Join Manatee Library’s first ever Teen Short Story Contest! All teens in the Manatee County Area are invited to submit a short story which will be judged by a panel of librarians. Then, join us for our celebration on December 16th .

Guidelines: Stories will be judged in two different categories: middle school and high school Each entry should be: -12 point legible, non-cursive font (Arial, Times New Roman, Garamond, etc) -Between 500 and 2000 words -File type Microsoft Word-Readable document or PDF -Written by the writer and only the writer (no help from other humans or AI)

-Given a title and include writer’s name, school, grade, and email -Related to the theme: “It happened in the library!” (Open to interpretation) Works accepted: Fiction, including stories-in-verse

Works not accepted: Poetry, nonfiction, fanfiction

Submissions are accepted online October 1st through December 1st.

Entries can be submitted digitally (preferred) via email to Rachel.scharbo@mymanatee.org. They can also be turned in in-person to Braden River library.

Entries must be submitted by 11:59 pm on December 1st.