BROOKINGS – South Dakota State University Veterans Affairs and the South Dakota Humanities Council are sponsoring a storytelling contest for veterans that will culminate with an awards ceremony at the South Dakota Festival of Books Oct. 4-6 in Deadwood.
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BROOKINGS – South Dakota State University Veterans Affairs and the South Dakota Humanities Council are sponsoring a storytelling contest for veterans that will culminate with an awards ceremony at the South Dakota Festival of Books Oct. 4-6 in Deadwood.
Submissions – in either written or video format – will be accepted until Aug. 15 for the Veterans Story Contest, which is open to veterans or current service members of any branch of the United States military currently living in South Dakota.
Submissions should consist of new, unpublished material addressing the military experience, such as recovery or lessons learned. Individuals may submit either a three- to five-minute video or up to 1,500 written words in any format – poetry, prose, fiction, creative nonfiction, etc. Entries will be judged on content, not the production quality of videos or the technical quality of written content.
“There are many benefits for veterans to share their story through creative writing or any other humanities-driven experience that can encourage healing or support others,” said Connie Johnson, coordinator for Veterans Affairs at SDSU. Johnson is also the lone female Purple Heart recipient in North and South Dakota.
Three finalists in each category, written and video, will be invited to the South Dakota Festival of Books in Deadwood for a reading/showing of their work by U.S. Army veteran and author Brian Turner, who will announce the winners and hold a workshop specifically for veterans.
The South Dakota Humanities Council, a statewide humanities organization that hosts the annual festival, will work with the finalists to support their attendance Oct. 5 in Deadwood. Writers do not need to attend the festival to submit work. A representative can read the author’s work on the finalist’s behalf.
Each category winner receives a cash prize of $500, second, $300; and third, $200. In addition, every veteran who submits a story receives one free ticket to Turner’s writing workshop Oct. 4.
Stories should be submitted to:
Connie Johnson
Coordinator for Veterans Affairs
South Dakota State University
Brown Hall Room 134
Brookings, SD 57007
For more information or questions, contact Johnson at connie.johnson@sdstate.edu or 688-4700.
