PNC Writing and Art Contest
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PNC Writing and Art Contest
The Department of English and Modern Languages seeks submissions from writers and artists for the fortieth annual writing and art contest. First, second, and third place submissions will be published in the student literary journal, Portals; in addition, first place winners of the John J. Pappas Literary Essay (Category Six) and the art contest will receive $50 financial aid awards. All authors and artists of winning submissions will receive a copy of Portals.
Eligibility
Students who have enrolled in a PNC course during 2011 or 2012 may submit work.
Contest Categories
Category One: English Composition/Literature Essay
An essay, written for any composition or literature course taught at PNC, that uses at least two secondary sources. Please follow the most recent MLA guidelines for formatting and documentation. Maximum length: 4,000 words.
Category Two: Campus-Wide Research Essay
An essay, written for any PNC course other than English, that uses at least three secondary sources. Please follow the appropriate guidelines for formatting and documentation (e.g., APA, MLA, Chicago Style, CBE, etc.) Maximum length: 4,000 words.
Category Three: Poetry
A poem of no more than 500 words.
Category Four: Short Fiction
A short story of no less than 1,000 words and no more than 5,000 words.
Category Five: Creative Nonfiction
An essay that is factually accurate but uses techniques associated with creative writing. The supporting details of the essay can come from personal experience, personal observation, and/or formal research. Please follow the most recent MLA guidelines for formatting and, if appropriate, documentation. Maximum length: 4,000 words.
Category Six: The John J. Pappas Literary Essay Award
An essay that focuses on at least one literary source, which will serve as primary source material, and includes at least two peer-reviewed secondary sources. Please follow the most recent MLA guidelines for formatting and documentation Maximum length: 5,000 words. *There will be at least one English professor judging this category who is not affiliated with PNC.
Special Topic Category: The State of the Campus
Have you observed a problem on campus that you would like to research and possibly solve? Have you seen a presentation on the campus that has inspired you to write? Or, do see something that is missing from campus—tangible or abstract? Entries must follow the guidelines for Category One, Category Two, or Category Five; the cover page must indicate the category that was followed (for example, “Special Topic Category: The State of the Campus. Category Two”).
Art Contest
Electronic submissions are encouraged, but all artwork and photographs are welcome. If the submission is not electronic, please submit the work in unframed/unmounted form. Please note that the artwork that wins first place will appear on the cover of Portals, which is published in black-and-white. Second and third place winners will have their work published in Portals, if feasible.
Submission Guidelines
Authors are required to identify each essay submitted for the contest as belonging to one of the categories listed above, with no author submitting more than two entries per category, except for Category Three (Poetry), which can have as many as six submissions per poet.
Students may submit their work in hard copy form or electronically (preferred).
For hard copy submissions, three printed copies must be submitted on white 8 1/2" x 11" paper, double-spaced, in Times New Roman 12 point font. One cover sheet (a single plain piece of covering paper) must accompany each submission, and it must label the entry as either Category One, Category Two, Category Three, Category Four, Category Five, Category Six, Special Category, or art contest. The cover sheet must also include the author's name, address, telephone number, email address, and PNC identification number. The essays themselves must not have any information that will identify the author. For the art contest, the original and one photocopy (no larger than on 8 ½” x 11”) must be submitted for judging. Submissions may be given to any English and Modern Languages faculty member or submitted at the Student Success Center (LSF 202) no later than noon, April 2, 2012.
For electronic submissions, please follow the formatting guidelines for hard copy submissions and attach your work as two Microsoft Word files (art submission should be sent in an appropriate electronic form). One file will be a cover sheet that identifies the category to which your entry belongs, and it must include the author's name, address, telephone number, email address, and PNC identification number. The other file will be the essay or the art submission, and this file must not identify the author or artist. Please send your work to portalseditor@pnc.edu no later than noon, April 2, 2012, and note the category of your submission in the subject line of the email.
Determination of Awards
Each submission that meets the requirements of the category for which it was submitted will be subject to triple-blind review. That is, each work will be sent to three reviewers without the submitter's name being revealed to the reviewers. Each work will then be reviewed by its merit, determined by the category and submission type. Reviewers' decisions are final.
Authors and artists of winning works will be asked to prepare their works for publication, submit a 50-100 word autobiography, and sign a reproduction rights waiver no later than one week after notification of award; failure to comply with these terms will cause the award to be revoked. Winning authors and artists will be honored at the annual Writing and Art Contest Banquet, April 26, 2012.
