Announcing: A Call to Pens 2011!

{Photo Credit: sxc.hu}

Pick up your pens, grab your laptops, sharpen your number two pencils and start your coffee grinders.
I'm very excited to announce the fourth annual Patrick Henry College "A Call to Pens" short story competition!

I hope this year's themes will inspire you to strive for literary excellence. The themes are:

The First Division

Theme: An Unexpected Adventure

Age group: 12-15

Word limit: 1,500

The Second Division

Theme: Redemption

Age group: 16-18

Word limit: 2,500

Contest deadline is February 1, 2012.

For more information, contest entry rules, entry forms, etc., please visit the PHC Call to Pens page.

About the blog: Like last year, this blog will continue to be a repository of information on the Christian writer's calling, literary excellence, good books on writing, and tips from the pros (PHC professors and some of our most exceptional student writers). I hope this blog will generate some discussion as we encourage each other in our writing endeavors.

A little about me: My name is Alicia Constant. I'm a junior Classical Liberal Arts Journalism major at Patrick Henry College, and I will be coordinating the contest this year. When I served as a judge last year, I enjoyed reading your works of fiction so much that I decided to get more involved this year.
I'm a journalist at heart-- which means that I mostly deal in non-fiction these days-- but I'm also a poet, a voracious reader, a puttering librarian, and a some-time scribbler. I believe that good stories, whether fiction or non-fiction, communicate truth by challenging and delighting the soul.

I hope this blog is not only your chance to hear from me but also to learn from the colleagues and mentors that have taught me many things about the literary craft. Please leave comments with your suggestions for topics you'd like to see on the blog.

Also, you can contact me at shortstory@phc.edu with any questions about the blog or the competition.


In Christ,

Alicia Constant
2011 Call to Pens Contest Coordinator

just a quick update

Just in case you have not noticed, the guidelines page has finally been updated. You can access the online submissions form there or here.

Also, I missed last Tuesday's post in the flurry of leaving school for Christmas break, but I shall post the article this coming Tuesday, tomorrow. It was written by one of my very own literature professors, Dr. Bonnie Libby, and I think you will really enjoy it and get a lot "out of" it. She is a wonderful professor, just so you know. :)

Merry Christmas to you all!

update: submitting your entry

Just a brief update from the web page, where you can access the entry form. 

Because of certain difficulties, we will not be able to post a link to the online payment option until next week. To submit your manuscript now, please fill out the entry form (you can type in the PDF) and send it to us with a check for the appropriate fee and a stapled hard copy of your manuscript. You can also email your manuscript to shortstory@phc.edu as a MS Word document. (Please be aware that if you choose to email it, it will be set aside until your entry form and fee are received in the mail.)

Submit all fees, entry forms, and printed manuscripts to the following address:

ATTN: PHC Short Story Competition
Patrick Henry College
10 Patrick Henry Circle
Purcellville, VA, 20132

Manuscripts will not be returned, so don’t submit your only copy.