The Morristown Festival of Books is proud to celebrate the power of the written word by bringing award-winning authors to the Morristown community each fall. The annual Festival has the power to challenge, transport, and transform individuals of all ages as well as bring the community together in conversation.
To mark our 10th anniversary and to encourage future award-winning writers, MFOB is again sponsoring a Teen Writing Contest. This year’s contest theme is “friendship.” New Jersey high school students are invited to submit either a short story (fiction or nonfiction, up to 1,000 words) or a poem that relates to friendship: lost or found; real, imagined, or metaphorical. Only one submission per author (in only one category), and stories should stand alone and not be part of a larger work.
Submissions for our 2023 contest are now closed. Thank you for your interest – we have received many entries and look forward to announcing our winners at the Main Festival on Saturday, October 7! Winning entries will be posted on this page following our award ceremony.
Author must be a high school student (public, private, or homeschooled) in grades 9, 10, 11, or 12 in the 2023-2024 school year.
Author must live in New Jersey.
The Festival’s Teen Writing Contest is sponsored in memory of John and Marianne Gunzler. They both had a zest for life, and although their formal educations were limited by their circumstances, they each had passions for learning and reading. They would have been thrilled to be associated with this event, as they believed in encouraging young minds, especially in terms of curiosity and creativity.
Three finalists will be selected in each category, three in short story and three in poetry (for a total of six finalists). Honorable mentions will be awarded at the discretion of the judges. In each category, the first-place winner will receive $300. The second-place winner will receive $200. And the third-place winner will receive $100. Any honorable mentions will be recognized and included in the Festival, but receive no prize money.
Authors will be notified in September 2023 if their work is selected as a finalist. Finalists will be announced at the Festival and invited to read their work during a special presentation on Saturday, October 7, 2023. Prior to the Festival, the winning entries will be posted on the Morristown Festival of Books website.
Judging will be based on the following criteria:
For additional information please email teenwritingcontest@morristownbooks.org.
The Morristown Festival of Books will be held on October 6 & 7, 2023, in Morristown, NJ.
All entries must:
Submissions not satisfying these criteria in any respect will be disqualified. If the Morristown Festival of Books, in its sole discretion, has reason to believe that any entry contains any material that may infringe or violate any law or any rights of a third party, or that the use or broadcast of such entry in the manner described herein may infringe or violate any law or any rights of a third party, the Morristown Festival of Books may immediately disqualify such entry and take any other measures the Morristown Festival of Books may deem appropriate or necessary.
By submitting a written entry, the entrant grants to the Morristown Festival of Books:
The following, and their family members, are prohibited from participation in this contest:
OPERATING BOARD
Wendy Supron, Chair
Adrienne Auerbach
Andrea DeGraaf
Molly Dunn
Caroline Kincaid Godfrey
Pat Kennedy Grant
Jennifer King
Jennifer Kraft
Diane Naughton Washburne
Chrissie Wetherbee
ADVISORY BOARD
Linda Hellstrom, Founder
Wendy Supron, Chair
Heather Alexander
Lesley Draper
Karen Gruenberg
Chad Leinaweaver
Liz Mattson
Elizabeth Parker
Deanna Quinones