Tennessee Williams Literary Festival Seeks Out New Talent, Deadline 11/15

Since the Festival began 25 years ago, we have made it a priority to recognize and encourage up-and-coming writers and dramatists.

At the Festival, nearly 200 high school student writers participate in WriteNow, workshops led by literary professionals like international bestselling author Arthur Phillips and television writer and producer David Simon.

Through our yearly writing contests, the Festival staff leads a world-wide "star search" and spends months with the exciting (and enormous!) task of cataloging the hundreds of submissions that pour in from around the globe.

Our Poetry and Fiction Contests are judged by acclaimed writers, encouraging not only the winning writer, but also the top ten finalists, who receive complimentary panel passes to attend. Past judges include Pulitzer winner Richard Ford (2009) and Jill McCorkle (2010). Contest winners get to meet and interact with other top writing professionals over the course of the Festival weekend as well, providing networking connections and inspiration.

I have stayed in touch with Jill [McCorkle] and my writing community has grown, which is always a positive thing... There's something incredibly validating about participating in an event like the TWNOLF, and sharing my work in such a welcoming environment... served as an excellent motivating tool.
--Kristen-Paige Madonia, 2010 Fiction Contest winner
The win at Tennessee Williams was a boon to my self-confidence. I still have moments of total hack-ery, but while I was there I was talking to [Pulitzer and Tony-winning playwright] John Patrick Shanley, and he said he did too, so I'll take them with as much grace as I can.
--Josh Billig, 2010 One-Act Play Contest winner

The Festival experience opens doors, allows the winners' works to be seen by a broader audience, and helps support their professional development.

[Seeing my play produced for the Festival] was invaluable, because it allowed me to see how audiences respond to the play, and it showed me that the play works.
--Cary Pepper, 2006 One-Act winner

It has given me the confidence to be able to take the risk and put my work out there for others to see. The Tennessee Williams Festival has been seen as a badge of credibility, not just by me for myself, but by others as well.
--BT Ryback, 2007 One-Act winner

People on the literary side of the industry are more willing to come to see my work, spend a couple of hours watching an unknown, than they would have sans the win.
--Billig
We are now accepting contest submissions in Poetry, One-Act Plays, and Short Fiction to discover our silver anniversary winners.

The First Annual Poetry Contest:

Hurry! Our Poetry Contest deadline is fast approaching.

Judge: Louisiana Poet Laureate Darrell Bourque

Grand Prize:

$1,000 cash
A public reading at the 25th anniversary Festival: March 23-27, 2011
A VIP All-Access Pass to attend the 2011 Festival ($500 value)
Publication in Louisiana Cultural Vistas
A single poetry contest entry should include 2-4 original, unpublished poems of any style or theme with a maximum consecutive length of 400 lines.

Deadline:
August 15, 2010.

The One-Act Play Contest:

Since the Festival's start way back in 1987, we've been honoring playwrights with this annual award. Past winners include David Lindsay-Abaire who won the Pulitzer for Drama in 2007.

Creative writing and theater graduate students from the University of New Orleans get a chance to flex their creative muscles, helping to judge the contest and turning the winning script into a full production.

The winner receives:

$1,500
A staged reading at the 25th anniversary Festival: May 23-27, 2011
A full production of the winning script at the 2012 Festival
VIP All Access Pass for both 2011 and 2012 ($1,000 value)
Publication in Bayou literary magazine
We are looking for never produced one-act plays with a small cast that run no more than one hour in length.

Deadline:
November 1, 2010

The Fiction Writing Contest:

Judge: Pulitzer Prize-winning fiction author Robert Olen Butler (A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain)

Grand Prize:

$1,500
Domestic airfare (up to $500) and French Quarter accommodations to attend the 2011 Festival in New Orleans
VIP All-Access Festival Pass ($500 value)
Public reading at the 2011 Festival (25th anniversary: March 23-27)
Publication in Bayou
Accepting unpublished short stories, up to 7,000 words, by writers who have never published a book of fiction.

Deadline:
November 15, 2010

TO ENTER:

We accept submissions to all of our writing contests both by mail and online. Full guidelines and submission information: www.tennesseewilliams.net/contests

To post a comment, you must register and login.