Local high school poets and storytellers are invited to participate in a creative writing contest sponsored by Westminster College’s Department of English.

Students can submit an original poem or piece of creative non-fiction. Poems should be an ode to a tangible object and a maximum of 24 lines, while non-fiction pieces should be no longer than 2,000 words and engage with one or more meanings of the word “heavy.” All entries should include a title.

All submissions, due by Tuesday, Oct. 1, will be evaluated by Westminster College faculty and students.

The top three participants in each genre will be invited to participate in a creative writing workshop on campus and will be invited to read their work at Westminster’s annual Bleasby Colloquium on Tuesday, Nov. 19, when the first-place winners will be presented with the James Ashbrook Perkins Creative Writing Award.

The late Dr. Perkins, who passed away in 2022, taught English, writing and public relations at Westminster College from 1973 until his retirement in 2008. During that time, he served as department chair, won the Distinguished Faculty Award, earned four NEH fellowships, was a Visiting Fulbright Professor in Korea, and published widely as a poet, short fiction writer and literary critic.

The Westminster College George Bleasby Colloquia series of literary events is an event in honor of the late Dr. Bleasby, who chaired the Westminster College Department of English from 1954-1975. These programs are presentations by department faculty, featured speakers, and majors on individual scholarship, interests and creative projects.

Contest entries should be submitted to english@westminster.edu.

For more information about this opportunity and the Department of English at Westminster College, visit www.westminster.edu/english.

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