This is our 7th Annual Art and Writing Contest.
This contest is free: a membership benefit for those
SCBWI members on the SCBWI Carolinas roster.
Submissions are accepted starting
Monday February 1, 2016 through Monday February 29, 2016.
At scbwicarolinascontest@gmail.com
Please read the contest ART or the WRITING rules carefully.
For a complete contest information visit our event page.
This is YOUR opportunity to have your work seen by an art director or an editor at a major publishing house. Each judge will complete a checklist for each submission received.
Our checklist has been designed to provide you with a professional assessment of your work. This is NOT a critique. This is similar to the First Pages/First Impressions session at our annual conference–a way to see your work as an editor or art director might when it crosses onto their desk.
THE CHECKLIST
In the writing contest, using a numbering system from 1-10, the judge looks for:
- marketability and ability to hook the reader.
- strength of the narrative, the voice, sense of place and engaging characters.
- additionally, the judge may check where the submission needs to tightened or expanded.
- the picture books checklist covers possibilities for strong illustrations, visual scene changes, meter and rhyme.
In the art contest, using the same 1-10 system, the judge looks for:
- storyline and strong apparent interaction,
- consistent handling of style,
- technical competence
- and appropriate for the picture book market.
Submissions will be accepted through February 29, 2016 and must be timestamped before 12:00 midnight.
The contest ends June, 2016 when we receive the results from the judges and announce the winners. You must be a member in good standing through July 1, 2016 in order to qualify for the contest.
Membership Renewal We provide an explanation of our membership renewal requirement on our website. Please note: membership renewal via USPS can take up to four weeks to be recorded in the main office and on our roster.
These are two separate contests. The Art Contest and the Writing Contest.
- A member may submit once to each contest.
- Within the writing contest a member MAY submit in ONE category only–novel, picture book and nonfiction
- Both the Art and the Writing Contest are now digital only.
We announce our Art and Writing Contest Winners in July of each year after sending personal letters to each of the winners in each category.
First place winners in each category are awarded free tuition to the Carolinas Annual Fall Conference. This year, THE POWER OF STORY, will be held September 30-October 2, in Charlotte North Carolina at the Crowne Plaza Hotel on Westpark Drive.
First, second and third place winners are recognized on the Carolinas website and are presented with certificates at the fall conference, where there is also a contest portfolio of the collected art entries on display.
These contests involve a great deal of administrative work and it is handled by volunteers willing to put in the time and energy to maintain the value of the contest. When writing with issues or concerns, please keep this in mind.