[Nfbnet-members-list] 2023 Writers' Division Writing Contest Guidelines

[Shelly Alongi]

2023 WRITING CONTEST GUIDELINES you are invited 
to enter the 2023 nfb Writers Division contest. See guidelines below :-)
The annual youth and adult writing contests 
sponsored by the NFB Writers' Division will open 
January 1st, 2023 and close April 30th 2023. This 
contest is open to all aspiring writers whether blind or sighted.
• Adult contest categories are:
• short Fiction
• nonfiction, including personal essay and memoir
• and
• poetry.
Youth contest categories are short fiction and poetry.
The youth contest is divided into three groups, determined by grade level;
• elementary, 1st through 4th grade,
• middle, 5th through 8th grade, and
• high school 9th through 12th grade.
In both adult and youth contests, there may be up 
to three prize winners (1st, 2nd, 3rd), In 
addition, one or more entries may receive 
honorable mention. Prize winning entries may be 
published within the Writers’ Division’s magazine, Slate & Style.
All contest winners will be announced during the 
2023 national convention in Houston, Texas at the 
annual Writers' Division business meeting.

PRIZES
Youth contest winners will receive cash prizes equal to
• $30 for 1st place,
• $20 for 2nd place, and
• $10 for 3rd place.
Adult contest winners will receive cash prizes equal to
• $75 for 1st place,
• $50 for 2nd place, and
• $25 for 3rd place.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
YOUTH CONTESTS
If you are 18 years old, or older, you must enter the adult contest.
This is a contest for students who use Braille. 
Entries must be submitted in hand embossed 
Braille, either with a slate and stylus or 
Perkins Braille writer; there are no exceptions. 
Submissions must be Brailled by the entrant. All 
submissions, no matter the grade level, must be 
in contracted Braille. Let us know if you 
“know” or are “learning” contracted 
Braille. Additionally, let us know if you have 
chosen to use UEB, or not. Send your hardcopy Braille and cover letter to:
• Chelsea Cook
• 901 Englewood Parkway, Apt. J304,
• Englewood, CO 80110
Each entrant must provide an identical electronic 
copy of the cover letter and contest entry as a 
Microsoft Word file [doc or docx] or as a Rich 
Text Format [rtf] file). Construct each contest 
entry as a separate electronic file. Construct 
your cover letter as a separate electronic file. 
Attach each separate electronic file to one (1) 
email and send it to Shelley Alongi, Queenofbells at outlook.com.
Include your name and title entries in the cover 
letter only. Each contest entry must contain the 
title and text only. Example: if you are entering 
three poems and one story into the contest, 
attach five files to your email. No entries will 
be considered unless submitted in the formats 
listed above. Electronic files submitted in any 
other format will be immediately disqualified, no questions asked.

COVER LETTER—Your cover letter must contain the following information:
• Your name
• mailing address
• phone number,
• e-mail address.
• List the titles of all submissions, including 
the category in whicch they are being entered, school and grade level.
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
We will consider only unpublished original 
entries. Please do not submit entries that have 
been previously submitted on a web site or blog.
Youth short fiction stories submissions cannot be more than 1,000 words
poetry of no more than 50 lines.
Authors of either poetry or fiction are encouraged to submit multiple pieces.
Youth ENTRY FEES ­ None
Are you the best Brailler in the contest? Be sure 
to double check your work for spelling and 
grammatical errors. Remember to use Braille paper 
so the Braille is easy to read. Good luck!

ADULT CONTEST
This contest is for everyone 18 years old, or 
older. One need not be blind to enter.
We will consider only unpublished original 
entries. Please do not submit entries that have 
been published on a website or blog.
Fiction and nonfiction categories can be of any 
main stream genre, and cannot exceed 3,000 words.
Poetry: We will accept poetry of any length

Adults are required to submit all poetry, fiction 
and nonfiction as attachments to an E-mail 
message. Each entrant must provide an identical 
electronic copy of the cover letter and contest 
entry as a Microsoft Word file [doc or docx] or 
as a Rich Text Format [rtf] file). Construct each 
contest entry as a separate electronic file. 
Construct your cover letter as a separate 
electronic file. Attach each separate electronic 
file to one (1) email and send it to Shelley 
Alongi, Queenofbells at outlook.com. Note: Only 
include the title and text of each entry in each 
contest entry. Example: if you are entering three 
poems and one story into the contest you must 
attach five electronic files to your email. No 
entries will be considered unless submitted in 
the formats listed above. Electronic copies 
submitted in any other format will be immediately 
disqualified, no questions asked.

Each separate attachment must be in either 
Microsoft Word (doc or docx) or a Rich Text Format (rtf).
Authors are encouraged to submit multiple pieces.
Fiction and nonfiction should be written in a 
normal prose style, with paragraphs being left 
justified, lines being single spaced, and having 
a 14 point font of Aerial, regular. Be sure to 
double check your work for spelling and 
grammatical errors No hard copy submissions will be accepted.

COVER LETTER

Along with your entry or entries, include a cover 
letter providing the following information:
Your name,
mailing address,
phone number,
e-mail address.
List the titles of all submissions, including the 
category in which they are being entered.
method of payment for the entry fee (check or PayPal).

CONTEST ENTRY FEES PAYMENT AND !!METHODS
Adult Fees:
The fee for each short story is $15.00 for members and $20.00 for non-members.
The fee for each nonfiction entry is $15.00 for 
members and $20.00 for non-members.
A member is considered to be one whose dues to 
the NFB Writers' Division are current for the 
contest year. A nonmember is one who is not 
currently a paid member of the NFB Writers' 
Division at the time of entry into the contest.
*The base fee for poetry will cover up to three 
poems, if the combined line-count of all three 
poems does not exceed 108 lines - additional 
poems require a second fee, following the same 
fee payment scheme. Base fees are $15.00 for 
members and $20.00 for non-members.
PAYMENT
You may use PayPal from the Writers’ Division website, http://writers.nfb.org
Alternatively, you may mail a check made out to 
NFB Writers’ Division, with a note in the memo 
line relating to the contest. Send to:
Shawn Jacobson
19541 Olney Mill Rd.
Olney, MD 20832.
Good luck to all!


Shelley, Queen of Bells Out!
President, NFB Writers' Division
Editor Slate and Style
See my self published books at Apple Books, Amazon and Barns and Noble
qobells at icloud.com