High Hope for the Freelance Writer                                                                     

      C. Hope Clark, Editor

 

 

 

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6th Annual FundsforWriters Essay Contest

Theme for 2007: Make Us Want to Be You!

The contest is closed and the winners announced! Read the winning entries and come back next year to enter when we'll have a new theme and probably more prize money. ]

The winners of the 2007 competition are:

ENTRY FEE Category

  1. First Place - $200 - Rachel Gurevich - "A Passionate, Risk-Taking Year"
  2. Second Place - $20 - Michelle Miller Allen - "A Fork in One Hand, a Pen in the Other"
  3. Third Place - $10 - Lindy Schneider - "One Year with NO BOOTS!"

NO ENTRY FEE Category

  1. First Place - $50 - Chris Mac - "Old Friends"
  2. Second Place - $20 - Lee Hanekom - "Terrs No More"
  3. Third Place - $10 - Eva M. Lemeh - "A Fabulous Year"

We had entries and winners from all over the globe. We had a record breaking 207 entries. We had our first contest sponsor. This was a fantastic year for the FundsforWriters Essay Contest. If you have any suggestions on how we can make next year's even more phenomenal, please contact Hope. For more reading pleasure, feel free to peek at the 2006 and 2005 winners below.

 

FundsforWriters changes its theme each year. You have two topics to choose from in 2007, but they have one thing in common. Your assignment, if you choose to accept it, is to write in such an admiring way as to entice the rest of us to follow your lead. Impress us. MAKE US WANT TO BE YOU!

We offer the same two categories - the FEE category and the NO FEE category. Many writers do not believe in paying while others have no contrary opinion about an entry fee. Here we offer both so everyone has a choice. This way no one has an excuse not to submit. If you cannot submit to this contest, you just don't like to write essays - period. We put you on no mailing list and you do not have to be a member of FundsforWriters to enter.

Remember...this is an essay, a nonfiction entry. No fiction, no poetry, no writing about someone else. We want this to be all about YOU. Entries are welcome from any race, religion, gender or other diverse group.

NABBW - Co-sponsor of the FFW Annual Essay Contest

Theme Topics:

1. Promotional Plan. Come up with a promotional plan for your writing. Whether you are a copywriter or a romance novelist, a poet or a fantasy author, describe how you would promote your talent over a one-year period. Maybe you have a book coming out, or you've decided to grow your copywriting or editing business, or you manage a newsletter and want to expand your platform. What is your plan...and why? Remember, amaze us with your innovation, your drive, your creativity or your ambition. Make us want to be you!

2. One-Year to Write. You have a chance to write full-time. Someone's given you a grant to pay your bills, and your boss has decided to allow you a one-year sabbatical so you can capture that flighty muse and finally put her to work. What will you do with the gift of time? You now have your dream, so how will you use it efficiently and effectively? Make us want to be you!

Prizes:

ENTRY FEE Category

  1. First Place - $200
  2. Second Place - $20
  3. Third Place - $10

NO ENTRY FEE Category

  1. First Place - $50
  2. Second Place - $20
  3. Third Place - $10

What to Put In/On Your Submission:

  1. The essay.
  2. The word count.
  3. The selected theme.
  4. Your name.
  5. Your email address.
  6. Note Entry Fee or No Entry Fee category.

Guidelines:

  • Not to exceed 750 words.
  • Essay/nonfiction only.
  • Receipt deadline Midnight, October 31, 2007.
  • Email to hope@fundsforwriters.com. (No more fax and snail mail submissions.)
  • No attachments to emails. Embed in the email itself. (Viruses are nasty creatures.)
  • Entry fee $5 or ZERO dollars. Payable via PayPal or check. Put name and essay title with check via mail.
  • Note ENTRY FEE or NO ENTRY FEE on your submission. 
  • Same piece cannot be submitted in both ENTRY FEE and NO ENTRY FEE categories.
  • Must be original and unpublished.
  • Must be in English but entries accepted internationally.
  • No limit to the number of submissions.
  • All writers must be 18 or older.
  • Do not bother with SASE for winners lists. Winners posted on website and in newsletters.
  • Single or double-spaced accepted.
  • Winners and public notified by December 1, 2007.
  • Winners published in FundsforWriters newsletters and/or website.
  • Other submissions considered for publication, but will be paid the standard rate of $35 if selected.
  • Panel of editors and published writers to make final determination.

I wish to enter the $5 entry fee category. I will include my PayPal email address on my essay submission to ensure proper identification.

Direct any additional questions to Hope Clark at hope@fundsforwriters.com . Snail mail address: 140-A Amicks Ferry Road, Chapin, SC 29036

2006 WINNERS - Choice of four themes on mentoring and grants

  • 1st ENTRY FEE - The Successful Author, Revised - By Diane Lau  -Read more...
  • 2nd ENTRY FEE - I Googled Myself - By Katherine Hauswirth -Read more...
  • 3rd ENTRY FEE - My Virtual Grant - By Joan Foley Baier -Read more...
  • 1st NO ENTRY FEE - All You Need Is... - By Margaret Skipworth - Read more...
  • 2nd NO ENTRY FEE - My Own Definition - By Amber Herrick - Read more...
  • 3rd NO ENTRY FEE - The Reluctant Reader - By Nateisha Taylor Read more...

2005 WINNERS - Theme: They Actually Paid Me To Write

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Shy Writer: An Introvert's Guide to Writing Success - trade paperback and ebook - ISBN 1-59113-583-4

Time to order your 2008 Bylines Calendar - only $13.95

Hope's Blog!

Not too long with a paying opportunity and a tiny smidge of news and opinion. One of the most concise and informative blogs for writers on the web. Voted one of Maria Schneider's 20/20 Blogs in 2007! READ THE BLOG

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Copyright 2000-2008, C. Hope Clark and FundsforWriters - FFW does not warranty the information on this site. Contests, grants, markets, awards, fellowships, and other job opportunities cannot be guaranteed by FFW. Please use at your own risk just as you would any information in your writing career - with educated caution. We do not collect information for distribution. Email addresses are not shared with other sources. Direct any questions to Hope@fundsforwriters.com - or by snail mail to 140-A Amicks Ferry Road #4, Chapin, SC 29036