
Dylan Days seeks poems, stories, one-act plays for 2010 contest
HIBBING,
Minn. ─ Over four decades, B.J. Rolfzen
taught high school and community college English in Hibbing, Minnesota.
Hundreds of students from all social classes and national origins drew
equal and insistent inspiration in Rolfzen’s Iron Range classrooms, but
perhaps many have only heard of one student: Bob Dylan. In memory of
Rolfzen, who passed in 2009, and his passion for poetry and writing,
the Dylan Days Creative Writing contest is calling for short stories,
poems and one-act plays from students and emerging writers for 2010.
The competition will henceforth be known as the “B.J. Rolfzen Creative
Writing Contest” and each year’s winners will be commemorated on a
plaque in Bob Dylan’s hometown.
The deadline for all entries is March 15, 2010. Poems of less than
1,000 words and short fiction of 1,000 to 4,000 words will be accepted
through an online entry system at www.dylandays.com (scroll down for
entry links). One act plays will be accepted by mail only (address
below). The contest is changing this year. More entries will be
considered for publication in the Dylan Days program and literary
journal “Talkin’ Blues” and the categories are being renamed and
realigned.
Grand prizes will be awarded to writers in poetry and short fiction
categories. In poetry, a separate division for student poets will be
held open to high school and undergraduate college students. First
Prize in each division wins $100. Semi-finalists will also be named.
All winning and semi-finalist entries will appear in the Dylan Days
literary journal, “Talkin’ Blues,” providing many first-time
publication credits for emerging writers and poets.
In the one act playwright competition, one winner will be named along
with semi-finalists. The top work will be produced and performed on the
Hibbing Community College stage during Dylan Days as the featured
entertainment for our annual Literary Showcase. The grand prize winner
will receive a trip to Hibbing to participate in the staging of their
play during Dylan Days 2010. The play will be cast with experienced
actors and directed by Michael Ricci, an award-winning Minnesota
theatre director, formerly of Hibbing.
For more information, e-mail Dylan Days co-chair Aaron Brown at
aaronbrown@hibbing.edu or call him at 218-969-9663.
Original one-act
play competition
(open to all playwrights)
All submissions should be plays that have not been produced in any
other theatres. They can be of any genre except musicals, or
puppet theatre.
Scripts should be between 30 and 60 minutes in length, and contain 3-6
characters. Settings should be fairly modest, staying away from
extravagant set pieces and special effects. Content and subject
matter are completely open, but should reflect what Bob Dylan came to
be known for - an original voice who embraced a new direction, a unique
vision with the power to move people. All submissions will be
reviewed by a panel of judges, and the winning entry will be given a
fully mounted production on stage in Hibbing. All entries must be
postmarked by March 15, 2010.
Entrants in the playwright
contest only should submit via mail only:
Dylan Days One Act Playwright Contest
C/O Mike Ricci, Director
North Hennepin Community College Theatre
7411 85th Ave. N.
Brooklyn Park, MN 55445
(All entries for fiction and
poetry must be electronically
submitted. No entries in fiction or
poetry categories will be considered unless they are submitted
following the electronic submission guidelines listed in each
category's rules
listed below).
For more information on the one-act competition, contact Mike Ricci at 763-493-0543. (Starting in 2010, Mike
Ricci will manage the one act judging from North Hennepin Community
College and then stage the production in Hibbing).
Open Division Poetry
- Poems limited to 1,000 words on
any subject. Because of overwhelming interest in our small contest,
limit yourself to
entering your best unpublished poem. Multiple entries will not be
considered.
- Deadline is March 15, 2010; Enter
through electronic submission only
by clicking on the ENTER link at the
bottom of this page and properly filling out the online submission form.
The B.J. Rolfzen Student Poetry Division
- Must be currently
enrolled in high school or
undergraduate college and
have no professional literary publication.
- Poems limited to 1,000 words on
any
subject. Because of overwhelming interest in our small contest, limit
yourself to entering
your best unpublished poem. Multiple entries will not be considered.
- Deadline is March 15, 2009; Enter
through electronic submission only
by
clicking on the ENTER link and properly
filling out the online submission form.
Short Fiction
- Short story in any genre, limit
4,000 words, limit one story per person.
- Contest open to both students and
general audience authors. Emerging and unpublished writers in
particular are encouraged to enter. Special considerationg given to
creativity
and innovation in writing style.
- Deadline is March 15, 2009; Enter
through electronic submission only
by clicking on the ENTER link at the bottom of
this page and properly filling out the online submission form.
In all divisions, entries need
not be about Bob
Dylan or use his style of writing; but they should strive for
creativity,
originality and literary theme.
All prizewinners are invited
to take part in a literary reading and reception at Hibbing Community College during Dylan
Days 2009. We
will also offer a free creative writing workshop (to be
announced). This
year, the Literary Showcase is one of
several
Dylan Days activities including the Saturday night "Bob’s Birthday
Bash"
songwriter’s
contest, a visual art contest, weekend bus tours of “Bobby Zimmerman’s Hibbing” live music, Dylan documentaries and
displays, and exciting music events.
NOTICE ON RIGHTS AND PRIOR PUBLICATION: We ask that only original,
unpublished works be submitted to our contest. Entering the contest
grants us one time rights to publish and winning works in the Dylan
Days
literary journal and program. In the playwright contest, entering
grants Dylan Days and its assigns to stage and perform the play once
during Dylan Days, but does not include publication. After publication
or performance, rights revert to the
authors.
SUBMISSION
DEADLINE FOR ALL CATEGORIES: 11:59 p.m.,
March 15, 2010
You will be
asked to provide your name, the title of piece, your
phone number, address and your e-mail address along with the text of
your work. Students will be asked to list the school or college they
are enrolled in at the time of entry. Any special formatting (such as
italics, bold face) must be
done in HTML, otherwise entries should be submitted text only (Please
indent paragraphs or separate them with one space). Be sure to select
the correct division in the
online submission form. You
must be a
registered high school or college student at the TIME OF ENTRY to be
eligible
for the student divisions. Previous winners are eligible to enter. We
strictly
enforce word counts for poetry and short fiction.
See who's
in the Dylan Days Creative Writing Contest
Hall of Fame, including past winners and honorees since 2003.
Dylan
Days
is an annual event and an association
dedicated to advancing the arts in Bob Dylan's hometown of Hibbing,
Minnesota.
All content copyright by Aaron J. Brown.