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February 24, 2013

Big Read Writing contest still accepting entries

Transcript Staff The Norman Transcript

NORMAN — The deadline is nearing for the Pioneer Library System’s Short Story Writing Contest, inspired by and modeled on the plot of the novel “Old School” by Tobias Wolff as part of The Big Read for 2013.

Original, unpublished short stories of no more than 1,500 words, written by students residing within the tri-county service area of the Pioneer Library System (Cleveland, McClain, and Pottawatomie counties) are eligible. Entries must be submitted via the PLS Big Read website www.bigreadok.com no later than 11:59 p.m. March 15.

Entries will be judged in two categories: The high school category is for students living in the tri-county PLS service area enrolled in a public, private, online, or homeschool program in grades 9-12 during the 2012-2013 school year; the college category is for freshman-senior students during the 2012-2013 school year enrolled in a public, private, or online college operating within the tri-county PLS service area.

The Big Read is presented with underwriting from the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. Wolff’s novel is this year’s featured book for The Big Read. As part of the novel, set in 1962 at a private boarding school, students compete for the honor of meeting visiting authors by entering a writing contest. The guest author selects the winning entry and gives the student a private critique.

In the 2013 version of the contest, local student authors can compete for the honor of meeting Tobias Wolff when he visits Oklahoma to culminate The Big Read in late April.

The winning entry in each category will be selected by Tobias Wolff, the author of Old School.

Winners will be announced at The Big Read Book Discussion April 10, and the contest winners and their guests will be invited by the Pioneer Library System Foundation to a reception for Tobias Wolff on April 24.

The Big Read is sponsored by The National Endowment for the Arts, Oklahoma Humanities Council, Norman Arts Council, University of Oklahoma Outreach, the Anne and Henry Zarrow Foundation, the Pioneer Library Foundation and the Pioneer Library System.

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