The Big Read - Sioux Falls, SD

Imagine a world where books are set ablaze, where creative thought is extinguished and where thinking outside of the lines is the most dangerous thing you could do.

Then, write about it.

The third annual

Big Read Writing Contest

Celebrating Ray Bradbury’s

Fahrenheit 451

Two contest categories are available: youth (grade 6-12) and adults.  Prizes are provided in part by Barnes and Noble, with winners getting a chance to read their submission before a live audience at Up in Smoke, a Fahrenheit 451-themed event Friday, May 1, at Food and Fermentation.

Pick up submission forms at any of the Sioux Falls Library branches.

Entries are due Thursday, April 17, 2008.

Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 - Writing Prompts

·         “With school turning out more runners, jumpers, racers, tinkerers, grabbers, snatchers, fliers, and swimmers instead of examiners, critics, knowers, and imaginative creators, the word `intellectual,' of course, became the swear word it deserved to be. You always dread the unfamiliar.”

• "Everyone must leave something behind when he dies, my grandfather said. A child or a book or a painting or a house or a wall built or a pair of shoes made. Or a garden planted. Something your hand touched some way so your soul has somewhere to go when you die, and when people look at that tree or that flower you planted, you're there."

• “We must all be alike. Not everyone born free and equal, as the Constitution says, but everyone made equal. Each man the image of every other; then all are happy, for there are no mountains to make them cower, to judge themselves against.”

• “You're not like the others. I've seen a few; I know. When I talk, you look at me. When I said something about the moon, you looked at the moon, last night. The others would never do that. The others would walk off and leave me talking. Or threaten me. No one has time any more for anyone else. You're one of the few who put up with me.”

Official Entry Form

Fiction or non-fiction submissions should be no longer than eight pages in length, double-spaced, pages numbered, using Courier font. Entries will be judged on content, voice and organization. The prompt selected should be listed, but does not need to be used verbatim in the entry. Prompts are listed on the back of this sheet.  Poetry entries cannot be accepted.

Prizes in each of the two categories include gift certificates from Barnes and Noble: $100 for first place, a $50 for second place and $10 for honorable mention entries. Winners will be notified by April 28, 2008, and will be presented at Up in Smoke, a Fahrenheit 451-themed event on May 1 at Food and Fermentation. Winners may read their selections, if they wish.

Submissions can be dropped off or mailed to any of the four Sioux Falls Siouxland Library branch locations (please include three copies) or sent electronically to corey@henkinschultz.com before close on Thursday, April 17. For more information, check the South Dakota Humanities Council website at sdhumanities.org.

IMPORTANT: INCLUDE THIS FORM WITH ENTRY. DO NOT WRITE NAME ON ENTRY. COPY AND PASTE THIS FORM ONTO A BLANK PAGE:

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About the Writer

Name:___________________________________________________________

Mailing Address:______________________________________________________

Email Address:________________________________________________________

Phone Number:_______________________________

Circle one:          Student (Grade 6-12)                   Adult

(If Student:)

Name of School:_______________________________________________________

Name of English/Language Teacher:___________________________________

Signature of Writer____________________________________________________

(Your signature attests that the work you are submitting is your own and that all information entered is accurate.)

The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and Arts Midwest. www.neabigread.org