NC State is kicking off spring with myriad different writing competitions that any undergraduate student is eligible to partake in, in addition to North Carolina residents. While the Poetry Writing Contest and the Creative, Performing and Visual Art Awards occurred earlier this academic year, there is still hope looking to showcase their writing skills. NC State’s English Club is hosting this year’s Spring Fiction Writing Contest, which will remain open through April 8.

The fiction writing competition is different from national writing contests due to its locality, resulting in a more concentrated array of submissions. The contest provides writers across skill levels with a low-stress way to have their stories read and evaluated. Dion Figueroa, a fourth-year studying middle grades education and current English club president, spoke on the vast benefits the writing contest is bringing both student and non-student creative writers.

“It’s nice to have some low-risk contests for people to submit something and feel good about themselves – and [they] get something out of it too,” Figueroa said. “If people have a story they should submit it, they really have nothing to lose.”

The contest’s first rounds are judged by the English Club’s president and vice president, and then  by NC State graduate students who ultimately select the winners.

The much-anticipated fiction contest’s judging is mainly focused on the work’s content rather than its grammatical value. After all, the contest’s aim is to encourage writers to not be afraid of making mistakes in their writing – because those mistakes may end up creating a fresh, creative writing style that one would not have otherwise found.

Each submission is limited to 4,500 words in order to prevent novel submission, but still promote a detailed narrative work. It’s important to note that the entries are not tied to a specific style of writing – writers can submit anything from haikus to lengthy science-fiction pieces.The contest’s overarching goal is for writers is simple: to write.

The Spring Fiction Contest encourages writers to consider all genres, in hope of obtaining a wide-variety of submissions. No idea should go unventured, as each and every work highlights the many colors of fiction writing.

Hannah LaCava, a third-year studying English and the vice president of the English Club, credited expression as one of the contest’s primary goals.

“We want to encourage people to follow their passion of creative writing, or encourage people usually don’t write to write some more out of practice […] or in case they want to try something new, but mainly [we want to] to encourage people to step out of their comfort zone or expand on the skills that they already have,” LaCava said.

The event not only offers creative writing students an outlet to submit their work to, but also the opportunity to win various cash prizes. This year’s first-place winner will receive a $50 Visa gift card, with the second-place winner receiving a $25 Visa gift card and the third-place winner receiving a $10 gift card to the location of their choice.

The English Club hopes to bring both seasoned and aspiring creative writers into the writing contest scene, and hope to watch them grow in the process. After submitting to local contests like this one, the club hopes students will be more inclined to submit their work to additional outlets – which would benefit individual students as well as NC State’s English department at large.

While most students submitting to the contest are likely in CHASS, all undergraduate students are welcome to apply. The only requirement is a passion for writing.

Writers can submit their work to this year’s Spring Fiction Contest now until April 8 via email to: [email protected].

Contest winners will be announced April 18 in the English Club meeting room. For more details regarding the Spring Fiction Writing Contest, email Dion Figueroa at [email protected].