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 9th festival year and to encourage future award-winning writers, MFOB is again sponsoring a Teen Writing Contest. This year’s contest is on “Flash Fiction”: High school students from New Jersey are invited to submit a fictional short story on any theme, in any genre, that is 1,000 words or less. This should be a standalone story and not part of a larger work.
First-place winner will receive $500.
Second-place winner will receive $250.
Third-place winner will receive $100.
Four honorable mentions will each receive $50.
Contest winners will be announced as part of the Festival on October 7 & 8, 2022.
The submission deadline is midnight (ET), July 1, 2022.
Entries with a word-count limit of 1,000 or less must be submitted electronically as a Word document to teenwritingcontest@morristownbooks.org. Do not include your name in the electronic filename of the document.
The submission must have a cover page that includes:
The cover page does not count toward the 1,000-word limit.
The Festival’s teen writing contest is being 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.
Up to seven entries will be selected as finalists. Authors will be notified in September 2022 if their story is selected as a finalist. The finalists will have their stories posted on the Morristown Festival of Books website.
Contest winners will be announced as part of the Festival on October 7 & 8, 2022. First-place winner will receive $500. Second-place winner will receive $250. Third-place winner will receive $100. And four honorable mentions will receive $50.
Judging will be based on the following criteria:
For additional information, please email teenwritingcontest@morristownbooks.org.
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:
Click here to download a printable version of the contest details.
Linda L. Hellstrom, Founder
Wendy Supron, Chair
Heather Alexander
Lesley Draper
Caroline Godfrey
Karen Gruenberg
Jennifer Kraft
Chad Leinaweaver
Elizabeth Mattson
Elizabeth K. Parker
Deanna Quinones
Diane Naughton Washburne