By Melanie Holmes
New for 2023 is Chicago Literary Hall of Fame’s (CLHOF) Randall Albers Young Writers Award, which is open to students in grades nine-12, who live in Chicago or one of its five collar counties – including Will County. CLHOF will accept original prose entries in either fiction or nonfiction (up to 2,500 words), and cash prizes will be awarded, plus, each winner will receive a writing consultation with one of the editors for “DePaul’s Blue Book: Best American High School Writing 2023.”
For any writer (of any age) who wants to get published, the question is always, “What’s the submission fee?” For this contest, there is no fee. It’s absolutely free to submit prose pieces.
So, if you know a budding writer in Will County (or Chicago or one of the other four collar counties – DuPage, McHenry, Lake, Kane), give them this article and help them submit their work. In a writer’s world, this is called, “building a platform.”
First place winner will win $500, second place – $250, third place – $150, and fourth place – $100. The contest runs through April 3. Submission guidelines are at https://chicagoliteraryhof.org/projects/albers_award.
Randall Albers, for whom this contest is named, was a professor and Chair Emeritus of Fiction Writing at Columbia College-Chicago. As an educator, volunteer, and mentor, Randall has long supported helping young writers to find, develop, and amplify their voices, in order to encourage full inclusion into the arts. Albers also led development of abroad programs in Rome, Florence, Bath, Prague, and Moscow.
Question may be directed to albersaward2023@chicagoliteraryhof.com.