From the Director: Write, Vote, Win! | Arts & Culture

Are you ready to write, Michigan?

Kent District Library is partnering with Schuler Books & Music and the Grand Rapids Public Library to host the Write Michigan short story contest beginning September 4. The contest is aimed at showcasing budding writing talent across the state. We’re so excited to offer people this opportunity to share their work with Michigan and the world.

The popularity of television shows such as “American Idol,” which combine expert opinion with viewer voting, got us thinking about how this concept could be applied to a library contest. We also thought about West Michigan’s very ownArtPrize contest, which has sparked unprecedented public enthusiasm for visual art. Could the same be done in the literary arts? It’s time to find out.

While I encourage you to read the full contest details at writemichigan.org, here’s a quick overview: writers of all ages are invited to submit an original, unpublished short story on any topic. A group of judges will determine a number of finalists in two categories: youth (age 17 and younger) and adult (age 18 and older). Then the public voting begins.

The stories with the most votes at the end will win cash prizes. But that’s not all: the stories from the top 10 to 12 finalists will be published by Schuler’s Chapbook Press. Additionally, the contest includes short story writing workshops and an awards ceremony.

To aid in your wordsmithery, KDL is offering a short story writing workshop with Ludington-area author George Dila from 9:30 AM to 12:00 PM on Saturday, September 15 at the East Grand Rapids branch. Come ready to write!

Libraries and bookstores love to get people excited about literature. Write Michigan is our way of taking that goal to the next level with the hope that one day soon it will be your stories flying off our shelves. So, get writing… and get discovered!