Calling all "Rising Stars"

If you are a "rising star" writer residing in Oregon, Washington, or Idaho, and between the ages of 15 and 25, Indigo has found the perfect writing competition, eager for your submissions. The Nature of Words, a premier literary organization in Central Oregon, is announcing the launch of its sixth annual literary contest with a call for submissions to the Rising Star Creative Writing Competition for young writers. Winners will be awarded at the festival, November 3-7, 2010, in Bend, Oregon, for fiction, literary nonfiction, nature essay, and poetry. All writers must fit into one of two age categories: 15-18 years of age or 19-25 years of age. Winners receive a cash prize, inclusion in an anthology, recognition at the November festival, and a scholarship to one of The Nature of Words workshops in their winning genre.

Poets may submit 2 unpublished poems; prose writers should submit one unpublished piece of no more than 3,000 words. "Unpublished" means the writing does not appear anywhere else, including Internet sources, with the exception of a blog. Entries should be accompanied by a separate cover sheet with the author's name, maling address, phone, email address, genre of the submission, and word count; this information should not be visible on the actual entry. Also, include a short bio that describes yourself and your experience and interest in writing.

Now, for actually submitting. Mail a $5 check (per entry) to The Nature of Words, P.O. Box 56, Bend, OR 97709, and note "Rising Star submission fee." Send all submissions electronically to
risingstar@thenatureofwords.org. All entries must be received no later than midnight, May 10, 2010, to be evaluated for the competition.

For more details and to double-check the submission guidelines, please visit www.thenatureofwords.org before submitting.