head, I almost forgot the writing contest that the Alabama Writers Conclave sponsors each year!

And not a moment too soon, either. Deadline is April 20th! So if you have a juvenile story for ages 4 through 12, now would be a very good time to polish it up and send it out. You’ll have to note the age group on your entry, and you’ll need to pay the fee (depending on whether you’re a member or not). But each category has a 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th monetary prizes (I like those oddds, don’t you?) and a couple of Honorable Mentions.

Of course, it’s not just a children’s writing competition. There are other categories, too. Let’s see…poetry is one, short fiction is another, and there are several more. Why don’t you check out all the details for the Alabama Writers’ Conclave Writing Contests here?

Know what else? It’s the oldest writers’ organization in continuous existence in the United States. That’s kinda impressive, isn’t it? I mean, take a look at this seal. (I have no idea what that seal means. But I’m going to go with “Good luck in our writing contests!”)

As you know, I’m all about the contests. And I guess if you didn’t know, you know now.

So, naturally, I was pretty excited to see that the Pockets’ Fiction contest had returned. (Last year, the contest was canceled for restructuring.) If you have a swell story for kids, between 750 and 1,00o words, you should send it in. There’s no particular theme and no entry fee. And even if you don’t have a story now, you have till August 15th to think up something brilliant and write it down.

Then you can send it off and enter the contest. That’s what I plan to do. Because I’m not just all about entering contests. I kinda like winning them, too!