The annual Scary Story Contest - presented by Coquitlam Public Library, Port Moody Public Library and The Tri-City News - is back and welcomes writers in two age categories: 11 to 14 years and 15 to 18 years.
We can hear you snickering to yourself. Frightening a bunch of namby-pamby librarians and newspaper folk sounds simple, right?
Well, think again.
The judges know scary stories and scary movies. If you resort to clichés, they'll bundle up your entries, slip them inside a pillowcase and rest their heads on them 'til they nod off to sleep.
So be original! Be daring! Write something judges haven't seen or heard or thought of. Make them fear the dark like they did as kids and you'll end up with a tidy prize and your name in print.
Please note that your story can be no longer than 500 words, three of which must be the ones you see under the contest rules below (look these words up in the dictionary if you are unclear of what they mean). The rules:
Stories must be original works of fiction by the person whose name is listed on the entry.
Writers must be aged 11 to 18 years and live in Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Anmore or Belcarra.
Stories can be no more than 500 words in length. Stories longer than 500 words will be disqualified (titles and bylines do not count towards the total).
Each story must include the following words: revenant, phantasm and catacombs.
Each writer must include his or her name, age, phone number and city of residence with the entry.
Each entry must be emailed inline and/or as a Microsoft Word attachment to scarystorycontest2011@gmail.com no later than midnight on Tuesday, Oct. 18.
Winners are determined by judges and judges' decisions are final.
Winners in each age category will receive prizes valued at: $75 (first), $50 (second), and $25 (third). Selected entries will also be published in The Tri-City News on Friday, Oct. 28.
