In Bloom: A Spotlight on Flagstaff’s Creative Youth

FICTION: This is a chance for students to show off their writing skills with a fiction piece. The writing is judged on its creativity, clarity, storytelling and overall quality. The submission can be up to 1,000 words long. Please note that no materials are returned and only winners are notified as part of this contest.

Rules & Info:

For this April, we are looking to publish “In Bloom,” a special section dedicated to the written and creative works of high school students. This section will feature fiction, poetry, photography and other visual art of students from grades 9 through 12 in Flagstaff area schools, including Flagstaff Unified School District and all charters. Their work will be reviewed and judged, and students will win certificates and having their work published in the publication. No entry fees apply.

To enter the contest, please follow the following rules and steps to ensure your work is accepted. The contest opens during the week of Feb. 20. The deadline is 5 p.m. Friday April 6.

1. Once you have a submission ready, please visit www.azdailysun.com and click on the In Bloom Creative Writing and Art Contest on the main page. Follow the directions for submitting and fill in all of the blanks for requested information. The submission pages are divided by category.

2. For photography, painting and drawing, please send a jpeg image that is no more than two megabytes in file size. Do not include your name in the submission itself, as it will be blind-reviewed by judges. If present, signatures on visual art will be obscured.

3. Poetry entries should be no longer than 300 words. Narrative entries should be no longer than 1,000 words. Entries with profanity will not be considered. Artistic images considered inappropriate for a general audience also will not be considered.

4. The first, second and third prize winners for each category, fiction, poetry, photography and visual art, will be published and will receive a certificate. We reserve the right to feature any ties or honorable mentions chosen by the judges. We also will request a written biography and photo for each of the winners.

5. The special section is scheduled to run Sunday, April 29 in the Arizona Daily Sun. An afternoon reception on Thursday, May 10, will be held to hand out certificates.