Student Writing Contest

The Abroad View Foundation is hosting its 8th annual Writing Contest for all currently enrolled undergraduate and graduate students and students who have graduated within the past year. The winner for each category will receive $100, and his or her submission will be published in Abroad View. All submissions entered into the contest by April 1, 2010, will be eligible for further review for magazine and website publication.

Annual Deadline: April 1
Submissions are accepted on a rolling basis and entrants are notified of decisions after June 15th. Please e-mail your submission to editors@abroadviewmagazine.com and note "writing contest" in the subject line.

What We Are Looking For:
Abroad View's writing contest is focused on nonfiction narrative writing, with the exception of "Inspiration" category. The types of stories we cannot use are play-by-play accounts of what you did on your weekend trip or personal statements written for graduate school admission essays. The best submissions will share certain characteristics, notably a strong sense of the author’s personality and style, vivid reporting, a high literary quality, and critical reflection. As you write your story for one of the contest categories, we recommend you focus on the details and nuances of the experiences you write about. Try to describe how people, places, or things looked, smelled, sounded, etc. In addition to compelling writing and cross-cultural relevance, your story should be analytical and developed around a theme that flows throughout your piece. Consider the interesting questions that surfaced while you were abroad or the cultural activities you participated in; incorporate your own feelings when you write; examine the biases and cultural assumptions you had before arriving and how they changed during your time abroad; or find the deeper meanings that unfolded through encounters, conversations, and anecdotes. Additional writing tips can be found here. To further prepare yourself, you may want to review a recent copy of Abroad View for style and content. All articles are archived on this website, or you may pick up a hard copy at your study abroad office or library.

Choose Your Category(ies):
While you may send only one submission for each category, you are welcome to send submissions to as many of the categories as you would like. The maximum word count is 1,500 for all entries.

CROSSING BORDERS: What’s your story about adapting to life in a new country? What challenges and highlights did you experience during your assimilation process abroad? How did you participate in the culture and community? What lessons did you give, what lessons did you learn?

IMMERSION: Study abroad is the ultimate opportunity to become more than just a tourist. We’re interested in all stories related to immersion, whether your topic is language learning, cultural activities, academics, or your living situation abroad.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: Relationships play a significant role in the study abroad experience. Explore the dynamics that developed with host family members, friends, local vendors…individuals with different cultural reference points. How did you embrace differences and work successfully (or unsuccessfully) at building bridges?

INSPIRATION: If studying abroad ignited your imagination, this is your creative outlet for poetry, reflections, funny stories, short fiction, and artwork. Illustrations and photos should be sent initially as low-resolution jpeg, Photoshop, or PDF files (high-resolution will be required for publication).

Writing Contest Guidelines
-Your submission cannot be previously published nor submitted to another publication while it is under consideration.
-Please follow the submissions template located at the bottom of this page for formatting guidelines prior to submitting your entry.
-Adhere to the word count limit of 1,500 words.
-DO NOT send photos with your written submission at this time, but please be prepared to send photos in case your piece wins the contest or is selected for publication.

How to Submit Your Entry:
Send your writing electronically as a Word .doc attachment to editors@abroadviewmagazine.com. If you cannot attach it as a Word file, then paste the article into an email message.

We prefer emailed submissions. If this is not possible, you can also send a CD to:

  1. AV Student Writers Contest
    PO Box 745
    Bennington, VT 05201
    (We do NOT accept paper hard copy submissions.)

Please format your document according to this template:

Submission for AV Student Writing Contest
Date of submission (e.g. 3/25/09)
Writing contest category (e.g. Crossing Borders, Immersion, International Relations, Inspiration)
Word count: (e.g. 1,500)

Author’s information
Name:
School:
Class year or expected graduation date:
Major/minor:
Host country(ies):
Dates for the time you spent abroad:
Purpose of travel (e.g. study, work, volunteer, research)
Study/work/volunteer abroad program:
E-mail:
Phone number:
Current mailing address:
Permanent address:

This is the intro paragraph:
DOUBLE-SPACE. INSERT PAGE NUMBER. USE STANDARD FONT, 12 pt., TIMES NEW ROMAN.

This is the final paragraph.
-END-

Author’s bio (50-75 words): Jane Smith is a senior psychology major at ABC University. She studied abroad with XYZ College in Hanoi, Vietnam last year. Contact her at janesmith123@hotmail.com.