Film Festival writing contest for essays, poetry includes cash prizes

FREMONT – Calling all writers! The American Presidents Film & Literary Festival is taking entries for its writing contest
Cash prizes will be awarded to three age groups in essay and poetry categories. Entries will be published on the film festival’s website and could be included in the festival program.
Entries must be submitted as an email attachment to writingcontest@birchard.org. Students in the Fremont City School District may submit entries created for class assignments through their teachers.

The deadline is 11:59 p.m. Sept. 1.

The topic of the poetry contest is U.S. Presidents and the Presidency. Poems may be about a single president, more than one president or the U.S. presidency in general. Entries cannot exceed 32 lines. Entries are limited to three per person.

Age groups and prizes for the essay and poetry categories are:
Age group: Youth ages 0-11 – First Prize $100, Second Prize $50, Third Prize $25
Age group: Youth ages 12-18 – First Prize $100, Second Prize $50, Third Prize $25
Age group: Adults – First Prize $100, Second Prize $50, Third Prize $25

In the essay contests, the topic for the Youth 0-11 age group is Select an American President You Admire. Describe what qualities you admire about this president and give at least two example of the positive influence this president has had on the United States. Maximum length is 200 words. Entries are limited to one per person.
The topic for the Youth ages 12-18 AND the adult essay contests is Film Critic for a Day. View one of five films on the list below about a president or the presidency. Write a critical essay of the film as if you are a film critic. Maximum length is 500 words. Entries are limited to one per person.
Films eligible to be viewed for the essay contest: “1776” (Peter H. Hunt, released in 1972) or “John Adams” (HBO, released in 2008); “Lincoln” (Steven Spielberg, released in 2013); “Truman” (HBO, released in 1999); “Thirteen Days” (Kevin Costner, released in 2000); and“Nixon” (Oliver Stone, released in 2000).

General contest rules:
Entry must be original, in English, text only (no images), unpublished and unproduced, not accepted by any other publisher or producer at the time of submission.
The American Presidents Film & Literary Festival retains one-time nonexclusive publication rights to the winning entries to be published in a festival publication and/or on the festival website. Any piece posted anywhere online is considered published.

Entries must be typed and formatted to 8-1/2-x-11-inch pages, single-sided, one-inch margins. Essays must be double-spaced. Poetry may be single-spaced.
Fonts: Please use a font that is easy to read. Do not use a decorative or script font. 12-point type size is preferred but not mandatory.
Your name, address, email, phone number, and date of birth must appear in the entry email.
Entries will not be returned. Please keep a copy for your records. Non-winning entries will be shredded.
Due to U.S. Government restrictions, we are unable to accept entries from Syria, Iran, North Korea or Sudan.

Every entry will be read by the judges. Judges’ decisions are final.

Winners are responsible for any income taxes due on cash prizes.
The following are not permitted to enter the contest: Members of the festival planning committee and their immediate family members, festival speakers and workshops instructors.
Award winners will be notified by Oct. 1. Top winners may be listed on the festival website and/or in a festival brochure.

For information, contact Pam Hoesman at pam.hoesman@birchard.lib.oh.us.

Visit the film festival’s website at www.americanpresidentsfilmfestival.org, and like its Facebook page at fb.me/ampresfilmlit.
The American Presidents Film & Literary Festival is committed to providing a place for expanded national and international understanding of the history and current events that have and continue to shape and influence the President of the United States. Utilizing the site and community of America’s first presidential library and museum, filmmakers, film professionals and authors will inspire audiences to explore, understand, critique and analyze the people, places, politics and power surrounding the American Presidency.

Kristina Smith
Marketing committee chairman
American Presidents Film & Literary Festival
Fremont, OH 43420
800-998-7737, ext. 217
ksmith@rbhayes.org