Here is a blurb from their website:
Education and Inspiration for Aspiring Young Writers
Capitol City Young Writers (CCYW) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the education and inspiration of young writers. CCYW’s goal is to educate members on the art and craft of writing and to provide opportunities for young writers to pursue their writing and literary dreams.
CCYW provides career exploration, writing workshops, scholarships, internships and leadership opportunities. Members discover the skills necessary to enter literary related careers such as editing, journalism or broadcast radio. From fiction and non-fiction, to poetry, screenwriting, songwriting and broadcast radio, students are supported through workshops bringing professionals and mentors together in local communities through online tutorials, annual conferences, a youth run literary journal, writing and audio competitions, and mentoring.
Education and Inspiration for Aspiring Young Writers
Capitol City Young Writers (CCYW) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the education and inspiration of young writers. CCYW’s goal is to educate members on the art and craft of writing and to provide opportunities for young writers to pursue their writing and literary dreams.
CCYW provides career exploration, writing workshops, scholarships, internships and leadership opportunities. Members discover the skills necessary to enter literary related careers such as editing, journalism or broadcast radio. From fiction and non-fiction, to poetry, screenwriting, songwriting and broadcast radio, students are supported through workshops bringing professionals and mentors together in local communities through online tutorials, annual conferences, a youth run literary journal, writing and audio competitions, and mentoring.
I also want to point out that right now, they are accepting calls for submission for their youth run literary journal.
Here is all the info you will need:
UNDISCOVERED: EXPLORATIONS OF MY WORLD
Capitol City Young Writers is now accepting submissions for the first annual Capitol City Young Writers Literary Journal. The Journal’s youth editorial team will review select and publish pieces of fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, journalism, book review, and songwriting. As with all of its programs, CCYW hopes the Journal will inspire teens to explore their writing as well as the multitude of opportunities in the publishing world.
Theme:
CCYW is looking for undiscovered writers writing about the undiscovered. Are you eager to explore the unknown, push your own personal boundaries, reveal hidden dreams or imagine yourself differently? Then tell us about it! We want to hear your story and you have a variety of ways to express yourself. See below for the different genres and what the editors are specifically looking for.
Fiction:
We want you to be creative! Your complete pieces or excerpts of longer works may be up to 5000 words in length and should include the title on the top of each page. Flash fiction is also welcome, which can be as short as a paragraph. Each author may submit up to 3 pieces to the fiction section of the journal.
Creative Non-Fiction:
Writers are encouraged to submit memoirs, biographies, travelogues, essays, or any other non-fiction piece. Please limit each creative non-fiction submission to 1,500 words or four-and-a-half double spaced pages.
Poetry:
We are looking for poems that display originality, personal voice, and adherence to theme. Send us your best work. You may submit up to 3 poems, totaling no more than 5 pages. Please keep your poems on separate pages (two poems cannot be on the same page) in 10 point minimum font. Please title each of your poems; if a poem is more than one page, include the title at the top of each page.
Journalism:
Writers can submit an article from the News, Feature, Sports, Editorial, or Opinion sections of a newspaper. Photojournalism submissions are encouraged as well. Articles should be between 300-1,500 words, fact checked and include the name and contact information for each source.
Book Review:
Reviews should be submitted in two parts: an original 100 (or less) word summary, and an opinionated review of the book that is between 500-1,000 words in length and includes an explanation of why the book is relevant to the journal’s theme. Realistic Fiction, Sci-fi/Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, Paranormal, Creative Nonfiction, Memoir, Poetry Collection and Short Story Collection are the genres from which a review may be submitted.
Songwriting:
Submitted songs will be scored by originality, musicality, flow, length and title. The subject matter, style and rhythm of the lyrics should be unique and not exceed 500 words.
Cover Art:
We are looking for cover art for the literary journal. Cover art can include any medium of art. We require high-quality photographs of the artwork since this is a submission for a book cover. Artwork can include photography, pottery, paintings, sculpture, sketching, etc., but must fit within the scope and theme of the journal. Artwork must have been created by a student who fits the submission guidelines. Cover art must be printed and mailed to the PO Box listed under submission guidelines.
Submission Guidelines:
Entries are to be emailed to submissions@capitolcityyoungwriters.org no later than March 15, 2011. (Cover art image must be printed and mailed to CCYW, PO Box 5379, El Dorado Hills, CA 95762)
Please include your name, age, grade, school name, home address, email address and phone number with each submission. Please include parent’s names also.
Original submissions only. Plagiarism will result in disqualification.
Multiple submissions are allowed. Maximum of three submissions per category.
Please send submission as a word document, 12 pt font, New Times Roman.
Judging Guidelines:
Submissions will be evaluated based upon originality, style and voice. Judges are looking for quality, polished work with minimal spelling and grammatical errors.
Eligibility:
Open to writers ages 10-18. We will accept submissions worldwide. English language only. Not open to work that has been accepted in a national publication.
Finalists:
Finalists will be notified via email and/or telephone. The finalist list will be posted to the website by June 1, 2011. Due to the number of submissions, only finalists will be notified. Finalists may be requested to edit their stories before final acceptance. Publication date of the journal is July 2011. Each finalist will receive a complimentary copy of the literary journal and retain copyright to their stories.
Disclaimer:
This publication is intended for a youth audience (pre-teen and teen) and submissions must be age appropriate. Submissions that might be considered offensive (language or content) will not be considered for publication.
Sooooo, I really hope some of you can participate in this! It's fairly new and Verna Dreisbach is a literary agent and the founder of CCYW, and her dedication to CCYW is awesome. She really cares about the youth and wants to help them achieve their goals.
For more info on Capitol City Young Writers, please check out their website HERE
xoxo,
Kalina Kay
