Dominican nationals and residents wishing to participate in the Nature Island Literacy Festival (NILF) Writing Competition have only until Wednesday July 16th to submit their entries.
Participants, who should be 16 and over, have been invited to submit entries in no more than two of the following categories.
Poetry: Submissions should include a portfolio of 3 poems; each poem should be no more than 1,000 words
Short Fiction: A short story of 3,000-5,000 words
Children or Young Adult Short Fiction: Entry should be between 1,500-3,500 words written for an audience of children or young adults
Short Screenplay: The entry should be a screenplay for a short film between 5 and 15 minutes in length
Photo storytelling: Photographers and writers should submit a 5-10 photo essay or narrative with appropriate caption.
The NILF is requesting that all submissions must present conflict, plot, characters or themes related to symbols of nature and marine life, use of natural resources or preserving the environment.
Submissions must be original, unpublished work including online or self-publishing platforms.
“They must be done in the appropriate formats (.doc, .docx .rtf, .jpg, .pdf, or .zip) and emailed to: [email protected] by Wednesday, July 15, 2015. Email subject line should read: NILF Writing Competition Submission,” the release stated. “The email should include full name, age and current contact information, including address and telephone number. Authors should not include any identifying information on actual submission documents attached to the email.”
The goals of the writing competition are to enhance the literary community in Dominica, to serve as a foundation for larger teaching and mentorship programs to nurture writers in their craft and with publishing options, and to increase the number of published writers and poets from the island. The hope is that the competition will generate new cohorts of writers and poets, who will later contribute to the development of Caribbean literature, and further place Dominica on the international literary map.
Nature Island Literary Festival and Book Fair began in 2008 and is a registered non-profit organization. Its purpose is not only to showcase recognized talent in Caribbean literature and culture, but also to encourage new talent and publicize the work of Dominica’s writers and poets. The festival also aims to promote reading, to increase interest in literature and to demonstrate that the literary arts and publishing are valid, rewarding and viable career choices for people of Dominica and the Caribbean.
This year’s Festival is being celebrated under the theme “Beyond the Green: Caribbean Literature, Nature & the Environment.”
This is a good adventure; for it seem as if our people are going off from the writing skill, as they write the language of their school yard everywhere they write.
I am often reading the r’s, the u’s, the 2’s, 4’s and all of those abbreviation, which motivates the public writing of profane language; I often ask myself what will be the writings of leaders in our society of tomorrow–if this continues like today. Not only that, what is happening to the English language itself?
And so, I am looking forward to see at least the best piece of writing–if not all of them–perhaps that piece will give me some hope.