Teens are invited to channel their scariest thoughts into short works of literature for the annual Scary Story Contest this fall — just in time for Halloween.
To join the contest — which is a partnership between Coquitlam Public Library, Port Moody Public Library and The Tri-City News — Tri-Cities youths aged 11 to 18 years must write a terrifying tale and send it to the scary story email account.
A panel of gruesome judges will award first-, second- and third-place prizes to the three best entries in each age category (11 to 14 and 15 to 18) and some of the winning stories will be featured in The Tri-City News before Halloween.
Rules for the contest are as follows:
• Each entry must be no longer than 500 words.
• Writers must live or go to school in Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Anmore or Belcarra.
• Writers who submit entries must be no younger than 11 and no older than 18 on the deadline date of Oct. 19.
• Writers must include the following three words in their stories: apparition, scythe and fiend. (Stories that do not include all three words will be disqualified. If you do not know what they mean, look them up in a dictionary.)
• Each writer must include his or her name, age, phone number and city of residence when they submit an entry. Writers: If your city of residence is outside the Tri-Cities, please include the name of the Tri-Cities school that you attend.
• Writers must email their entries — either as a Word attachment or in the body of the message — to [email protected] no later than Wednesday, Oct. 19.
Winners in each category will be given Coquitlam Centre gift cards worth $50 (first), $30 (second) and $20 (third). Some entries will also be published in The Tri-City News at the end of October.
Full contest details are on the Coquitlam Public Library and Port Moody Public Library websites. If you have questions about the Scary Story Contest, email librarian Chris Miller at [email protected] or call 604-554-7339.
