The Pierce County Library System invites teenagers throughout the county to show off their creative talents in Our Own Expressions Teen Writing & Art Contest. The 18th annual contest runs now through Feb. 23.
Teenagers in seventh – 12th grade and live in or attend school in Pierce County may enter the contest, individually or as a team, in one or all four categories: poetry, short story, photography and drawing. Participation in the contest is free.
Entry forms are available at any Pierce County Library or online, search site: OOE.
Judges will review writing entries on the basis of originality, style, general presentation, grammar, spelling and evidence of skill appropriate for the writer’s age. They will review art entries on the basis of composition, evidence of skill commensurate with the age of the artist, creativity and effective use of media.
The library system will publish all the winning contest entries and distribute them throughout Pierce County libraries and to the winning students’ schools. Pierce County Library Foundation will award cash prizes in three age groups: seventh/eighth grades, ninth/10th grades, and 11th/12th grades and within the four categories.
Contest winners will have their work featured in an awards ceremony at Pacific Lutheran University on May 28.
In the 2013 contest, students submitted nearly 1,000 poems, short stories, drawings and photographs.
The News Tribune, Pacific Lutheran University and Print NW help fund the contest.
