ISSUED: 10 April 2015
MEDIA CONTACT: Valerie Owens
SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV — Writers wanting to enter the West Virginia Fiction Competition, sponsored by the West Virginia Center for the Book and the Shepherd University Foundation, must submit their work by May 1.
The competition is open to any West Virginia resident and any student attending school in the state. Writers of any age can submit original, unpublished work of fiction that is between 500 and 2,500 words in length. A panel of writers, editors, and creative writing instructors will choose finalists. The 2015 Appalachian Heritage Writer-in-Residence at Shepherd University, Nikki Giovanni, will select first, second, and third place winners from the list of finalists.
The first place winner will receive the West Virginia Fiction Award and a $500 prize during a ceremony on Thursday, October 8, at Shepherd’s annual Appalachian Heritage Festival. Second and third place winners each receive a $100 prize.
For submission guidelines go to www.shepherd.edu/ahwirweb/new_writers.html, or contact Dr. Sylvia Bailey Shurbutt, professor of English and Appalachian Heritage Writers Project director, at sshurbut@shepherd.edu.
Submissions can be mailed to: West Virginia Fiction Competition, Department of English, Shepherd University, P.O. Box 5000, Shepherdstown, WV 25443-5000. They can also be sent electronically to Brenda Feltner, Arts and Humanities administrative secretary, at bfeltner@shepherd.edu.
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