COLCHESTER — Green Mountain Power and “Vermont Magazine” are encouraging writers to enter to win one of the state’s great literary honors: The Vermont Writers’ Prize. Winning entries are published in Vermont Magazine’s March/April 2019 issue.
The prize is a collaboration between GMP and “Vermont Magazine” and is a chance for writers in Vermont to share their creativity, perspective and love for Vermont. The award was created as a way to honor Ralph Nading Hill, Jr. who was a Vermont historian, author, and long-time GMP Board member.
“It is always so fascinating to read the winning entries each year,” said Dotty Schnure, who spearheads the contest for GMP. “Local authors have so much talent, and their work always highlights the best of the spirit of Vermont.”
The contest is open to all Vermont residents, including seasonal residents and students enrolled in Vermont colleges. You can be a professional or amateur writer. Frederic Martin of Richmond, Vermont, won the 2018 Vermont Writers’ Prize with his piece, “Maybe Lake Carmi.”
Phil Jordan, editor and publisher of “Vermont Magazine,” calls Martin’s story “pure Vermont.” He says he’s looking forward to reading this year’s entries. “Vermont is so full of so many characters, so much heart, so many great stories to tell,” he said.
The deadline for this year’s Vermont Writers’ Prize is Nov. 1, 2018.
Entries can be submitted online here.
Submissions need to be essays, short stories or poems on the themes of “Vermont — Its People, Its Places, Its History or Its Values.” Entries must be unpublished and less than 1,500 words long. More detailed submission instructions are available online here.
The winning entry will be selected by an independent panel of judges and will be published in a special section of the March/April 2019 edition of “Vermont Magazine.” The author will receive a cash prize of $1,500.
Employees and subcontractors of “Vermont Magazine” or Green Mountain Power and previous winners are ineligible.