During the month of October, Thomas Branigan Memorial Library is celebrating the 200th anniversary of the publication of Mary Shelley’s classic novel, Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus.

These are the programs open to teens:

Wednesday, October 17th at 4:00 PM in the MakerSpace
Franken-Writing – Teens ages 11-18 can work on creating the next horror classic during this writing workshop.

Wednesday, October 24th at 4:00 PM in the MakerSpace
Franken-Art – The novel Frankenstein has been inspiring artists since its publication 200 years ago.  Teens ages 11-18 can work on their Frankenstein-inspired art during this program.

 

http://www.wbur.org/artery/2015/03/26/sidewalk-poetry

 

 

Big dreams, big prizes

The Imaginormous Challenge is all about coming up with the most imaginative story ideas you can possibly think of!

Open to all children in the US aged 5-12, you simply need to submit your idea for a story in 100 words or fewer for a chance to win one of five incredible prizes.

There is only one judging criterion: Pure Imagination. 

Don’t dilly! Don’t dally! Willy Wonka’s next FIVE Golden Ticket winners must be found!

Enter here.  Watch YouTube video.

Optimist Essay Contest

Monday, February 23 entries are due for the Optimist Essay Contest.  Entries should be 700-800 words on the topic, “Can Society Function without Respect?”  The contest is open to students under 18.  For more information call Warren Noland at 527-1367, email aggieshepherd@gmail.com.

Been There, Done That : Writing Stories from Real Life
Edited by Mike Winchell

“Where do authors get their ideas? And how do they turn those ideas into stories? This anthology looks at the process of taking real-life experiences and turning them into works of engaging fiction. The collection features award-winning and bestselling middle-grade authors who provide both original fictional short stories as well as the nonfiction accounts that inspired them. The contributing authors include Julia Alvarez, Karen Cushman, Margarita Engle, Dee Garretson, Nathan Hale, Matthew Kirby, Claire Legrand, Grace Lin, Kate Messner, Linda Sue Park, Adam Rex, Gary Schmidt, Alan Sitomer, Caroline Starr Rose, Heidi Stemple, Rita Williams-Garcia, Tracy Edward Wymer, Lisa Yee, and Jane Yolen”.

Polish up your reflective writing skills and write a letter to an author—living or dead—explaining how his or her work changed your view of yourself or your world.

ENTER ON ONE OF THE THREE COMPETITION LEVELS:

Level 1: Grades 4, 5 and 6

Level 2: Grades 7 and 8

Level 3: Grades 9, 10, 11 and 12

Deadline (all competition levels): January 12, 2018

Details here.

Scholarship Competition

The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) is giving middle school and high schools students the opportunity to compete for thousands of dollars in awards and scholarships and a trip to Washington., D.D., in the organization’s annual original essay competitions.

The Voice of Democracy audio-essay is a national competition for Public, private, parochial and home-schooled high school students based on an original three-to-five minute audio essay on this year’s theme:  “AMERICAN HISTORY:  OUR HOPE FOR THE FUTURE.”  Winning essays will be selected at the local and national level based on originality, content and delivery.

The Patriot’s Pen youth essay competition awards prizes to public, private, parochial and home-schooled middle school students based on their original 300-400- world essay about this year’s theme:  “America’s Gift to my Generation.”  Winning essays will be selected at the local and national level based on knowledge of theme, theme development and clarity of ideas.

Las Cruces entries must be submitted to the local VFW Post 6917 by October 31.  For more information, visit:  http://www.vfw.org/VOD, call 575-382-9703or email to sraul7175@gmail.com

Aldo Leopold Writing Contest

The purpose of the Aldo Leopold Writing Contest is to build on the author’s legacy by inspiring the next generation of citizens to participate in the evolution of the land ethic through the written word.

The Aldo Leopold Writing Contest invites New Mexico students in grades six through twelve to read Leopold’s work, especially A Sand County Almanac and to write an essay on land ethics.

The essays vary in length according to grade category.  A $500 cash prize will be awarded in each age category with an additional $250 work of books awarded to the school of the overall best essayist.

Visit http://www.LeopoldWritingProgram.org for contest details and entry information.

 

Essay Competition

VFW Kicks-Off Annual Essay Competition

VFW’s annual Patriot’s Pen youth essay competition for middle school students in grades 6th through 8th provides the opportunity to compete and win thousands of dollars in national awards.  The VFW enacted the Patriot’s Pen competition in 1995 to encourage young minds to examine America’s history, along with their own experiences in modern American society by composing a 300-to 400-word patriotic-themed essay.  The theme for the 2016-17 competition is “The America I Believe In.”  Deadline for student entries is Nov. 1.  For information, call VSW Post 6917 at 575-621-5839 or email sraul7175@gmail.com

Workshops for Writers

During National Library Week (April 10-16)  Thomas Branigan Memorial Library will offer three free workshops for writers interested in self-publishing. These workshops feature a new product that the Library is providing: FastPencil, which is a self-publishing platform designed for new and/or established authors to use to develop and edit their works. FastPencil’s cloud-based writing tools and online interface make it easy to write, organize and edit. Writers can also share progress with and get feedback from other FastPencil users, friends, and relatives. When a project is finished, FastPencil also has the tools to publish the final results.

The workshops will be held on Saturday April 9th at 10:00 am in the Computer Classroom and on Tuesday April 12th at 11:00 am and again at 4:00 pm in the Roadrunner Room. Both the Roadrunner Room and the Computer Classroom are located on the Library’s second floor.

All three workshops will cover the same material:

1.  How to get a free FastPencil account
2.  How to sign
3.  How to get started writing

For more information and to register contact Mark Pendleton at mpendleton@las-cruces.org or call 528-4001.