Fiction Fantastic menu:
What can I submit?
All genres of fiction are welcome: action, adventure, sci-fi, fantasy, historical fiction, horror, romance, growing up, on the road, on a mission, mystery, or speculative fiction. Whatever your story is, we want to read it!
Submit it to the Fiction Fantastic contest for a chance to be published in this year’s anthology!
Who can enter?
All students in grades K-12 in Lane County, Oregon, are eligible, whether you attend public, private, charter, or homeschool.
Why should I enter?
To tell your story and to win amazing prizes.
There are awards for the top three stories in upper elementary (grades 3-5), middle, and high school categories. Stories from students in K-2 are hand-selected for our lower elementary spotlight category. Winning stories will also be published in our annual Fiction Fantastic anthology.
How do I enter?
First, write a story! What you write is limited only by your imagination. You can take us to the moon or to the center of the Earth. We can travel with you to ancient times or a future yet to be. Above all, have fun!
Please make sure that your story meets the following guidelines:
- Submissions must be FICTION.
- The work must be the original work of the author(s). Sorry, we cannot accept fan fiction or submissions based on novels, movies, video games, or other media that are under copyright.
- Coauthors must be the same grade level (elementary, middle school, or high school). It’s okay if you go to different schools, but all co-authors must live in Lane County, Oregon.
- Submissions should be a minimum of 300 words and a maximum of 3000 words.
- Only stories submitted through the official submission form will be accepted.
- Stories in languages other than English should include an English translation by the author.
- You may only submit one story each year.
Formatting Guidelines
All submissions must be copied and pasted into the submission box. Due to formatting issues, we will no longer be accepting attachments. We recommend SINGLE SPACING your submission to retain the best formatting.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Can I enter with a friend? As long as you are in the same grade level category and both live in Lane County, yes! We love seeing the creative work coauthors do.
Can I submit an essay, nonfiction, or poetry? This contest is only for story fiction stories. If your story is fiction but is styled like nonfiction (such as a story told in diary entries or through letters), it qualifies for entry.
What if I need to edit my story, but I already entered it? Never fear! You can edit your submission after you enter it. Check the confirmation email for your submissions, which includes a link to make revisions.
Is swearing allowed? Yes, if it’s appropriate to the story/character and not egregious.
Judging criterion
The following gives a breakdown of what judges are looking at for each grade level.
Elementary (Grades 3-5) criteria
- Story is original, creative, and engages the reader.
- Story has a clear beginning, middle, and end.
- Story has clear conflict and resolution.
- Story uses age-appropriate sentence structure and vocabulary.
Middle (Grades 6-8) criteria
- Story is original, creative, and engages the reader.
- Story has a clear beginning, middle, and end.
- Story has clear conflict and resolution.
- Story uses age-appropriate sentence structure and vocabulary.
- Story has a balanced narrative arc.
- Story makes artful use of dialogue.
High (Grades 9-12) criteria
- Story is original, creative, and engages the reader.
- Story has a clear beginning, middle, and end.
- Story has clear conflict and resolution.
- Story uses age-appropriate sentence structure and vocabulary.
- Story has a balanced narrative arc.
- Story makes artful use of dialogue.
- Story successfully uses scene and summary.
- Story’s characters have dimension.
Got a question we didn’t answer here? Email us at bewriting@wordcrafters.org.