VOWA Sponsors 28th Annual
High School Writing Competition!

Chairperson Terry Lewis Email: lewistmn@msn.com

Rules and Submission Form Downloads:

High School Submission Form, PDF
High School Submission Form, Word Doc.
High School Contest Guidelines-Rules 2020-2021

Competition Deadline: Due to the pandemic, the contest deadline has been extended from January 30,2021 until JUNE 1, 2021

Writers/Photographers Encouraged to Enter Statewide High School Writing Contest 

The Virginia Outdoor Writers Association, Inc. (VOWA) is sponsoring a High School Writing/Photography Competition for 2021, our 28th Annual Competition.  The goal of the competition is to reward high school students for excellence in communicating their personal experiences in the outdoors.  The competition is open to all Virginia students in grades 9 through 12, including home-schooled students.
The theme of this year’s writing/photography contest is:  A Memorable Outdoor Experience.  Any experience by the writer/photographer with hunting, fishing, camping, canoeing, hiking, birding, or other outdoor activity should be the predominant subject matter.  Athletic events or competitions are not an eligible subject matter.
Prizes will be $300.00, $150.0, and $75.00 for the first, second and third place essays. Photo prize awards will be $150, $100, and $50 for the first, second and third place photos. Winners will be announced, and awards presented at the Virginia Outdoor Writers Association annual membership meeting at the DoubleTree Hotel in Charlottesville Fall 2021 if the Covid situation permits a safe face to face meeting.  The winners and four guests (parents, mentors, or teachers) will be invited to the awards presentation as guests of VOWA/Dominion Energy.  Additional guests will also be welcomed but will be charged a $10.00 fee for lunch.
The winning essays will be read by the students and winning photos shown in a PowerPoint at the awards program during the Annual Meeting.  The three top essays and photos will be published on the VOWA website, and may be published in other publications or social media.  In addition, Honorable Mentions may be awarded as the judges see fit and these selected individuals will also be featured on the VOWA website.  Any Honorable Mention winners will be invited to the awards ceremony as VOWA’s guests, but any guests they bring will be charged a $10.00 fee for lunch.
Essays should be written in Microsoft Word format and attached to an e-mail.  The submissions can be made between now and the June 1, 2021 deadline.  To see past essay and photo winners and their winning entries see our High School Essay and High School Photography Winners’ Showcases.

General Competition Guidelines for Essays: 

  1. Open to all Virginia students in grades 9-12, including home schooled students..
  2. Essay theme: “A Memorable Outdoor Experience.” Non-fiction stories only.  Writers will create their own title for the article, something other than using the words of the theme listed above.
  3. Student’s name, grade/school, and home town must be printed in three lines at the top right-hand corner on each page of the entry.
  4. Word Length: 750 to 1,250 words, not including title.  Entry must be typed, doubled-spaced..
  5. Electronic submissions are required; send as a Microsoft Word document.
  6. Include the designated submission form with age, grade, and school or specify if home schooled. Also include a short biographical sketch, which will be included with the winning essays on the VOWA web site.
  7. By submitting the article to the competition, permission is granted by the parent/guardian(s) and student for VOWA to post or publish the article in publications or web sites as deemed appropriate by the VOWA Competition Judges. Compensation is limited to writer credit to the student author to reward and recognize writing excellence, and for VOWA use to promote the competition throughout the year.
  8. Include a complete mailing address and evening telephone number, and an e-mail address (if available), for correspondence purposes only.
  9. Submissions not meeting the competition guidelines and criteria will be disqualified.
  10. Submissions can be made from now to June 1, 2021
Complete the submission form and send via email along with essay as specified in Guidelines to: lewistmn@msn.com . Make E-mail subject line:  HS Contest (followed by your high school name)
If you have questions please email Mr. Lewis at:  lewistmn@msn.com or call him at 804-693-2687. 

General Competition Guidelines for Photographs:

For the Best Outdoor Photo award, each student may submit three of her/his best outdoor photos in JPEG format with a 50 to 75-word paragraph describing the photo.  Photographs should be sized to 1028 pixels on the longest side at 96 ppi, if possible, as this is the size image that works best in PowerPoint and shown with a digital projector or monitor.  If you are unable to do this, a larger image that we can resize is acceptable.
The file name for each image should have the camera number removed and photographer’s name and the image title put in its place.  It is best if you copy and rename your original image so you can retain the camera number on the original image.
Permitted photo editing includes:  cropping; re-sizing; rotating the photo; red-eye removal; simple enhancement such as Auto-fix, Quick-fix, Auto-levels, etc.; filters to sharpen, blur, or reduce noise; corrective functions to improve the natural appearance of the image, such as white balance, brightness, contrast levels, exposure, saturation, and color balance.  Not permitted are techniques such as adding, removing, or replacing elements; artistic filters; and added borders or frames.
Photographers must complete a Submission Form and include a biographical statement as described in the Essay Guidelines. Send photos and materials to Terry Lewis Contest Coordinator, address above.

Good luck and enjoy the great outdoors!