Homegirls!

Ok. So, we’re all about empowerment over here and that means helping you do whatever it is that you decide you want to do- even if that means helping you (however we can) discover what that is first. So, as I hear about contests for teens, I’ll post them so you can enter if you like, fair enough?

Last month or so, I received an email from a former journalism mentor of sorts (I met and spoke with her during a journalism program and she basically had lived the professional life I always wanted for myself and was SO freakin’ inspirational, it was amazing) about a writing contest for people who are or were in prison, and their loved ones. So, if you fit that description, or know anyone who does, here are the details:

2009 Writing Contest

“THINK OUTSIDE THE CELL” WRITING CONTEST

Resilience Multimedia, publisher of the widely praised book, “Think Outside the Cell: An Entrepreneur’s Guide for the Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated,” is sponsoring its second writing contest for people who are or were in prison, and their loved ones. The best submissions will be included in books in Resilience’s “Think Outside the Cell Series,” which is intended to help the incarcerated and formerly incarcerated tackle hard challenges and have successful lives.

The books will be widely distributed and widely read. They are being produced with funding from the prestigious Ford Foundation, which for more than 70 years has been working to improve lives and create opportunity for people around the world.

Contestants may write personal stories about one or more of these topics:

• Reentering society after incarceration
• Waiting for loved ones to return home from prison
• Prison marriages and relationships

Three winners will be chosen for each topic and will receive these prizes:

• 1st Place: $300
• 2nd Place: $150
• 3rd Place: $ 75
Stories that do not win cash prizes will still be eligible for inclusion in the series.

These are the contest rules:

• Stories must be original and about events or situations that actually happened.
• You may submit stories on more than one topic.
• Stories may be up to 3,000 words.
• Stories should be typewritten and double-spaced.
• Handwritten stories will be accepted as long as they are legible.
• Each page must include page number, your name, contact information and story title.
• Resilience Multimedia reserves the right to edit stories for clarity, punctuation, spelling and grammar, and retains the rights to stories in order to ensure the widest possible publicity and distribution, both in the United States and abroad.
• Story entries will not be returned.
• ALL ENTRIES MUST BE POSTMARKED BY OCT. 1, 2009. WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON DECEMBER 1, 2009.

Here’s how to enter:

Email your story, indicating which topic it is intended for, to:
resiliencemultimedia@verizon.net
OR mail your story to:
Resilience Multimedia
511 Avenue of the Americas, Suite 525
New York, NY 10011
Questions? Email resiliencemultimedia@verizon.net, call 877-267-2303 or write to the above address.

Check out the website for more information on the organization sponsoring the contest and the contest itself.

Good luck, writer chicks!