by Officials of the Writers’ Division
The National Federation of the Blind invites you to participate in the 2025 Writers’ Division Writing Contest. Below, you will find our requirements and deadlines. We look forward to seeing your work in the contest this year.
The annual youth and adult writing contests sponsored by the National Federation of the Blind Writers’ Division will open January 1, 2025, and close April 30, 2025. This contest is open to all blind aspiring writers. The term blind is inclusive of low vision, consistent with the Federation’s functional definition of blindness.
Adult contest categories are:
Youth contest categories are short fiction and poetry. The youth contest is divided into three groups, determined by grade level:
In both adult and youth contests, there may be up to three prize winners (first, second, third). In addition, one or more entries may receive honorable mention. Prize-winning entries may be published in the Writers’ Division’s magazine, Slate & Style.
All contest winners will be announced during the 2025 National Convention in New Orleans, Louisiana, at the annual Writers' Division business meeting.
Youth contest winners will receive cash prizes equal to $30 for first place, $20 for second place, and $10 for third place.
Adult contest winners will receive cash prizes equal to $75 for first place, $50 for second place, and $25 for third place.
If you are eighteen years old or older, you must enter the adult contest. The youth contest is for students who use Braille. Entries must be submitted in hand-embossed Braille, either with a slate and stylus or Perkins Braille Writer; there are no exceptions. Submissions must be Brailled by the entrant. All submissions, no matter the grade level, must be in contracted Braille. Let us know whether you “know” or are “learning” contracted Braille. Additionally, let us know whether or not you have chosen to use UEB. Send your hardcopy Braille and cover letter to:
Barbara Hammel
7408 Bryn Mawr Drive
Urbandale, IA 50322
Each entrant must provide an identical electronic copy of the cover letter and contest entry as a Microsoft Word file [doc or docx] or as a Rich Text Format [rtf] file. Construct each contest entry as a separate electronic file. Construct your cover letter as a separate electronic file. Attach each separate electronic file to one (1) email and send it to Shelley Alongi, [email protected].
Include your name and titles of entries in the cover letter only. Each contest entry must contain the title and text only. So, if you are entering three poems and one story into the contest, attach five files to your email. No entries will be considered unless submitted in the formats listed above. Electronic files submitted in any other format will be immediately disqualified, no questions asked.
Your cover letter must contain your name, address, telephone number, and email address. List the titles of all submissions (including the category in which they are being entered), school, and grade level.
We will consider only unpublished original entries. Please do not submit entries that have been previously submitted on a website or blog. Short fiction submissions cannot be more than a thousand words, and poetry submissions must consist of no more than fifty lines. Authors of either poetry or fiction are encouraged to submit multiple pieces.
There are no entry fees.
Are you the best Brailler in the contest? Be sure to double-check your work for spelling and grammatical errors. Remember to use Braille paper so the Braille is easy to read. Good luck!
This contest is for blind writers eighteen years old or older. We will consider only unpublished original entries. Please do not submit entries that have been published on a website or blog. Fiction and nonfiction categories can be of any mainstream genre and cannot exceed three thousand words. Novel excerpts must be no longer than five thousand words and can be partial or complete chapters as long as they fall within the word limit. We will accept poetry of any length.
Adults are required to submit all poetry, fiction, and nonfiction as attachments to an email message. Each entrant must provide an identical electronic copy of the cover letter and contest entry as a Microsoft Word file [doc or docx] or as a Rich Text Format [rtf] file.
Construct each contest entry as a separate electronic file. Construct your cover letter as a separate electronic file. Attach each separate electronic file to one (1) email and send it to Shelley Alongi, [email protected]. Note: Only include the title and text of each entry in each contest entry. So, if you are entering three poems and one story into the contest, you must attach five electronic files to your email. No entries will be considered unless submitted in the formats listed above. Electronic copies submitted in any other format will be immediately disqualified, no questions asked. Authors are encouraged to submit multiple pieces.
Fiction and nonfiction should be written in a normal prose style, with paragraphs being left-justified, lines being single spaced, and using a fourteen-point Arial regular font. Be sure to double-check your work for spelling and grammatical errors. No hardcopy submissions will be accepted.
Along with your entry or entries, include a cover letter providing the following information: your name, mailing address, telephone number, and email address. List the titles of all submissions, including the category in which they are being entered. Indicate the method of payment of the entry fee (check or PayPal). The fee for each short fiction piece, memoir, essay, and novel excerpt is fifteen dollars for members and twenty dollars for non-members. The fee for each nonfiction entry is fifteen dollars for members and twenty dollars for non-members. A member is anyone whose dues to the NFB Writers' Division are current for the contest year. A non-member is anyone who is not a paid member of the NFB Writers' Division at the time of entering the contest. The base fee for poetry will cover up to three poems if the combined line count of all three poems does not exceed 108 lines. Additional poems require a second fee, following the same fee payment scheme. Base fees are fifteen dollars for members and twenty dollars for non-members. You may use PayPal from the Writers’ Division website, writers.nfb.org. Alternatively, you may mail a check made out to NFB Writers’ Division, with a note in the memo line relating to the contest. Send to:
Shawn Jacobson
19541 Olney Mill Rd.
Olney, MD 20832
I pledge to participate actively in the efforts of the National Federation of the Blind to achieve equality, opportunity, and security for the blind; to support the policies and programs of the Federation; and to abide by its constitution.