creative writing contest tulsa library

Tulsa City-County Library holds Young People's Creative Writing Contest

by Jennifer Maupin, KTUL staff

TULSA, Okla. (KTUL) — Kids aged 10-18 have the chance to enter the Tulsa City-County Library 's Young People's Creative Writing Contest in February.

Young people can choose between writing a short story, informal essay, poetry, short play, or comix for the competition.

Submission will be accepted for the entire month of February.

The three age divisions are 10-12, 13-15, and 16-18.

In each category and age group, a first, second and third place winner will be selected. First place will earn $100, second $50 and $25 for third.

Participants can only give one submission per category but are welcome to enter as many categories as they wish.

The library will hold an awards ceremony on May 5 at 6 p.m.

To learn more about the rules and how to enter, click here .

Nearby Communities

• Across Oklahoma
• Oklahoma City, OK
• Bentonville, AR
• Fort Smith, AR
• Across Kansas
• Wichita, KS
• Springfield, MO
• McKinney-Frisco, TX
• Overland Park, KS

State Edition

National edition.

• Top National News
• See All Communities

This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Neighbor News

Adult creative writing contest, adult creative writing contest sponsored by friends of the tulsa city-county libraries.

Dorothy Caldwell Minor , Neighbor

Celebrating its forty-first year, the Adult Creative Writing Contest sponsored by the Friends of the Tulsa City-County Libraries begins February 1 and ends March 31, 2018. Information about the contest including entry forms will be available on the Tulsa City-County Library Web site, available at all branch libraries, and offered in other locations.

The contest is open to any person 18 years old or older who resides, works, or attends school in Tulsa County, has a non-resident Tulsa City-County library card, and is not a member of the creative writing contest committee or judge of the contest. The manuscripts must be previously unpublished and the writer must not have received remuneration for the work submitted. The contest includes five categories: short story, children’s fiction, graphic novel, informal essay, and poetry. Descriptions of each category are in the contest brochure.

The Adult Creative Writing Contest committee includes Sloan Davis, Morgan Holmes, Sherry Leslie, Dorothy Minor, Mary Olzawski, Diane Pennington, and Travis Splawn. Judges for the contest are chosen for their expertise in the genre. The judging is completely anonymous; the cover page with the entry information is removed before the judges receive the manuscripts, thereby ensuring anonymity.

Find out what's happening in Tulsa with free, real-time updates from Patch.

This year, the contest entry fees have changed.

1 entry: $10.00

2 entries: $18.00

3 entries: $24.00

4 entries: $30.00

5 entries: $36.00

A cash prize of $100 is awarded each first-place winner. Second-place winners will receive $50. Certificates are awarded to all first and second place winners and those receiving honorable mention.

All entrants are invited to attend the awards ceremony along with their families, friends and everyone else interested in creative writing. The ceremony is Saturday, May 12 at 2:30 in Aaronson Auditorium, Central Library, 400 Civic Center. At the awards ceremony, first-place winners will read a five-minute selection from their winning work. Photos will be taken of the winners and posted on the Tulsa City-County Libraries Web site.

Julia Thomas, author of The English Boys and Penhale Wood, will speak at the awards ceremony about her entry into writing and publishing a novel. She wrote and submitted three novels to publishers before her success in publishing The English Boys. After hearing Dennis Lehane tell participants at the OSU-Tulsa Celebration of books that he had written “five of the worst novels in the English language and each one was too specialized regarding characterization, plot and dialogue,” Thomas thought, “I’m only one or two rejected novels away from making it.”

What sparks an idea for a writer? Many things can trigger a story in a writer’s mind. For Julia Thomas, a Google search of one of her favorite actors produced a photograph of the actor at a wedding standing next to the bride and groom. In her writer’s mind, Thomas saw a story in that photograph and she wanted to be the one to write it. Thus, her first published novel, The English Boys, was born.

For more information on the Adult Creative Writing Contest, see the Tulsa City-County Libraries Web site, www.TulsaLibrary.org/Friends , call 918.549.7419, or email [email protected] .

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch? Register for a user account.

More from Tulsa

2024 pumpkin patches in the tulsa area.

5 Places In Tulsa To Have A Special Back-To-School Dinner

• Utilities and E-Services
• Arts & Recreation
• Public Safety
• Transportation
• Path to Home
• Business Licensing
• Development Services
• Economic Development
• Engineering Services
• Selling to the City
• Special Events Office
• Tulsa Planning Office
• Small Business Enterprise Program
• Departments
• Mayor of Tulsa
• City Council
• City Auditor
• Authorities, Boards and Commissions
• Meeting Agendas
• City Charter, Ordinances, and Executive Orders
• Capital Programs
• Contact the City
• Careers at the City
• Map Gallery
• Open Tulsa Data Portal
• Nominate and Recognize
• Public Records
• Social Media
• TGOV Online
• Live Traffic Map
• I Want to...
• Tulsa Traffic
• Contact Us - 311

Vision Arts 6 Applications Open October 1

The City of Tulsa will begin accepting applications for Vision Arts 6 grants starting Tuesday, October 1.

Vision Arts 6 is a collaboration between the City Design Studio, Tulsa City Council, the Mayor’s Office, and Tulsa Arts Commission to provide nominated 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(3)-sponsored organizations funding for programs that support art projects that stimulate economic development throughout Tulsa.

Applying organizations may request up to $50,000 with no private match requirement.

In 2016, voters approved Vision Tulsa, which included approved funding for a program that supports arts projects which stimulate economic development throughout Tulsa. Through Vision Tulsa, $2,250,000 was allocated to the Tulsa Arts Commission to provide annual arts support over a 15-year cycle, with a total amount of $150,000 awarded every year to eligible organizations.

Goals for the allocation of funds include:

• Promote visibility and awareness of arts in Tulsa
• Contribute to increased visitor and tourism activity
• Promote Tulsa’s arts and cultural assets as key components of the city’s identity
• Strengthen future development and economic growth throughout the city

Identified priorities include:

• Fund events, programs, and festivals that attract a broad audience of visitors and tourists.
• Build and diversify audiences from research and marketing strategies.
• Highlight destinations by encouraging cultural events and creative activity.
• Create engaging content for multimedia that tells Tulsa’s arts story to visitors and residents alike.
• Increase access to cultural attractions and events.
• Embrace a collaborative approach to enhance the local community through the arts.

Important Dates: Application Opens : Tuesday, October 1, 8 a.m.

Mandatory Virtual Informational Sessions (all sessions present the same information over Zoom):

• Session 1: Tuesday, October 15, 3 p.m.
• Session 2: Monday, October 28, 6 p.m.
• Session 3: Friday, November 15, 9 a.m.    
• Session 4: Saturday, December 14, 11 a.m.

Virtual Vision Arts 6 non-mandatory workshops:

• Grantwriting 101: Saturday, October 26, 10 a.m.
• Writing Clear Grant Narratives: Saturday, October 26, 11 a.m.
• Marketing for Arts & Culture: Saturday, November 16, 10 a.m.
• Budgeting for the Grant Process: Saturday, November 16, 11 a.m.

* Organizations should attend an information session prior to the grant writing workshop. If an organization elects not to attend a grant writing workshop, they must indicate in the appropriate place in the submittable application they were aware of the workshops but declined to attend. * Application Closes: December 22, 5 p.m.

Organizations have until June 30, 2025, to use funding for Eligible Expenses. The End-of-Cycle Report must be completed within 30 days after the stated program Closing Date.

The final invoice and supporting itemization of the costs incurred in completing the approved proposal must be submitted by July 31, 2025.

More information about Vision Arts be found online under the arts opportunities page at: www.cityoftulsa.org/arts

For questions, contact the City Design Studio, [email protected].