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And the Winners are…

Catholic Literary Arts announces the winners of the 2022 Homeschooling Sacred Poetry Middle School Contest

Sixth Grade: First Place Winner: Remy Zanovello

Sixth Grade: Second Place Winner: Daniel-Jude Joseph McClane

Sixth Grade: Third Place Winner: Shiloh Stevens

Seventh Grade: First Place Winner: Cole Warner

Seventh Grade: Second Place Winner: Nina Marinelli

Eighth Grade:  First Place Winner: Mariam Henderson

Eighth Grade:  Second Place Winner: John-Paul Joseph McClane

Join us in celebrating these young winners, their families and home-school communities at a reading at the University of St. Thomas, May 13, 2022, 10:00 a.m. Jones Auditorium.  Keynote speaker is journalist Fran Fawcett Peterson.

From the first-place winners, a poet laureate will be named.

R.S.V.P. is required through Eventbrite.

Contest Information

Goal:

The goal of the Homeschooling Sacred Poetry Contest for 6th-8th grades is to inspire students to write about spiritual topics, increase writing skills, and increase writing confidence.

Eligibility:

The Homeschooling Sacred Poetry Contest is only open to home-schooling students in 6th, 7th, or 8th grade in the greater Houston-Galveston area.

Prizes:

• First, second, and third prize winners will be selected from each grade: sixth, seventh, and eighth.

• All first through third prize winners in each grade will have their poems published in a Catholic Literary Arts Anthology and a paid full-tuition scholarship to attend Catholic Literary Arts’ Fearless Catholic Summer Writing Camp on June 13-17, 2022.

• From the first-place winners in each grade: sixth, seventh, and eighth, a poet laureate will be chosen for the homeschooling communities in the greater Houston area.

• Only first-place winners are eligible for consideration for the poet laureate designation and the first prize-winning poems will be published on the Catholic Literary Arts website.

• Poet Laureate wins:

○ A $500 Cash Prize

○ Full Scholarship to Catholic Literary Arts’ Fearless Catholic Summer Writing Camp

Theme:

For the 2022 Homeschooling Sacred Poetry Contest, students will write a poem related to the Spiritual Works of Mercy:

• To instruct the ignorant

• To counsel the doubtful

• To admonish sinners

• To bear wrongs patiently

• To forgive offenses willingly

• To comfort the afflicted

• To pray for the living and the dead

 Guidelines:

• Each student may submit a maximum of four poems.

• Each poem should be a maximum of 32 lines; the title and stanza breaks do not count as lines.

• Poems must be typed with a Times New Roman or Arial 12-point font. We regret that we're unable to accept handwritten pages.

• Form: all forms and free verse are accepted.

• The name of the author cannot appear on the poem/s. Student's name must appear in the submission form when the poem is submitted along with all other requested information.

• All poems must be original, unpublished in print, unpublished on the web or in limited edition books.

• Simultaneous submissions are not allowed. This means that if your poem is submitted to this contest it cannot be submitted to other contests or for publication in journals, magazines, newspapers, or online while we are considering it for this contest.

• Entry Fee: $2 per poem.

• All submissions are handled through Submittable.

Timeline:

• Contest Period: February 8 to April 13, 2022. Contest closes at 11:59 p.m. on April 13th

• Announcement of Winners: On April 19, 2022 by eight p.m., winners will be announced on www.CatholicLiteraryArts.org

• Contacting Parents: On April 20-21 the Winners’ Parents will receive an email and/or phone call confirming attendance at the Awards Ceremony.

• The Awards Ceremony will be on Friday, May 13, 2022 at ten a.m., Jones Auditorium at the University of St. Thomas, Houston, TX with keynote speaker Ms. Fran Fawcett Peterson.