Peter Jaskiewicz

Are you an aspiring writer? Do you want others to read your short stories or poems? Do you want your work to be seen across the commonwealth? If so, then do I have a place for you!

Penn State University is holding its annual Short Edition Short Story Contest. From March 1 to April 2, 2021, students can submit short stories or poems to have the chance to be published in Penn State Short Story dispensers across the commonwealth. This contest is for all of Penn State, so even if you do not attend classes at University Park, you can still participate.

To be accepted, you will need to write a poem or short story that is significantly tied to the theme. For this contest, the theme is “A Night at the Circus.” The Editorial Board recognizes the problematic history of the circus, specifically racism, ableism, and animal abuse. Therefore, Penn State Short Edition has a list of resources you can use for your research. This includes the history of the circus and resources about modern circuses. Penn State Libraries is another way you can find research material.

While optional, I highly recommend you get research put into before starting your story. Author Jerry B. Jenkins believes research is a vital part of the writing process, whether you’re writing fiction or nonfiction. To him, errors can threaten your credibility as an author. Still, it is important that if you do write about the problematic history of the circus, make sure you acknowledge you are not advocating for inequality in any way.

The submission process is entirely electronic via the Penn State Short Edition submission portal. Submissions must be appropriate for publication and cannot insult others, contain inappropriate content, infringe upon the rights of any person or company, or plagiarize content without consent. Your submission can have a maximum of 8,000 characters for a short story or a maximum of 6,000 characters for a poem.

If you have any questions about this contest, you can direct them to Student Engagement Coordinator Hailley Fargo from University Libraries at hfm14@psu.edu. I wish everyone interested the best of luck in this contest.