The Lafayette Public Library is pleased to announce the winners of the 21st annual Writes of Spring Writing Contest. We congratulate the winners and recognize the efforts of all students who contributed their entries. We also thank the teachers for providing the instruction necessary for the students’ success and for encouraging and inspiring them in their scholarly pursuits. This year, the Writes of Spring received 245 student entries! For a full list of our 2023 Writes of Spring Writing Contest winners, click here.

The annual Writes of Spring Writing Contest involves K–12 Grade students residing in Lafayette Parish or the surrounding parishes of Acadia, Iberia, St. Landry, St. Martin, and Vermilion. These students submit original pieces of fiction, personal narrative, or poetry in English, French, Spanish, or Mandarin Chinese.

Deadline Friday, March 17, 2023

Submission Guidelines:

• The contest is open to students in grades K-12 who reside in Lafayette Parish or in the surrounding parishes: St. Landry, Acadia, St. Martin, Vermilion, and Iberia.
• Students may submit their own original unpublished work (in English, French, Mandarin Chinese or Spanish) in only one of the following genres:
• Poetry (1-3 poems, 100 lines total)
• Short Fiction (K-6 graders: max 750 words; 7-12 graders: max 1500 words)
• Personal Narrative (K-6 graders: max 750 words; 7-12 graders: max 1500 words)

Students in grades K-6 are encouraged to enter the contest using the online form below. Alternatively, they may submit a paper entry form and a paper copy of their writing entry. These need to be turned in by the deadline of March 17, 2023 to any branch of the Lafayette Public Library System.
All other eligible students (7-12 grade) are required to submit their entries electronically using the online form. This is a Google Docs form, which requires the use of a Gmail account. If you do not have a Gmail account or Google Docs login, or having difficulties with the form please email ben.paramore@lafayettepubliclibrary.org for assistance.

• Submissions should be double-spaced with 12-point font.
• Personal information must be removed from submitted work including student’s name, teacher’s name and school’s name.
• Submission should be renamed to add grade, genre, and title before uploading it. For example: 2ndgrade, Fiction, My Life So Far, or 8th grade, Poetry, Cars, Cupcakes, and Curls.
• One entry per person will be accepted. A poetry entry may include 1-3 poems, all submitted as one document.
• First, second and third place winners will be notified in late April. All winners will receive a certificate and an anthology of winning entries.
• The K-6th grade and 7th-12th grade Awards Ceremonies will also be held in May.

Any files that are uploaded will be shared outside of the organization they belong to.
The name and photo associated with your Google account will be recorded when you upload files and submit this form.

Form Link: https://tinyurl.com/lplwrites2023

LPSS Form: https://tinyurl.com/lpsswrites2023

Official Submission Form, click here.