CONTEST IS OVER: Merlyn's Pen & The Black Dog Tall Ships Writing Contest

CONTEST HAS ENDED. Please do not submit your writing at this time.

 

"I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,

And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,

And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sails' shaking,

And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and a grey dawn breaking.

 

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide

Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied. . . . "  from

“Sea Fever,” by John Masefield

ELIGIBILITY & PRIZE

Writers 12 to 17 years old as of July 22, 2012, are eligible. Poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction are welcome.

 

The winner earns a FULL SCHOLARSHIP to attend The Black Dog Tall Ships "Kids Cruise--Writers' Week," the writing & sailing adventure for teens this July 22-28 in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. 

HOW TO ENTER THE CONTEST

Go to www.merlynspen.org. On the home page click Submit Your Writing Here, or click "You Write," then "Submit Your Writing." Only one submission per student may be entered.

WORD COUNT & THEME

Maximum word count is 500 words. Poems, fiction, and creative nonfiction are welcome. This contest is open-themed, so writers are free to write on any topic they choose. Judges will consider the writer's age, as well as the writer's chosen format, when reading the contest entries. With questions about theme or content, please email writersweek@merlynspen.org.

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE CONTEST & KIDS CRUISE?

Questions about the writing contest should be emailed only to Merlyn's Pen at writersweek@merlynspen.org. For information specifically about Kids Cruise--Writers' Week, contact either Merlyn's Pen or The Black Dog Tall Ships at info@theblackdogtallships.com. Your contest entry is not an enrollment to the Kids Cruise--Writers' Week. 

 

To enroll in Kids Cruise--Writers' Week or to learn more about it, please click the link.  Enrollment in Kids Cruise--Writers' Week is not a requirement before entering the contest.

COPYRIGHT, LEGAL, AND FINE PRINT

Contest entrants retain copyrights to their entries, published or not, and contest winners agree to give Merlyn’s Pen, Inc. nonexclusive rights to reprint and license entries in any format, in part or in whole, without prior review by the author. If the first-prize winner is unable, or chooses not, to attend The Black Dog Tall Ships Kids Cruise--Writers' Week July 22, 2012, she or he may (1) assign the scholarship benefits to another student, age 12-17, who meets the enrollment requirements of Writers' Week, subject to the approval of The Black Dog Tall Ships, or (2) receive from Merlyn’s Pen, Inc. an Alternative First Prize of $250.  Students already enrolled in Kids Cruise--Writers' Week are also eligible for prizes.

FIRST PRIZE: A FULL SCHOLARSHIP to the Black Dog Tall Ships Kids Cruise--Writers' Week, a one-week summer program, July 22-July 28, 2012. The regular tuition to this program is $900. Also read about the Alternative First Prize of $250, above under “Copyright, Legal and Fine Print.” Read more about Kids Cruise--Writers' Week.

SECOND PRIZE: Twenty-five dollars and a copy of the popular Merlyn’s Pen hardcover anthology, License to Write: New Writing from Today's Authors Under 20.

Join a literary sailing adventure aboard the Shenandoah!

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Merlyn's Pen New Library of Young Adult Writing, 11 South Angell St., Suite 301, Providence, RI 02906  1-800-247-2027  401-751-3766  writersweek@merlynspen.org