Official Contest Rules

UPDATE
Deadline for entries for our Fiction Writing Contest based on The Spare Room, by Jenny Land, has been extended to November 30, 2013.

PROMPT
Compose either a diary entry or a letter written by one of the characters in the novel The Spare Room by Jenny Land. The piece may be a continuation of Susannah’s diary, a retelling of a scene from another character’s perspective, or an imagined scene that takes place during the year of the novel, 1843. While an entry will not contain plot resolution, it should develop characters and show plenty of detail about life in Vermont in the mid-nineteenth century. Writers should feel free to invent new plot twists and add their own characters to the story as they wish.

RULES

• The Spare Room Fiction Writing Contest is open to grades 4-8. Winners will be chosen in each of two separate divisions: 4th-6th grade and 7th-8th grade.
• Entrant must be a resident of the state of Vermont or attend a Vermont school. Homeschooled students who reside in Vermont are eligible to enter.
• Only one entry is allowed per student.
• A cover letter must be submitted along with the student's entry including the following:
  —First and last name, telephone number, e-mail address (if available), and home address
  —School's name and address (if homeschooled, please note)
  —Current grade
  —Name, telephone number, and email address of teacher or school librarian (homeschoolers provide parent's name, phone number, and address)
  —Title of entry, plus the first ten words of the written piece.
• Entries should be no more than 1,200 words in length, with a minimum of 600 words.
• No plagiarism.
• Entries must be typed, double-spaced, in 12-point Times New Roman font or equivalent with one-inch margins. The pages may be single or double-sided. All pages must be numbered and have the title of the piece at the top of the page. Do not put your name on the actual piece of writing.
• E-mail your entry to ideas@brigantinemedia.com OR mail a hard copy to
  Brigantine Media
  211 North Ave.
  St. Johnsbury, VT 05819
• If e-mailed, entries must be received by 11:59 PM on November 30, 2013. If mailed, entries must be postmarked by November 30, 2013. If you provide an e-mail address, you will receive an e-mail notifying you that your entry has been received. Your entry will remain anonymous to the judges until after entries have been ranked.

JUDGES

• Entries will be judged based on their creativity as well as their historical accuracy, style, content, and proper usage of grammar.
  
• Winners will be announced and contacted via mail or e-mail by December 12, 2013.
  
• There will be four winners in each division; first prize, second prize, third prize, and fourth prize. There will also be honorable mentions in each division.
  
• There will be an awards ceremony at St. Johnsbury Academy in St. Johnsbury, Vermont on January 17, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. 
  

PRIZES

• First place in each division will receive a $100 cash prize
  
• Second place in each division will receive a $75 cash prize
  
• Third place in each division will receive a $50 cash prize
  
• Fourth place in each division will receive a $25 cash prize
  

SPONSOR
Brigantine Media
211 North Ave.
St. Johnsbury, VT 05819

PURCHASE INFORMATION
Individual copies of The Spare Room can be purchased at www.thespareroombook.com, in bookstores, at Amazon.com as both a physical and Kindle book, at Barnes&Noble.com as both a physical and Nook book, and at iBooks.

Quantity purchases of classroom sets of The Spare Room are available at discount from the publisher here.

ABOUT THE BOOK
The Spare Room is the diary of twelve-year-old Susannah Allen, who lives on her family’s farm in 1843 Vermont. She chronicles her days at the Middleton one-room schoolhouse, her daily farm and household chores, and her circle of friends.

Susannah begins to learn about slavery in the South and the Abolitionist movement in the North, but the issues soon become more than idle gossip. Her father hires Jacob, an escaped slave, to work as a farmhand and live in the Allen’s spare room. When tensions explode in her town, Susannah must face how to stand up to prejudice when it’s a matter of life or death. The Spare Room is a story appropriate to all readers, ages ten and up.

Midwest Book Review said: "The Spare Room is a must for historical fiction collections, with plenty to consider, very much recommended reading." Author Reeve Lindbergh said, "The Spare Room combines the atmosphere of Little House in the Big Woods with the ethical questions of To Kill a Mockingbird." Author Howard Frank Mosher also noted that Land "writes with the magical touch of Laura Ingalls Wilder."

NOTES FOR TEACHERS/LIBRARIANS

• A teacher's guide can be found on the website for The Spare Room: www.thespareroombook.com. Teachers and librarians will find this a helpful resource for students who are interested in entering the writing contest.
  
• The topic of slavery is often mentioned in the book and the contest may be more appropriate for students who have some background in period of US history leading to the Civil War.

The Spare Room

By Jenny Land

Published by Voyage
Publication Date: Nov. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-9384060-1-0
224 pp./softcover

Buy the Book

An imprint of
Brigantine Media