So many voices tell us who we are. . . Only one tells the truth.
Author Jonathan Friesen presents the
2008 Reclaim the Name Writing Contest
For Teens & Young Adults
Inspired by the novel Jerk, California
Wanted: Your original stories. Write a short story about a character who discovers, through a personal journey, who he/she truly is.
Eligibility: The contest is open to young writers of all genres. Entrants will compete in one of two age categories.
- Category A - Ages fifteen and younger
- Category B - Ages sixteen to twenty
Prizes - Category A (Age 15 and Under):
First Prize:
- $1,000 Cash
- 4 months of personal writing coaching from author Jonathan Friesen or a video book trailer made for your story
- Your story will be published on this web site
- You'll have the opportunity to record your story at a professional recording studio and will receive the audio file for promotion on MySpace or anywhere else you choose
Second Prize: $200 Cash Award
Third Prize: $100 Cash Award
Prizes - Category B (Age 16-20):
First Prize:
- $1,000 Cash
- 4 months of personal writing coaching from author Jonathan Friesen or a video book trailer made for your story
- Your story will be published on this web site
- Your story will be read and critiqued by a talented literary agent from the Knight Literary agency
- You'll have the opportunity to record your story at a professional recording studio and will receive the audio file for promotion on MySpace or anywhere else you choose
Second Prize: $200 Cash Award
Third Prize: $100 Cash Award
We're adding more prizes all the time, so check back often!
Submission Guidelines: Stories must be original, unpublished, unsold and no more than 3,000 words in length.
- E-mail submissions: Paste your entry in the contest entry form below. Select your age category. Be sure to fill out all the entry fields!
- Snail mail submissions: must be typed, double spaced, and in size 12 font; use one-inch margins. Please number each page and include a separate cover page that includes name, title and e-mail address, along with the age category in which you are competing (A or B). Manuscripts will not be returned.
All entrants will receive an e-mailed winners list in late November. Should your e-mail change between the date of your submission and October 31, please sign up for Jonathan's newsletter using your new address, as winners will be announced there as well.
Submission to the contest implies consent for publication, but all rights revert immediately to the author upon publication. Contest coordinators will screen the entries, and the best submissions will go on to our three-member judging panel. Decisions of the judges and coordinators in all these matters are final. One entry per person. There is no entry fee.
A close reading of Jerk, California, though not required, may be helpful to you in preparing a competing entry. Pre-order the book on Amazon.com.
Deadline: Entries must be electronically received or postmarked by October 31, 2008.
Judges: Jonathan Friesen, young adult author of Jerk, California; Lauraine Snelling, bestselling author of over sixty books, including The Red River Series, Daughters of Blessing, and Breaking Free; Twila Belk, author, speaker, director of the Quad-Cities Writers' Conference.
Electronically submit using this form:
Send snail mail submissions to the following address:
JerkCA Short Story Contest
PO Box 59
Mora, MN 55051
