Second annual writing contest under way; scholarships available

Grace Writers of Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oak Ridge is featuring its second annual writing contest in memory of two members: Carol Oen and Cleva Marrow, both Oak Ridge writers.

Carol Oen wrote poetry, freelance articles for magazines, and a senior romance novel, “Songs That Remember,” about Alzheimer’s and caregivers. She taught memoir writing for the Oak Ridge Institute of Continued Learning. Cleva Marrow freelanced for The Oak Ridger and The Knoxville News Sentinel.

The contest will consist of three awards:

• The Carol Oen Memorial Fiction Prize will be awarded to an unpublished short story, novel excerpt, or children’s fiction story. Entries are limited to 2,000 words or less.
• The Cleva Marrow Memorial Non-Fiction Prize will be awarded to an unpublished column, article, essay, or blog post. Entries are limited to 1,000 words or less.
• The Grace Writers Excellence in Poetry Prize will be awarded to one unpublished poem of any form, with a limit of two pages.

Entrants will receive a plaque and $125 for first place, $50 for second, and $25 for third. Honorable Mention certificates will be awarded at the judges’ discretion. Anyone may enter as many times as they want for the cost of $5 per entry. Past winning entries of this contest may not be re-entered, even in a different category, and first-place winners must skip a year before entering the same category again, a press release said.
 
For more information and complete rules, visit writersofgrace.org.

You can email entries—the preferred method—to [email protected]. Local residents can deliver or mail entries to the Grace Lutheran Church office and/or mail entries/entry fees by check or money order to Grace Lutheran Church, 131 W. Gettysburg Ave., Oak Ridge, TN 37830. State in your email how much you are sending.

The deadline is midnight, February 29, 2020. (Entries accepted from January 1-February 29, 2020.)

“Also, for members of the local writing community, Grace Writers offers scholarships from the proceeds of its anthology, ‘In God’s Hand,'” the press release said. “Based on need and writing goals, this tuition can be used to attend some of the upcoming events in the area, such as Tennessee Mountain Writers’ April conference (check it out at tmwi.org). You can find a scholarship application at writersofgrace.org.”

This press release was submitted by a subscriber or advertiser to Oak Ridge Today.