2012 Norman Mailer College Writing Awards

From Cari Rich at the National Council of Teachers of English:

The Norman Mailer Writers Colony and the National Council of Teachers of English are pleased to announce that we are now accepting submissions for the 2012 Norman Mailer College Writing Awards. This year's category is Fiction. There are three competitions open to college students: The Two-Year College Writing Award Competition is open to first and second-year full-time students enrolled in community colleges, junior colleges, and technical colleges. Maximum length of entry is 15 single-spaced pages. Winner will receive the following: • Cash award of $5,000 • Travel and lodging* to attend the Colony’s National Award Ceremony The Four-Year College Writing Award Competition is open to current full-time undergraduate students. Maximum length of entry is 15 single-spaced pages. Winner will receive the following: • Cash award of $10,000 • Scholarship to the Norman Mailer Writers Colony during the summer of 2013 • Travel and lodging* to attend the Colony’s National Award Ceremony Students may submit one or more stories (within the page limits) or a self-contained section of a longer work (for example, from a novel). Submissions may be “conventional” or “experimental” and may represent any fiction tradition. However, the best work will demonstrate compelling literary merit. NEW! The Poetry Award is open to full-time students enrolled in four-year colleges, two-year colleges, junior colleges, and technical colleges. Students may submit one or more poems, to a maximum of 10 pages. The winner will receive: • Cash award of $5,000 • Travel and lodging* to attend the Colony’s National Award Ceremony Entries for all three awards will be accepted until April 30, 2012, Noon CDT. For more information, or to enter, visit: http://www.ncte.org/awards/student/nmwa Please feel free to pass this on to your colleagues or students who might be interested in this exciting award. If you have questions, please email nmw@ncte.org. Best, Cari Cari Rich National Council of Teachers of English *Funding for travel is limited to the continental United States, Alaska, and Hawaii. Canadian and other foreign students are eligible to enter. Outside of the US a $500.00 USD payment toward travel will be allowed. Hotel will be paid as for students in the US.

Summer Internship Opportunity at Marshall Lyon County Library

The following Internship Posting come directly from librarian Lacey Louwagie. She writes:

The summer reading program intern will work closely with the Marshall-Lyon County Library Teen Services Librarian, Lacey Louwagie, on services for middle-school and high-school library patrons.

Responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

·         Updating the teen Book Review Blog with book reviews gathered from the Summer Reading Program

·         Assistance planning, promoting, and supervising summer teen programs

·         Keeping teen websites and social media up-to-date

·         Researching teen media, compiling databases, and advising teens on reading and media selections

·         Assistance decorating and organizing the Teens section of the library

·         Other duties as they arise

Because this internship covers many aspects of librarianship as well as real-life interaction with adolescents, it’s a good fit for both students interested in working in libraries and students interested in working with adolescents and teens.

Scheduling

Teen programs are scheduled for Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout the summer, from 1 – 3 pm, at the Marshall library. The Summer Reading Program intern will not need to attend every program, but should be available for help with high intensity programs. The Summer Reading Program intern is required to help chaperone the end-of-summer lock-in (Date to be determined). The internship will run from the middle of May to the middle of August.

Outside of teen programs, scheduling can be flexible, with a preference given to Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. An intern should expect to put in 10 – 20 hours per week, or as many hours as required by his or her academic program.

Compensation

This is an unpaid internship. However, the Marshall-Lyon County Library will work with your academic advisor to fulfill any requirements to receive credit for the internship.

How to Apply

Interested applicants should send a letter of interest to Lacey Louwagie (LaceyL@marshalllyonlibrary.org) / c/o Marshall Lyon County Library, 201 C. St., Marshall, MN 56258 by March 30th. Letters of interest can be emailed, mailed, or dropped off at the library front desk. Email or call Lacey Louwagie with any questions (507-537-7003).

Logo Contest

Council for Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication is holding a logo contest for its journal, Programmatic Perspectives.

The winner will receive $100. The deadline for submitting logos is April 1, 2012. For more information, visit the CPTSC website.

Ethics in Visual Rhetoric

 

We Pop Way Too Many Pills, And The Pills Don’t Even Work

Professional communication is everywhere. This infographic talks about over-medication but also deals with the ethics of visual rhetoric in business and technical communication.

Design is Important Too

Creating documents that are user-friendly and user-centered is ideal as a professional writer. Design, especially design geared towards end users, is just as important as the actual written content of a document and/or webpage. Check out this article about how to effectively design webpages with easy flow for end users.

Stop Designing Pages and Start Designing Flows
By Morgan Brown

Association for Business Communication (ABC) Writing Contest

Those of you who like business writing should consider entering the Association for Business Communication’s student writing contest. The contest asks you to write in response to a case.

The 1st place winner will receive $300, the 2nd place winner will receive $200, and the 3rd place winner will receive $100. Entries must be received by Friday, April 20, 2012, to be considered, and the winners will be announced during summer 2012.

For more details, visit ABC's website.

The Value of a Liberal Arts Degree

The value of a liberal arts degree is often questioned as a degree that offers real job and career paths. The links below are articles showing the value of a humanities degree through real-world experience and evidence.

Humanities Majors Will Be Fine
by Daniel Luzer in his College Guide blog

IT Jobs for Non-Techies
by Elizabeth Murphy in Inside Higher Education