The Department of English and Foreign Languages at Southern Arkansas University will host the annual Creative Writing Festival on Friday, April 1, 2016. Deadline for entries is Friday, March 4, 2016.
The festival, which is held every spring, has grown from 345 entries in 1995 to 1,153 entries last year. Students from schools across south Arkansas, north Louisiana, and east Texas submit poems, short stories, and creative non-fiction essays. Out of the entries with the best judging scores, three are chosen in each category and grade level to receive special recognition consisting of a cash prize for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners, and a trophy for the 1st place winners.
All grades should submit entries via the electronic submission form found on the Festival website: http://www.SAUmag.edu/WritingFestival.
The annual festival developed from a summer writing class for public school teachers taught by Dr. Kathleen Mallory, associate professor of English at SAU. The purpose of the festival is to get students more involved in writing, to give students recognition for outstanding work, to motivate students to write more, to develop more competent writers, and to help raise awareness about the importance of writing.
The event is co-sponsored by the Gerald F. and Betty Fincher Scott Academic Endowment, made available through the generosity of Harold and D.J. Fincher and the Peoples Bank of Magnolia, Waldo and Southwest Arkansas.
On the day of the festival a welcoming address will be given, then students will separate into grade levels and model writing workshops will be held, followed by peer reading sessions. The day is capped off with the awards ceremony.
For further information contact David Wingfield in the Department of English and Foreign Languages, (870) 235-4202, or by emailing dlwingfield@saumag.edu.
