OWAA's Norm Strung Youth Writing Awards now open for 2019

MISSOULA, Mont. - The Outdoor Writers Association of America® is once again hosting the Norm Strung Youth Writing Awards. The 2019 contest allows promising young writers to showcase their skills and win cash prizes.

The contest features categories in poetry or prose and awards prizes in two divisions. At the time the entry was written the author must have been a student in grades 6-8 to enter the junior division or grades 9-12 to enter the senior division. All entries must have been written in 2018.

The topic must be outdoor-oriented (hiking, camping, boating, fishing, hunting, nature, ecology, canoeing, etc.).

Entries are judged by a panel of OWAA professionals and the winners are awarded cash prizes.

Entrants must submit one copy of his or her work, either a tear sheet from a publication or manuscript. The entry must also include the entrant’s name, contact information (address, email, telephone), grade in school, and name/date of publication in which the work appeared, if applicable.

There is no limit on the number of entries, but each student is limited to one prize per annual contest.

The deadline for submitting entries is April 12, 2019. The preferred entry method is email submission to info@owaa.org. Entries also can be mailed to OWAA Headquarters, 2814 Brooks St., Box 442, Missoula, MT, 59801, but must be postmarked no later than April 12, 2019. Be sure the entry indicates the division for which the entry is intended (“Junior” or “Senior”) and the category (“Poetry” or “Prose”).

Generous donations from OWAA members ensured cash prizes for this year’s contest.

OWAA will announce the winners during summer 2019. OWAA reserves the right to reprint the winning entries in its publications, including Outdoors Unlimited®, and on its website, www.owaa.org.

The Norm Strung Youth Writing Awards were named after the late Norm Strung, who served as OWAA president in 1984-1985. Strung received OWAA’s Excellence in Craft award in 1989 and the J. Hammond Brown Award for continuous service to OWAA in 1988. That same year, he organized and edited a book for OWAA titled “Selling the Outdoor Story.”

To request more information, call the OWAA office at 406-728-7434 or email info@owaa.org.

OWAA is The Voice of the Outdoors®. The Outdoor Writers Association of America is the oldest and largest association of professional outdoor communicators in the United States. It was organized in 1927 by members of the Izaak Walton League of America and includes professional communicators dedicated to sharing the outdoor experience. OWAA’s professionals include writers, photographers, outdoors radio- and television-show hosts, book authors, videographers, lecturers and artists. For more information, contact Outdoor Writers Association of America, 2814 Brooks St., Box 442, Missoula, MT, 59801; 406-728-7434,info@owaa.org; www.owaa.org.