community

The Panama News announces the

2005 Anona Kirkland Writing Contest

Earlier this year, Panama's little community of English-language writers and journalists lost our senior colleague, former Star & Herald social page editor Anona Kirkland, who died at the age of 100. Late last year, the local chapter of the National League of American Pen Women, which had for several years sponsored the Anona Kirkland Writing Contest, disbanded.

It's a natural thing for a newspaper to promote literacy, and for an English-language publication in a country whose majority and official language is something else to promote the English language. Plus, the editor of this publication served several times on the panels of judges for the Pen Women's productions of the Anona Kirkland Writing Contest.

Thus The Panama News has picked up the challenge, and will take the initiative to continue the Anona Kirkland Writing Contest, inviting others in the community to participate on terms with which they are comfortable.

The rules, fees and procedures that are being used are  mostly a continuation of the way that the Pen Women used to run the contest. The categories and limits have been changed to allow for slightly longer submissions, eliminate the playwriting contest for which there had been no entrant in several years and to bifurcate the short prose category according to the fiction and nonfiction genres.

This contest's timing is also later in the year than the Pen Women's cycles were. We want to do an awards night before the holiday season begins but late enough to let those schoolkids on a US-style year more easily participate.

We will ask various individuals and organizations to help out as judges and otherwise. We ask people who write in English, and those who teach English writing and literature, to submit their work and to encourage their best students to do so.

Contest categories

1. Short fiction

2. Poetry

3. Nonfiction essay

Contest rules

• Limits: Poetry, no more than 50 lines; Essay & Short Story, no more than 3000 words

• Entry fee: $5 per entry, EXCEPT that any currently registered student can submit one free entry  per category

• Deadline: Postmarked no later than September 16, 2004

• Anyone who is a resident of Panama and 15 years or older may enter. Multiple entries are allowed.

• Entries must be written in English, original and unpublished.

• Entries will not be returned after judging. Judges' decisions are final.

• Winners will be announced and prizes awarded at event to be held in late October or early November.

• The Panama News will publish the winning entries.

• Entries must be typed on 81/2" x 11" paper, double-spaced, single-sided, and  stapled.

• DO NOT include author's name on the manuscript. Attach a 3 x 5 card with  author's name, address, phone number and email, and the title and first line of work.

• Checks should be made payable to: Eric Jackson

• Entries may be mailed to:

The Panama News

Apartado 55-0927 Estafeta Paitilla

Panama, Republic of Panama

• Entries may also be left at the Muchachas Guias building on Calle 1ra in Perejil, either with The Panama News or with the Muchachas Guias.