Literary Award
Danbury Cultural Commission Poetry Contest
The Danbury Cultural Commission invites Danbury students in grades 9 through 12 to enter the Annual Poetry Contest. The contest is also open to any writers who do not formally attend a high school but are between the ages of 14 through 18. Any high school aged student may enter, but a student must be a Danbury resident, and have a social security number filed with the City of Danbury to receive a cash prize.
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Any theme or form of verse, may not exceed 200 lines.
School appropriate language and subject is required.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) generated works are not allowed.
No more than 2 poems per author should be submitted.
Poems in non-English must have a written English translation.
Students of winning submissions must be prepared to read the poem aloud and then give a brief (50 word) description of their inspiration for it.
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Submissions go to the School Coordinator who will forward all stories at the submission deadline. NO STORIES SHOULD BE SUBMITTED DIRECTLY TO THE CULTURAL COMMISSION.
The writer's name, address, phone number, school and grade should appear on the top of the entry. (The Commission will remove the identifying information and replace it with a code.)
The poem should be typed and double spaced.
Submissions should be .DOC, .DOCX, or .txt format. (.PDF is not acceptable, for formatting reasons.)
Poems previously printed or appearing in other publications are not eligible.
(Authors must be in control of their copyright.)
No entries will be returned.
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The writer's name should not appear on the entry.
The poem should be typed and double spaced.
A 3x5 card with author's name, address, phone number, school and grade should be attached to the entry for identification purposes.
Poems previously printed or appearing in other publications are not eligible.
(Authors must control their copyright.)
No entries will be returned.
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Electronic submissions should be gathered together by the school coordinator and sent in as few emails as possible, as attachments.
Students should NOT send submissions directly to the Cultural Commission.
Physical submissions should be gathered together by the school coordinator and delivered to Mr. Gregory Wencek, Cultural Commission Coordinator, 256 Main Street, Danbury, CT 06810.
Students should NOT send submissions directly to the Cultural Commission.
Home schooled students may submit entries directly to the Commission office.
For additional information, contact Mr. Gregory Wencek Monday or Wednesday, mornings
at 203-797-4508 or Coordinator@DanburyArts.com anytime.
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Cash prizes may be awarded. NOTE: In the event of an author having multiple entries selected, only one cash award, of the highest amount, will be given. The next runner up will be awarded the next prize level. Cash awards are offered ONLY to Danbury residents.
First Prize.
Second prize.
Third Prize.
POSSIBLE Honorable Mention prizes may also be awarded.
The contest is usually held in the late winter or early spring.
The winners will be invited to share their poems at a celebratory reception.
All winning submissions will be eligible for publication in the WCSU literary magazine The Howl.
The Danbury Cultural Commission reserves the right to compile entries for publication, under a Creative Commons license.
View Past Literary Award Winning Submissions
Danbury Cultural Commission Short Story Contest
The Danbury Cultural Commission invites Danbury students in grades 9 through 12 to enter the annual Short Story Contest. The contest is also open to any writers who do not formally attend a high school but are between the ages of 14 through 18. Any high school aged student may enter, but a student must be a Danbury resident, and have a social security number filed with the City of Danbury to receive a cash prize.
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The category is Flash Fiction – from 500 to 1000 words.
School-appropriate language and subject matter is required.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) generated works are not allowed.
No more than two short stories per author should be submitted.
Short stories in non-English must have a written English translation.
Students of winning submissions must be prepared to read the story aloud and then give a brief (50 word) description of their inspiration for it.
-
Submissions go to the School Coordinator who will forward all stories at the submission deadline. NO STORIES SHOULD BE SUBMITTED DIRECTLY TO THE CULTURAL COMMISSION.
The writer's name, address, phone number, school and grade should appear on the top of the entry. (The Commission will remove the identifying information and replace it with a code.)
The poem should be typed and double spaced.
Submissions should be .DOC, .DOCX, or .txt format. (.PDF is not acceptable, for formatting reasons.)
Poems previously printed or appearing in other publications are not eligible.
(Authors must be in control of their copyright.)
No entries will be returned.
-
The writer's name should not appear on the entry.
The poem should be typed and double spaced.
A 3x5 card with author's name, address, phone number, school and grade should be attached to the entry for identification purposes.
Poems previously printed or appearing in other publications are not eligible.
(Authors must control their copyright.)
No entries will be returned.
-
Electronic submissions should be gathered together by the school coordinator and sent in as few emails as possible, as attachments.
Students should NOT send submissions directly to the Cultural Commission.
Physical submissions should be gathered together by the school coordinator and delivered to Mr. Gregory Wencek, Cultural Commission Coordinator, 256 Main Street, Danbury, CT 06810.
Students should NOT send submissions directly to the Cultural Commission.
Home schooled students may submit entries directly to the Commission office.
For additional information, contact Mr. Gregory Wencek Monday or Wednesday, mornings
at 203-797-4508 or Coordinator@DanburyArts.com anytime.
-
Cash prizes may be awarded. NOTE: In the event of an author having multiple entries selected, only one cash award, of the highest amount, will be given. The next runner up will be awarded the next prize level. Cash awards are offered ONLY to Danbury residents.
First Prize.
Second prize.
Third Prize.
POSSIBLE Honorable Mention prizes may also be awarded.
The contest is usually held in the late winter or early spring.
The winners will be invited to share their stories at a celebratory reception.
The Danbury Cultural Commission reserves the right to compile entries for publication, under a Creative Commons license.