Our 2nd annual Write the Hook contest is open! Write your
hook for a story. What's a hook? A hook is the beginning lines or pages of a story written to hook the reader's attention. A hook impels the reader to want to continue reading to find out what happens next. We can't wait to read yours!
Contest is closed.
Contest Rules🖉🖉🖉🖉
- Write the hook for the beginning of something longer; for the start of a story.
- Open to teens in grades 6 to 12, who are residents of Essex County in Massachusetts.
- Entry must be your original work and have a word count between 300(minimum) and 1,200(maximum)words.
- Maximum of 1 entry per author.
- Give your story hook a title.
- Entries due by midnight, Sunday, December 11, 2022.
The preferred method for story submission is via the online contest entry form. Entries will also be accepted in paper form, but your entry must be typed in 12 point Times New Roman font on 8.5"x 11" paper. If you submit your entry on paper you must include on the back of the last page: your first and last name, grade level, phone number, email, and word count. Paper entries that do not follow the above guidelines will be disqualified from the contest.
Our contest judges will use a rubric that scores points based on:
- Length: Is the entry between the minimum and maximum word count?
- Story Hook: Does the writing hook you? Do you want to find out what happens next?
- Character(s): Is/are the character(s) clearly described?
- Writing: Does the word choice convey a clear picture?
- Grammar: How is the spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc.?
- Creativity!: original ideas? surprising? imaginative?
$ Cash Prizes to be Awarded $
Prizes are funded by the Friends of the Hamilton-Wenham Library.
First $60, and Second $40, place cash prizes awarded to:
Writers in Grades 6-8
Writers in Grades 9-12
Contest
winners and any honorable mentions will be announced in January 2023,
both on this blog and individually to the winners. Winning stories,
along with author's name and grade level, will be published here on the
Library's Informed Teens blog.
