Posted By Les Conklin on May 1, 2014

11th Annual Summer Fun Write Stuff Contest

Get Published, Prizes, and Recognition

“You don’t have to be a genius to enter.” Albert Einstein

ABOUT THE 2014 CONTEST

It’s time to turn up the fun, spur creativity, and accelerate generosity. Again this year, our summerâ€™s fun is delivered in the form of the our Write Stuff contest. The contest is easy to enter, and there is no entry fee. The deadline for entering is July 31, 2014. This year there are more chances to win, and prizes are being awarded based on categories. For each contest, judges will select one winner for each category and a grand prize for the best overall contest entry.

In addition to publishing winning entries and the usual great prizes that top entries receive, this year The Peak will fund a school visit to the Pinnacle Peak Desert Center in the names of the Summer Fun Photo Contest and Summer Fun Write Stuff winners. Be part of it all and take part in this summerâ€™s contests.

Write Stuff Categories

The categories for the Summer Fun Write Stuff Contest are:

WHATâ€™S WORTH PRESERVING ARTICLE, EDITORIAL, OR POEM: The best article or poem about whatâ€™s worth preserving in our community. It might be a way of life, the desert, a saguaro, a rattlesnake, a nonprofit organization, or local history; the possibilities are endless.

COWBOY POEM: The best poem about the Old West, ranching, cowboy personality, or similar theme. The poem can be serious, humorous, or both.

TALL STORY: The best piece of “verbal exaggeration or boastfulness which may be intended to deceive or may be openly bogus and merely intended to amuse.”

GRAND PRIZE: The best overall article, poem, or story.Â The winning piece will be featured as the lead article in A Peek at the Peak magazine. In addition, The Peak will fund aÂ visit to the Pinnacle Peak Desert Center by an under-resourced elementary school class in the name of the Summer Fun Write Stuff Contest winner. The Desert Centerâ€™s mission is to educate children about the Sonoran Desert in which they live. Through education, the center seeks to ignite a child’s curiosity, respect for the desert, and the stewardship of the desert that will likely follow. The center’s audience is elementary school children, grades one through four, their teachers and aides, and accompanying adults.Â The center conservatively estimates that more than 100,000 children, from 2500 to 4500 per year, have been touched by the program since it began.

All articles, poems, and stories should be about local flora, fauna, places, people, or our community. Entrants can submit a maximum of two entries per category. The piece must have been written by the entrant in the last three years, cannot exceed 700Â words

Prizes and Recognition Galore!

All winning entriesÂ will be published in The Peak magazine (both print and digital versions), and on The Peakâ€™s website. In addition, winners will be recognized in GPPA’s e-Peak Monthly Newsletter, Facebook, and Twitter.

Â Gift cards for local retailers
Gift cards for entertainment venues
Gift certificates for restaurants

Summer Fun on Display Invitation

Be part of the Summer Fun at a local restaurant in September. The winning entries will be available for reading and ALL the photographs entered in the Summer Fun photoÂ contest will be on display, selected writing contest entries will be presented, and contest winners will be introduced. This will be a relaxed, informal event. Everyone is welcome, whether they entered the contests or not. Order food and beverages from the menu at the standard prizes, enjoy a relaxing meal with friends and neighbors, and invest in a 50/50 raffle. Proceeds will be used to maintain the Desert Foothills Scenic Drive. The location of the dinner will be announced in e-Peak Monthly Newsletter and on this website.

Entering the Contest

There is no entry fee. Entrants must submit an entry form along with their entries by July 31st. Contest rules and submission guidelines appear below.

You can also request that we email these items to you. If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to contact The Peak. Our contact information is provided below. BE SURE TO REVIEW THE RULES AND SUBMISSION GUIDELINES BEFORE YOU START CREATING YOUR ENTRIES. Have fun this summer and WIN!

Contest Contact Information

Email: thepeak@gppaaz.org, to request contest information and submit entry forms, and entries
Phone: (480) 361-6498, to request contest information
Mail:Â The Peak, 8711 E Pinnacle Peak Road #123, Scottsdale, AZ 85255, to submit entry forms and entries
Fax:Â Â Â Available, call for information.

Download and Print Contest Entry Form

Before you submit your entry form (s), be sure to review the contest rules and guidelines below. One form can be used to submit three entries. If you have more than three entries, submit additional forms as required. Remember, it’s quality that counts, not quantity.

Download Contest Entry Form

Write Stuff Contest Rules

The article, essay, or poem must be original material written by the person submitting the article.
The entry must be from 500 to 750 words in length. Poems are an exception to this rule and can be less than 500 words in length.
The entry can be fiction or nonfiction.
The entry should have a title.
Entries will be judged based on creativity, originality, and writing skill. The style and tone of the entry should be consistent with material that is published in A Peek at the Peak magazine. Winners of previous contests are posted on our Web site.
The author must be age 13 or older.
A maximum of 2 entries can be submitted for each category. Quality counts, not quantity.
Contestants cannot be members of the GPPA Board of Directors, members of their respective families, or regular contributors to The Peak. The decision of the judges is final.

GPPA and A Peek at the Peak magazine reserve the right to edit and publish the submitted entry in the magazine and GPPA’s Web site, www.ThePeakAZ.org.

Write Stuff Submission Guidelines

A completed and signed entry form must accompany each submission. This entry form should be neatly printed by hand or computer. It can be sent via E-mail, fax, or postal mail and need not be sent with the photograph (s).
The name and phone number of the contestant should be written on the first page of the entry, i.e. article.
Entries can be sent via E-mail, mail, or fax.
E-mailed entries can be sent as attachments and be MS Word or WordPerfect files. The text of an entry can be pasted into the E-mail message.
Mailed and faxed entries should be neatly printed by hand or computer.
The inclusion of up to two photographs, illustrations, or graphics in the article is optional. If these items are included, the author may include a brief caption for each item. We prefer that these items be sent in TIF and EPS, or Jpg file formats. Jpg files, with very high resolution, can be submitted on CDs or a 3.5-inch computer disc formatted for IBM.
You can submit material by E-mail to thepeak@gppaaz.org or fax to (480) 585-1720. Materials can also be mailed to The Peak, 8711 E. Pinnacle Peak Road, #123, Scottsdale, AZ 85255.