Youth New Works Competition

RICHARD HUGO HOUSE SEEKS poems, short stories or personal essays of no more than 1,000 words from students currently enrolled in grades 9-12. The winner will receive $100 and an invitation to read at the third Hugo Literary Series event on February 8, 2013, along-side artists Patricia Smith, Kelly Froh, Arlene Kim and Katie Kate.

THE THEME: All manuscripts must reflect the theme, Strong Female Leads, using the prompt below as a jumping-off point: Can you create a Strong Female Lead without killing someone in the process?

With few exceptions, popular books, movies and TV are awash with gender stereotypes in which strong women become bitches as quickly as Buffy does a flying roundhouse kick to knock out an unfortunate vampire. There are female characters that don’t revolve around the whims of the men in their lives, like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Foxy Brown or Katniss Everdeen—but would each be taken seriously if they weren’t armed? Why do Strong Female Leads have to carry a weapon in order to be seen as anything besides a man-obsessed plot accessory? 

Try creating a female-driven narrative that passes the Bechdel Test: are there more than two female characters? Do they talk to each other? About something other than a guy and relevant to the plot? Now try doing it without killing someone. 

DEADLINE: JANUARY 11, 2013

 TO ENTER: Submit typed, double-spaced manuscripts in a standard font with pages numbered, no staples by January 11, 2013. At the top of the first page please include your name, address, phone number, email address, school and grade. Mail to Richard Hugo House c/o Youth New Works, 1634 11th Ave. Seattle, WA 98122 or email to youth@hugohouse.org