October 17, 2021
High school students have the opportunity to win $150 and have their prose or poetry published in Inscape, the award-winning fine arts journal published by Ursuline College.
Ursuline is celebrating the 150th anniversary of its 1871 founding, and its Inscape editorial board is looking for poems, short stories, essays, or memoirs that align with College values, including:
- Empowerment
- Education
- Spirituality
- Innovation
- Legacy
High school students are invited to write about what these words mean to them, share what they do to embody these words, or share a story that represents one of these values. Three cash prizes of $150.00 will be awarded to the top three high school student submissions. Entrants will be judged, and cash prizes awarded, in three additional categories: Ursuline students, faculty and staff, and alumnae/i.
Ohio Poet Laureate Kari Gunter-Seymour will serve as Celebrity Guest Judge. Also judging will be Ursuline Admission Counselor Veronica Colborn and Adenike Davidson, professor of English and Gender Studies and Chair of English and Foreign Languages at Delaware State University.
This Inscape high school writing contest is hosted by the Ursuline College English Department. The awards are made possible by the generosity of KeyBank, the Presenting Sponsor of Ursuline’s 150th anniversary celebrations. Additional support comes from Ancora, Carnegie Management and Development Corporation, Glenmede, Kimberley and Brock Milstein, Cindy and Tony Panzica, Mary Lynn and Michael Silvestro, Taylor Oswald, and the Ursuline Sisters of Cleveland.
Contest Guidelines
To enable anonymous judging, contestants should not put their names on their piece; their name should only appear on a separate cover sheet, which should also include their phone number, e-mail, brief autobiographical sketch, name of their high school, current grade, name of their teacher, and a title for their work.
Prose pieces should be no longer than 500 words, poetry no longer than 30 lines. Entries should be word processed. Each entry must be the original work of the writer. Plagiarized works will be disqualified.
Entrants should include in the subject line of the email "Inscape Submission" and email submission to katharine.trostel@ursuline.edu by January 3rd, 2022. A maximum of five works may be submitted.
“Creative writing has the power to shape the way we view the world around us and to allow emerging writers to explore the power of their voice,” said Katharine G. Trostel, PhD, assistant professor of English. Questions should be directed to Dr. Katharine Trostel at Katharine.Trostel@ursuline.edu.
