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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Outdoors blog

It’s write time for young authors with outdoor theme

Logo for The Spokesman-Review youth Outdoor Writing Contest for high school students. (Spokesman-Review)
Logo for The Spokesman-Review youth Outdoor Writing Contest for high school students. (Spokesman-Review)
It's time for high schoolers to begin thinking about fame, fortune and the great outdoors.

The Spokesman-Review once again is joining the Outdoor Writers Association of America in sponsoring a contest for youth outdoor writing.

The contest is open to high school students from the newspaper's circulation area.

Entries must be on the general topic of "outdoors." This includes subjects such as hiking, camping, fishing, hunting, boating, nature and conservation. Any literary style - including humor, fiction, letters or poetry - is acceptable.

Other contest rules are as follows:
 
  • Contestants must be in grades 9-12 and from the newspaper circulation area in Eastern Washington or North Idaho.
  • Stories must be original and may be no longer than 1,000 words.
  • Entries should include the writer's name, school, grade, home address and telephone.
  • Stories should be typed.
  • Entries must be received by 5 p.m. Nov. 18.
  • Limit is one entry per student.

E-mail entries (preferred) to richl@spokesman.com. Receipt of all e-mail entries will be acknowledged.

Entries also can be mailed or delivered to Youth Outdoor Writing Contest, Sports Department, The Spokesman-Review, 999 W. Riverside, Spokane 99201.

Newspaper writers and editors will pick the best entries and award one $50 first-place prize and at least two $30 runner-up prizes.
 
The winning entries will be published in the Sunday Outdoors section and entered in the national OWAA Scholastic Writing Contest.

The national contest offers awards of up to $200 for the best outdoors articles published by high school students in 2010.
 
In 25 years, 39 finalists from The Spokesman-Review contest have won national awards.


Rich Landers
Rich Landers joined The Spokesman-Review in 1977. He is the Outdoors editor for the Sports Department writing and photographing stories about hiking, hunting, fishing, boating, conservation, nature and wildlife and related topics.

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