Best Chicagoland writing contest call for submissions

May 15, 9:53 PMChicago Literary Scene ExaminerRobert Duffer

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Get you some of that

You have two weeks left to win one of the largest literary cash prizes in Chicagoland. The Union League Civic and Arts Foundation's annual creative writing contest closes on June 1, 2009, and will be paying out $9,400 in three categories. And there is NO ENTRY FEE!

The catch is you have to be 30 years old or under, and residing within 100 miles of the Chicago Loop, where the old-time philanthropic League is located. Though the age restriction blows for us old fogies, it and the regional requirements limit the competition. In previous years, the call for submissions  seemed limited to students enrolled in high school or college. This year, it's clear according to the language in the PDF that entrants DO NOT have to be students:

"Entrants must be legal residents of Illinois living within a one hundred-mile radius of the Chicago Loop or students registered in an Illinois school within a one hundred-mile radius of the Chicago Loop."

On the homepage linked above, scroll down to "View/Download Creative Writing Competition" to get a PDF of the easy application and the guidelines. The categories are:

"High School Division, POETRY – Class of 2009 or younger: First Place - $500, Second Place
- $300, Third Place - $200

College Division, SHORT STORY, CREATIVE NONFICTION OR NOVEL EXCERPT, Ages 18-
24 as of June 1, 2009: First Place - $2,000, Second Place - $1,000, Third Place- $300 
 
Young Adult Division, SHORT STORY, CREATIVE NONFICTION OR NOVEL EXCERPT,
Ages 25-30 as of June 1, 2009: First Place - $3,000, Second Place - $1,500, Third Place- $600"

Only the Chicago Tribune's Nelson Algren Award offers a higher pot with no entry fee, and those entrants are not restricted, and therefore extremely competitive. Send five copies of your manuscript (<6,000 words), a CD or flash drive in WORD, and the application form to:

Executive Director, Union League Civic & Arts Foundation, 65 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, IL 60604-3598.

$3,000 and it costs you nothing but time and paper. C'mon man, get it out there.