Mountains of Words

"Words—so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become, in the hands of one who knows how to combine them!"

—Nathaniel Hawthorne

Words, words, words.

By this point in the semester, a lot of us have probably had our fill of words. We’ve taken so many notes, written so many essays, and read so many dry textbooks that writing more words is the last thing we want to volunteer for.

But what if you want to write something creative for a change? And, even better, have a chance of a winning cash for it?

That’s what the Mountain Breeze is for. It’s a literary journal written entirely by students, designed to showcase their best creative and critical work. And not only do you get to see your name in print, but cash prizes are also offered in each of the seven categories. Honorable mention is $25, and it increases by $25 for each place all the way up to first, which is $100. You can submit a total of 3 entries, so there’s a chance of winning up to $300!

In addition, first place winners are automatically submitted to the Southern Literary Festival contest – if it wins there, the author will have the chance to read at the Festival, which will be at Delta State University this year. Just a few incentives to get you excited about writing!

This is not limited to only English majors. Everyone has words and stories they want to share, and this is the opportunity to do that.

Or if words just really aren’t your thing, there’s always the art category. To submit art, take a high-quality picture or scan the artwork and send it as an attachment.

For more information or to get the required entry form, email scribblers@bmc.edu. Please be sure to read the instructions, because incorrectly formatted entries won’t be accepted, and I hate for anyone to miss out on this!

The word count limits are as follows:

-Poetry: 100 lines

-One-Act Play: 5,000 words

-Short Story: 5,000 words

-Formal Essay: 5,000 words

-Creative Nonfiction: 5,000 words

-Devotion: 500 words

The deadline is coming up fast – it’s November 15 this year, so be sure to get your writing done and turned in! Winners will be notified after we come back from Christmas break, and there will be a celebration in April for winners to read their works and students to pick up copies of the printed Mountain Breeze.