Deadline Extended for Bucks County High School Short-Fiction Contest

Do you have a high schooler in your house that loves to write and has some extra time on their hands right now? Encourage them to enter the Bucks County High School Short-Fiction Contest!

Bucks County Community College has extended the deadline for its third annual Bucks County High School Short-Fiction Contest to noon Monday, April 20, according to Professor Elizabeth Luciano.

“Now that high school students have adjusted to online learning amid the current public-health crisis, we hope that the new deadline might inspire those in need of a creative outlet to consider entering,” said Luciano, who teaches in the Language and Literature Department at the public, two-year college.

Luciano launched the contest in early 2018 after holding a similar contest for adult writers. Both came about as a natural extension of the college’s longtime administration of the Bucks County Poet Laureate and Bucks County High School Poet of the Year contests.

The contest is open to 9^th, 10^th, 11^th and 12^th graders who live in and attend high school in Bucks County, including those who are home-schooled. Students can enter one original short story that’s never been published, including in online blogs or online publications. No fan fiction – stories based on existing books, movies, or other media – is allowed. Stories may be six to ten pages, or about 1,450 to 2,400 words, double-spaced in 12-point Times New Roman font with one-inch margins.

There is no cost to enter the contest. The winners, to be selected by Bucks County Community College faculty, will collect a $200 honorarium for first place, $100 for second place, and $50 for third place.

Entries must be submitted electronically by noon Monday, April 20. Read the rules and find the online entry form at this link

The Bucks County High School Short-Fiction Contest is another way that Bucks County Community College contributes to the cultural heritage of the region. For more information, contact Professor Elizabeth Luciano at Elizabeth.Luciano@bucks.edu.