Details for 2012 programs will be available March 1 2012.
The Norman Mailer Center and Writers Colony and the National Council of Teachers of English jointly sponsor the 2012 Norman Mailer High School and College Writing Awards.
Writing Category: Fiction
Norman Mailer produced extraordinary works in many genres, including the category of this year’s award. The awards are for excellence in fiction. The competition is broadly inclusive of genres and subgenres that fall under fiction.
Whatever its type, the best work will be true material presented with compelling literary merit. Entries accepted March 1–April 30, 2012, Noon CST. Enter online by selecting the link below beginning March 1:
High School Competition is open to all high school students. Students may submit one or more pieces of writing as one file, maximum 10 single-spaced pages, endorsed by a teacher and released by a parent or guardian. Winner will receive the following:
• Cash award of $5,000
• *Travel and lodging to attend the Colony’s National Award Ceremony
Two-Year College Competition is open to first-and second-year full-time students enrolled in community colleges, junior colleges, and technical colleges. Maximum 15 single-spaced pages. Winner will receive the following:
• Cash award of $5,000
• *Travel and lodging to attend the Colony’s National Award Ceremony
Four-Year College Competition is open to current full-time undergraduate students. Maximum 15 single-spaced pages. Winner will receive the following:
• Cash award of $10,000
• Scholarship to the Norman Mailer Writers Colony during the summer of 2012
• *Travel and lodging to attend the Colony’s National Award Ceremony
*Funding for travel is limited to the continental United States, Alaska, and Hawaii. Canadian and other foreign students are eligible to enter. Outside of the U.S. a $500.00 USD payment toward travel will be allowed. Hotel will be paid as for students in the U.S.
Formatting Guidelines
The writing you upload must include a title, your name, and page numbers within your file. Please use a plain, common, and easily readable font, such as Times New Roman, 11- or 12-point. Accepted file types: .pdf, .doc, .docx, and .txt (maximum file size: 8 megabytes).
Prizes
One winner in each category will receive a cash award and will be an honored guest at the Colony’s National Award Ceremony in New York City on October 4, 2012. Winners will be notified by early September. Four finalists in each category will be awarded trophies. Up to fifteen semifinalists in each category will be awarded certificates.
Judging
Submissions will be read by national panels of teachers and writers of fiction. They will be judged by how well they achieve several qualities:
- artful treatment of subject matter
- originality
- quality of insight
- voice, and style
- artful arrangement of elements and materials
- overall aesthetic, emotional, or intellectual effect
Finalists selected through this process will be submitted to a distinguished author (or panel of authors) selected by the Norman Mailer Writers Colony, who will choose the winning writers.
Imagining a Place for Creative Nonfiction, Douglas Hesse
Tucking the Pigeons up Your Sleeve: Ten Personae Teach One Nonfiction Course, Bonnie Sunstein
2011 High School Winner: Dalia Wolfson Hunter College High School, New York, NY
Parquet Dictionary
2011 Two-Year College Winner: Christopher Woodard
Berkeley City College, Berkeley, CA
Let All Those End Soon With Few Tears
2011 Four-Year College Winner: Elisa Gonzalez
Yale University, New Haven, CT
Digital Leftovers, All the Words I Knew, Family History
2011 Finalists and Semi-finalist
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2010 High School Winner: Dawna Bagherian,
High Above the GroundIllinois Mathematics and Science Academy, Aurora, Illinois
2010 Community College Winner: Gwyne Bahler,
HairIvy Tech Community College, Lafayette, Indiana
2010 College Winner; Minh Phuong Nguyen,
Suffering Self
University of Missouri - Colombia
2010 finalists and Semi-finalists
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2009 High School Winner: Emily Swanagin
Read Emily's essay
LunaAlabama School of Fine Arts, Birmingham, Alabama
2009 College Winner: John Gilmore,
Final Cascade John's piece has been accepted for publication in a forthcoming issue of
Creative Nonfiction.
Utah State University, Logan
2009 College Finalists and Semifinalists2009 High School Finalists and Semifinalists
Email your questions to nmw@ncte.org