The Golden Quill Awards Writing Contest Begins

    SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA, April 10, 2015 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The Golden Quill Awards writing contest, sponsored by SLO Nightwriters and in conjunction with the Central Coast Writers Conference and Cuesta College, is now in its 26th year. This contest, out of California's Central Coast region, has grown over the years to include entrants from across the country and international entrants.

A New Year, a New Theme
The theme of this year's contest is Transformation. Each entry must depict this theme, as interpreted by the writer.

Changes to Award Amount and Categories
The hottest new trend in the writing community, Flash Fiction, is a new category this year. Writers are challenged to compose an entire short story in no more than 500 words. The remaining categories are Short Fiction, a story between 1,000 and 1,200 words; and Poetry, a poem up to 40 lines.

The awards have increased this year, commensurate with the superior quality of writing that is coming in and the increased amount of entries. For Short Fiction and Poetry, first place winners will receive $1,000.00. The second place award in these categories is $500.00 and the third place award is $100.00. For Flash Fiction, the first place winner will receive $500.00 for the 500 words. The second place award is $100.00 and the third place award is $50.00.

Judging
The Judging Panel boasts all new judges this year who come to the contest offering an impressive variety of credentials from award-winning authors, to editors and publishers, to professors, to writing and workshop teachers.

Judging is blind and based on criteria in five categories. For Short Fiction and Flash Fiction the judges will score entries based on use of theme, plot and story, use of language, emotional impact and the narrative voice and content. Poetry entries will be scored based on use of theme, emotional impact, message, form and flow, and use of language.

Deadline

Entries must be received by July 15, 2015.

Submission and Contest Rules

Please visit http://www.thegoldenquillawards.com for all submission guidelines and full contest rules. The contest can also be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Golden-Quill-Awards-2015/1561133127493211 and Twitter https://twitter.com/GldnQuillAwards

The Golden Quill Awards Writing Contest is sponsored by SLO Nightwriters, the premier writing organization on California's Central Coast. Visit http://slonightwriters.org/ for more information. The contest is run in conjunction with Cuesta College and the Central Coast Writers' Conference (CCWC). The Conference, highlighting The Power of Story, runs September 18-20, 2015 on the Cuesta College campus in San Luis Obispo, CA with off-site events offered this year in local Pismo Beach, CA. More information can be found at http://cuesta.edu/communityprograms/writers-conference/

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