YA Anti-Pie Romance Contest

Details

In his article “Young Adult Literature in the 21st Century: Moving Beyond Traditional Constraints and Conventions,” Jeffry S. Kaplan discusses the shifting nature of YA literature. New topics, issues, and questions arise for this genre that previously were not discussed in young adult novels. Where does technology leave us as human beings? What does it mean to be a person when faced with such advancement? But one question remains the same: Who am I? Adolescence offers a perspective on growth that writing typical fiction does not allow.

With that in mind, we’re going to explore YA romance for this contest. Let’s call it the Anti-Pie Romance. Take a break from stereotypical apple pie romance (All-American Boy meets All-American Girl and they live happily ever after). Nicholas Sparks’ brand of summer romance is not welcome here. Your task is to write a YA genre summer romance story that’s non-traditional. It can still be boy-meets-girl, but it has to be an odd pairing somehow: cyborg/human, alien/human, ghost/ghost, boy/boy or girl/girl, anything so long as it isn’t your typical, bland teen romance.

Your entry must be fiction no longer than 3000 words. If you need a little help or don’t often write YA fiction, this is a good starting point. There are also a couple groups you can turn to for help and support:

• YA Authors
• Young at Heart

Back to high school with you!

Winning entries

Winners have been announced! Log in to see them.

Prizes

Rules

• Your entry must be a piece of YA fiction totaling 3000 words or fewer as counted by Scribophile.

• Entries must be received before midnight on August 31, 2012 (UTC time), and winners will be announced within two weeks of that date.

• Entries will be judged by three Scribophile member volunteers. Decisions are final.

• Only one entry is allowed per member. Multiple entries will all be disqualified.

• Work must have Public visibility on Scribophile until winners are announced.

Submission guidelines

• To enter the contest, post your work on Scribophile and check the box that says "Enter this work into The YA Anti-Pie Romance Contest". Your work will automatically be considered. The checkbox will be visible until the contest deadline, which is in UTC time.

• Entry is free, but you'll need karma points to post your work. You can earn karma points by writing critiques of work by other members.

• If you have placed in a contest in the past with a particular piece, you may not resubmit that piece in other contests.