Summer Writing Contests Novels & Stories

He'd ask me questions that had me Googling at midnight. Ms. Beck smiled. "He's going to need enrichment. Additional work. Maybe a mentor farther down the road. I'd love to get your permission to submit some of his work to a citywide creative writing contest." "Yes," I said immediately. "Absolutely." I walked home, feeling like I was floating. The street noise was the same—blaring horns, bikes rattling over potholes, laughter from a convenience store radio. But the world had changed. Lighter. Brighter.

What do normal people do when they come to Crete for a summer vacation? They probably post photos on I*******m with captions like "Sun, sea, sand #blessed," sip ouzo in the evenings, smash plates, and just soak up that effortless island vibe. And what am I doing? I’m covering my ears with my hands, counting prime numbers backward in my head, and trying not to lose my absolute mind. I am in a literal marathon to stay sane.

APRIL Excitement buzzed through me as I looked through my application one last time. Competitions were my favorite part of schooling, it had always been so since I was a toddler and nothing changed up till now. We didn’t have much competitions at Enigma, but the few we had were always bloody, students would go to any length to win and one couldn’t blame them because the school always put up pretty amazing cash prizes to be won. This time around, we were gearing up for the Jaw Wars, an annual oratory competition where the winner went home with a ten thousand dollar cash prize, an all expense paid summer trip, and free tutoring sessions.

Summer Love. I didn't think the summer part mattered. Sure we did fall in love during the summer. That doesn't mean I didn't expect it to last past that. It didn't matter to me that he was Nathan Kalis's school-bad boy. To me, he was just Nathan. The man couldn't go more than ten minutes before demanding a kiss. Who always wanted me to cuddle into him. And who loved listening to me read my books out loud.