Ringling College Offers $1,000 Prizes in Global Creative Writing Contest

October 22, 2021 – Sarasota

Ringling College of Art and Design’s premier Creative Writing program announces the 7^th annual Storytellers of Tomorrow writing contest for high school students. High school students are invited to send unpublished short stories, scripts, comics, graphic texts, or essays—up to 2,000 words—to the 7^th annual Storytellers of Tomorrow contest, which runs October 15, 2021, to January 15, 2022. Find full submission details at the contest website. Students may enter one piece of writing in each of the three contest categories. In past years, some students have earned more than one prize. Others have won prizes across multiple years. As always, the contest is free to enter, and the three categories remain the same as in previous years: Genre Stories, Literary Stories, and Nonfiction. Young writers who are considering studying creative writing at the college level are especially encouraged to apply, but entries from any high school writer are always welcome. Former contest judge Virgil Suárez adds, “If there’s a story inside you, there’s no better time to write it than right now.”  “Story is at the heart of everything we do at the College,” explains Dr. Ryan G. Van Cleave, head of the Creative Writing major. “We want to support the work of young story makers, which is why we committed to more than doubling the prize money as well as offering the top winners the chance to have their work read and evaluated by Brooke Vitale, an author of more than 100 books who has worked 20 years as an editor for Penguin Random House and Disney.” Despite the pandemic, last year’s Storytellers of Tomorrow contest drew almost 600 entries from 38 U.S. states and 14 countries, including Canada, South Korea, Brazil, Turkey, and Myanmar. “We expect a bigger turnout this year because of the bigger prizes and because so many young people had extra time to write while staying home to avoid COVID-19,” says Van Cleave. “That kind of volume is going to make things hard on our judges, but rest assured, we’ll read every single story because the next one might just be the winner!”

Enter to Win Cash and an Industry Connection: Nothing to Lose—Everything to Gain

Adelina Rose, last year’s winner in the Literary Stories category, explains that “winning first place in the Storytellers of Tomorrow contest has honestly been a life-changing experience! I know that sounds like a very big and nebulous thing to say, but a contest that rewards creative prowess and practice is really awesome!” Students aren’t the only ones who win. The high school English teacher of the top winner in each category receives an iPad for their classroom. Some contest winners go on to apply to Ringling College’s boutique Creative Writing program, which has 10 faculty members for fewer than 30 students. “We’re committed to the individual development of every student,” says Van Cleave. With dozens of creative writing classes, internship opportunities, the literary journal Shift, the Ringling College Press, and a robust visiting writers series, young writers begin to grow from the moment they first set foot on campus. That’s the goal of Ringling College’s Creative Writing major, after all: launching careers, one student at a time. For many, it starts with the Storytellers of Tomorrow contest. On social media, follow and join the conversation: #CreativeWritingContestRCAD Contact:
Ryan G. Van Cleave, creativewriting@ringling.eduRobyn Levin, Media@RobynLevin.com