Grow a Writer 2023

Dear Teachers, Parents/Guardians and Students,
Ottawa Police Blues FC and Baico Publishing Inc. have teamed up yet again to launch the “Grow a Writer 2023” contest! With the extraordinary turn out of “Grow a Writer 2020 and 2021" with 50+ stories published, our committee has decided to make this a yearly contest for the community. Being involved in your community makes a big difference in our day-to-day lives and our general well-being. Through the "Grow a Writer" contest, we hope to inspire children to tell their stories, while participating in this fun community event. The purpose of our "Grow a Writer" contest is to encourage children to stay creative and promote literacy while having a unique outlet to express themselves.

Contest rules and regulations:

We would like to invite students 8-16 years of age to submit a short story. We will be accepting 250 short story applicants. Fifty students and their short stories will be selected as finalists to be published in a paperback novel, to be released in October 2023. Each of the fifty finalists will receive a printed copy of the book to highlight their
accomplishment. All money raised from the sale of “Grow a Writer” will be given back to the community in the form of a scholarship.
Contest guidelines are as follows:

• Students must be 8-16 years old, young writers are asked to submit their best short stories.
• Students are invited to submit their short story in English, French, or in their native language with a translated version attached in English or French.
• Short stories must be at least one full page and not longer than 5 pages
• Participating students can write a short story that is fiction, non-fiction or poetry.
• We ask that the short stories have no profanity, violence, sexual content or discrimination.
• All short stories should be submitted by July 30th, 2023 by the student’s parent or legal guardian, with a signed consent form.
• We ask that all stories be written in and attached as a Word file, should you have artwork to go with your story please attached as a separate file.

All submissions can be sent to GROWAWRITERCONTEST2@OUTLOOK.COM
Finalists will be notified by the end of August 2023.
We are looking forward to reading your talented child/student’s work!