CREATIVE WRITING COMPETITION BY LIBRA BOOKS
2017/2018
Our foreign language bookshop, Libra Books, is organizing a creative writing competition for students in the academic year of 2017/2018. The aim of the competition is to unite creative writing and language learning by inviting students to complete a creative writing task each month, in either English or German. Those taking part in the competition will be required to complement unfinished stories in the chosen foreign language, using both their language skills and their creativity while doing so. The first few lines of each story will be published on the Libra Books website, www.nyelvkonyvbolt.hu/en, at the beginning of each month.
REQUIREMENTS
- Taking part in the contest is free of charge.
- This competition is for students learning English and/or German in Hungary.
- Both the entry procedure and different stages of the contest will be conducted electronically. Therefore, every entrant will need at least one working e-mail address.
- We accept entries from teams of one, two, or three students.
- This competition is organized in English and in German. In order to participate, students will need to have a steady knowledge of their chosen language (minimum level B1).
- By sending us their stories, entrants agree that Libra Books might publish excerpts of their writing and/or the full text they submitted on the website www.nyelvkonyvbolt.hu/en and/or on the Nyelvkönyvbolt Facebook page. Please note that in every such case, Libra Books will use the team’s pseudonym (see "Registration and conditions") and will not disclose the real names of the participants.
- Libra Books employees and their family members are not allowed to enter the contest.
COMPETITION PROCESS
Task and procedure
- During this contest Libra Books publishes the beginning of a story on its website, www.nyelvkonyvbolt.hu/en, at the beginning of each month. The task of the entrants is to continue the stories with as much creativity as they can muster. After Libra Books posts the current task, contestants will have one month to submit their completed stories. All messages regarding the competition, including confirmation e-mails and the completed stories written by the entrants, will be sent electronically (via e-mail).
- The competition will have six rounds, the sixth of which is the final. The five rounds preceding the final are open for every entrant who matches our requirements, but please note that the final round (round 6) will be restricted to the best contestants only. We expect approximately twenty groups to participate in the final round.
- Please note: teams only have the chance to make it to the final if they complete all the preceding five rounds. If a team misses a deadline or fails to complete a task it automatically loses its chance to participate in the final!
Registration and requirements
- To enter the contest every team must fill in an entry form, available here. After completing the form please send it to verseny@librabooks.hu. If you decide to fill in the form by hand, please send us the scanned version afterwards. We prefer application forms to be sent via e-mail.
- During the contest every team will work under a pseudonym, which is to be indicated on the entry form. We also ask contestants to provide the name of the school in which they are studying and a preferred e-mail address they wish to use during the event. Teams of two or three should provide only one working e-mail address.
- It is vital that you provide your team's chosen language (English or German) on the entry form. Although it is possible to enter the competition in both languages, we ask every student who wishes to compete in both English and German to make sure they have a steady knowledge of both languages (minimum level B1) before entering.
- One student is only allowed to compete in one team (a team of one, two, or three students). The only exception is when a student is competing in both languages. In this case, the student has to decide the type of team he or she wishes to join in each language.
- The preferred length of the stories is 400-800 words. Please submit your finished stories to verseny@librabooks.hu. Libra Books will send a confirmation e-mail upon receiving your story. If a few days pass without any kind of confirmation from us, please contact us at balla.kinga@librabooks.hu.
The final
- Qualifying for the final requires each team to finish and send us the previous five stories on time. Please make sure that every story you sent us was confirmed and evaluated (see "Evaluation")! If a team misses a deadline or fails to complete a task it automatically loses its chance to enter the final!
- We are expecting approximately twenty groups in the final round. Our evaluation will be based on the points given for each team's previous stories (see "Evaluation").
- In the final round, selected groups will get a last assignment with a tight deadline (a few hours) to complete it.
- The exact date of the final will be announced on www.nyelvkonyvbolt.hu/en at the beginning of 2018. The list of the best teams qualified for the final will be posted after the fifth round in February.
Expected Schedule
Round 1: September-October 2017
Round 2: November 2017
Round 3: December 2017
Round 4: January 2018
Round 5: February 2018
Round 6 (FINAL): March 2018
EVALUATION
Evaluation Guidelines
- We are expecting submissions in the chosen language (English/German) and with the suggested length (app. 400-800 words) before the current deadline.
- Submissions will be evaluated by a panel of experienced judges. The most significant basis of assessment will be the original and creative tone of the submitted stories regarding both plot and characters. Correct usage and a sophisticated command of the chosen language will play a secondary role in our evaluation process. However, we would like to ask entrants to avoid serious grammar and vocabulary mistakes!
- A detailed chart of the evaluation guidelines can be found here.
- Inappropriate wording, swear words, and plagiarism will not be tolerated and will result in immediate disqualification.
Process of evaluation
- The marking of submitted stories will be carried out by teachers of a linguistic and literary background, in line with our evaluation guidelines (see above).
- Marks will be posted after every round on the Libra Books website, www.nyelvkonyvbolt.hu/en, in a chart which lists teams by their chosen pseudonyms. The chart will also indicate every team's current position on a scale in relation to other entrants.
- Please note that after the end of a round we are unable to deal with complaints regarding evaluation. Unfortunately, we are unable to give entrants a personal, written evaluation of their stories.
Prizes
- Stories written in the final round will be checked and evaluated by a professional panel of judges. Results will be available on www.nyelvkonyvbolt.hu/en.
- Every month, members of the best team in each round will receive a copy of George M. Rooks’ Paragraph Power to reward their writing.
- After all six rounds have been completed, teams with the best overall performance during the competition will receive the following prizes:
1st place: Libra Books voucher (10.000 HUF)
2nd place: Libra Books voucher (5000 HUF)
3rd place: Libra Books voucher (3000 HUF)
- Prizes are offered for every member of the team separately, with each member entitled to the full value of the voucher.
- Vouchers can be redeemed until 31 December 2018 in the Libra Books bookshop (Budapest, 1085 Kölcsey utca 2). Vouchers cannot be exchanged for cash!
- You can collect your prize personally in our shop or can ask for home delivery.
If you have any questions regarding the contest please contact our Educational Consultant, Kinga Balla, at balla.kinga@librabooks.hu.
Wishing you a rewarding contest and a pleasant experience,
The Libra Books team