• Entrants must be in kindergarten – tenth grade.
• Only single author stories qualify (no co-authored stories).
• Entries can be fact or fiction.
• Story and artwork must be original work of the child.
• Text must be printed/written legibly or typed.
• Invented spelling is accepted.
Word Count
• Kindergarten and first grade stories must have a minimum of 50 words and a maximum of 200 words.
• Second and third grade stories must have a minimum of 100 words and a maximum of 350 words.
• The word count includes “a,” “an,” and “the,” but not the words on non-story pages such as the title page or those that enhance the illustrations.
• Fourth and fifth grade stories must have a minimum of 300 words and a maximum of 500 words.
• Sixth and seventh grade stories must have a minimum of 300 words and a maximum of 800 words.
• Eighth and ninth grade stories must have a minimum of 400 words and a maximum of 1000 words.
• Tenth, eleventh and twelfth grade stories must have a minimum of 500 words and a maximum of 1200 words.
Judging
The judging criteria and percentages used by the judges will be graded using a rubric based on the following criteria as follows:
• 40% Creativity and originality of plot and/or themes,
• 40% Story structure and use of literary devices,
• 20% Relevance, quality, and originality of illustration All decisions of the judges are final and binding and not subject to appeal or review. Prizes The top four winners in each grade category will be recognized.
Winners will be as follows
(1) the entry with the highest score from the judges and a maximum number of likes by the parents among all eligible entries received per grade will be deemed the First-Place winners.
(2) the entry the second to the highest score from among all eligible entries received per grade and second highest likes by the parents will be deemed the Second-Place winners
(3) the entry with the third to the highest score from among all eligible entries received per grade and third highest likes by the parents will be deemed the Third-Place winners.
In the event of a tie, the entry with the highest score in the creativity and originality category from among all tying entries will be deemed the winner from among all tying entries.
Copyright
Students retain the copyright to their submissions to USTAR AMAZING Writers contest. However, students need to grant USTAR the right to reproduce any submission on its website or any other USTAR publication regardless of medium of publication.
