Thursday, March 14, 2013

2013 Young Writers’ Contest

Do you have a way with words? Does your teacher comment on your writing? Do you love to write? If your answer is YES to those questions, we want to read your work! Submit now!

Bayou Writers’ Group of Lake Charles is proud to sponsor its 2013 Young Writers’ Contest

There is no cost to submit! The top three winners will receive cash, prizes, and recognition at our annual Writers’ Conference in Lake Charles on November 9th, 2013.

WRITE ON!  Cash and prizes awarded for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd-place finishers, and there’s more!

The 1st-place winning student’s school library will receive $100 in books.


2013 Young Writers’ Contest SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

* There is no theme. You may submit fiction or nonfiction, no poetry accepted at this time.
* Submissions must be received (postmarked) by May 31st, 2013. Late entries will not be read.
* You may submit up to two entries. All entries will be returned to the author.
* Word count cannot exceed 2,000 words.
* BWG reserves the right to cancel the contest if fewer than six entries are received.
* Open to all high-school students*: private, public, home-schooled who reside in the following parishes: ♦ Allen ♦ Calcasieu ♦ Jeff Davis ♦ Beauregard ♦ Cameron
*May 2013 graduates ARE eligible. 8th-graders must be promoted to 9th-grade at the end of the 2012-2013 school year. No junior-high entries will be judged.
* Submissions must be DS (double spaced) with a 12-pt font and be typed in Times New Roman. No hand-written entries accepted. Use one-inch margins on all pages beginning on page 1.
* Please include a separate cover sheet with the following information for each entry:

-“Title”
DS
- by author’s name
DS
-school
DS
-parents’ contact # and/or email
* Only previously unpublished material is accepted. However, the writer may have other material(s) published.
* Number all pages (excluding cover sheet, including page one). Writer’s name shall appear no where on the submission except for the cover sheet.
* Make three copies of your entry, and staple each one separately in the upper left-hand corner for independent judging. Attach a cover sheet to the front of all copies with a paperclip for easy removal. The judges must not know whom they are reading. Give your story a title!
* Mail your entry(ies), remember, three copies (one for each judge) of each story with one title page for each to:
Bayou Writers’ Group
Attn: Young Writers’ Contest
P.O. Box 1402
Lake Charles, La 70602
* Winners will be notified by phone/email/letter by August 10th, 2013.
* Judges may write comments on your entry.
Student grade disclaimer: Winners’ grades may be verified from supporting documents/or other verifications, such as: official report card from parent, or parent(s) verbal agreement. If proper assurances cannot be received, other winner(s) will be chosen.
IMPORTANT: Points will be deducted by judges for each guideline infraction. Please follow ALL guidelines to ensure you receive maximum points for format! Good luck to each of you!

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

BWG Minutes of March 2, 2013 Meeting

Bayou Writers Group
Minutes of regular meeting – March 2, 2013
Carnegie Library, Lake Charles LA

31 members and 1 visitor attending

Meeting called to order by President Randy Dupre at 10:10 a.m.

Treasurer’s Report – Sherry Perkins
Checking balance 3/1/13 $1819.54
Savings balance 3/1/13 $2690.55
Scholarship balance 3/1/13 $ 375.32

Old Business
2013 Conference: Randy reminded us again that help will be needed for the conference.
February Word Count: Randy exceeded his 5,000 word goal in February, racking up a total of 5,980 words.
Logo contest: Won by Sylvia Ney and husband.

New Business:
Young Writers Contest Stories accepted March 4th through May 30th, 2013. First prize: $25, 2nd prize, $15, 3rd prize $10. The school having the first prize winner student will receive $100 in books or school supplies for their library.
Members Only Contest Open to paid members. Contest runs June 1 through Aug. More later.
Speakers: Pam Thibideaux spoke in detail about tax reporting and deductions for writers. Angie
Dilmore spoke about “Learning to Become a Writer.”
Member news: Rebecca Stelley’s book is published and available. Michelle Abshire has a column in Voice of SELA. Congratulations to 2012 Reminiscent Writing Contest‏ Winners - Bayou Writer's Group members Debra Bailey won 3rd Place and Angie Kay Dilmore won 1st Place.

Meeting adjourned 12:00 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Georgia M. Downer
Secretary

Friday, March 8, 2013

$500 CREATIVE WRITING SCHOLARSHIP

A $500 CREATIVE WRITING SCHOLARSHIP
TO BE AWARDED TO A
CALCASIEU PARISH SENIOR
Private, Public, and Home-Schooled

Presented by The Foundation at Lake Charles Memorial Hospital, a live performance event, The Daffodil Tea, will be held April 10, 2013 in Lake Charles to showcase the talent of Calcasieu Parish high-school seniors. Recipients will be chosen from six disciplines and each will receive a $500 scholarship to the school of his/her choice, (university, community, technical college).

If you have a way with words, please email three pieces of your best work (which may include but is not limited to poetry, fiction, nonfiction, general-interest articles, etc…) with a cover page including your name, school, and contact information to the Creative Writing Panel below:
Sherry Perkins at sperkins@beau.k12.la.us or Tommie Townsley at t2townsley@yahoo.com

To ensure your submission is received and not deleted as junk mail, please put in the subject line: Daffodil Tea Scholarship. No written feedback will be given and submissions will not be returned. There is no word count and previously published pieces are accepted. Authors retain all rights to his/her work.

Pieces must be received by Fri, March 8, 2013. Submissions accepted only via email and
must be typed. For more information please email the contacts above.

Only one winner will be chosen from all participants and will be notified on March 11, 2013. All scholarship winners will perform his/her piece at The Daffodil Tea.

Good luck to all.
We look forward to reading your work.
We hope you will participate in this inaugural event.

Sunday, March 3, 2013

New BWG Logo

On Saturday, March 2, 2013 BWG members voted on a logo to represent the group. There were eight entries including the updated logo used for the last ten years.

And the winning entry, designed by Bill Ney, is:




Here is what it may look like on the group letterhead, business cards, etc. in both color and black & White.