Submissions Accepted July 1-July 31

The South Dakota Humanities Council is sponsoring a storytelling contest for veterans that will culminate with an awards ceremony at the South Dakota Festival of Books Oct. 1-3 in Deadwood.

Written submissions will be accepted from July 1-July 31 for the Veterans Story Contest, which is open to veterans or current service members of any branch of the United States military who are living in South Dakota.

Submissions Should Address Military Experience

Submissions should consist of new, unpublished material addressing the military experience, such as recovery or lessons learned. Individuals may submit up to 1,500 written words in any genre — poetry, prose, fiction, creative nonfiction, etc. Only one submission per person. Entries must include name, address, phone and email.

During an interview with SDHC prior to his appearance at the 2017 Festival of Books in Deadwood, National Book Award-winning author Tim O’Brien said writing about war helps writers and readers find meaning in what happened.

“The word war is such an abstraction – it’s almost meaningless as a word,” O’Brien says. “It’s not until it’s something specific that it takes on any meaning, and often that’s through a story.”

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The South Dakota Humanities Council, a statewide humanities organization that hosts the annual Festival, will ask the finalists to attend the Festival Oct. 1-3 in Deadwood. Writers do not need to attend the Festival of Books to submit work. A representative can read the author’s work on their behalf.

Prizes will be awarded for first, second and third place.

Stories should be submitted to:
carolyn@sdhumanities.org
1215 Trail Ridge Rd Ste A
Brookings, SD 57006