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Looking for a way to showcase your writing skills? Want to win cash prizes?
Our writing competition and author festival is back with two levels of competition: For Grades 4–6 & 7–12. Write-On, now in its 17th year, is generously sponsored by the Gift of Carl Foundation.
Submissions are closed for this year's contest.
About the Author
An Evening with Maulik Pancholy
Thursday, Nov. 3, 6:30 p.m.
About Maulik Pancholy
Maulik Pancholy is an award-winning actor, author and activist. He is best known for his comedic turns on television playing Jonathan on NBC’s critically acclaimed 30 Rock, Sanjay on Showtime’s Weeds, and Neal on NBC’s Whitney. He is the voice of Baljeet on Disney’s Phineas and Ferb and the title voice of Sanjay on Nickelodeon’s Sanjay and Craig. On Broadway, Pancholy starred in Terrence McNally’s It’s Only A Play and in the Tony-nominated production of Bess Wohl’s Grand Horizons.
Pancholy’s debut novel, The Best at It (Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins), is about a gay, Indian American boy coming into his own. It was named a 2020 Stonewall Honor Book, a 2019 Junior Library Guild Selection, a Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Books, a New York Times “Best Audiobooks for Road Trips with Kids,” and received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, and the American Library Association’s Booklist. His second novel, Nikhil Out Loud (also with Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins), is slated for a fall 2022 release.
A longtime advocate for the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) and LGBTQIA+ communities, Pancholy was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve on the President’s Advisory Commission on AAPIs. As a Commissioner, he helped launch the anti-bullying campaign ActToChange.org—an organization which he continues to Chair today. Act To Change is now a national nonprofit dedicated to ending bullying for AAPI youth and fostering a world where all young people can celebrate their identities.
Photo credit: https://www.maulikpancholy.com/
Submission Guidelines
There are two levels of competition: Grades 4–6 and Grades 7–12. Cash prizes for first, second, and third respectively.
Submission Guidelines
- Entries are accepted from Friday, Oct. 1, 9 a.m.–Friday, Oct 21, 9 a.m. Submissions are now closed for this year's contest.
- Original short stories must be 2,000-6,000 words. Poetry and song lyrics may be any length. All words must be your own.
- Entrants may enter up to three submissions in each category.
- Entries must be typed, double-spaced, and in a 12 point font.
- Spelling, grammar, and punctuation count.
- Students who enter the contest must attend a school or live in the Indian Prairie Public Library District.
- Submit online entries as a Word (.docx) file.
About the Gift of Carl
Write-On is generously sponsored by the Gift of Carl Foundation, which is named in memory of Carl Vuillaume. Carl was a lover of reading, writing, music, and the outdoors, living by the motto “carpe diem.” Tragically, Carl drowned while vacationing with his family in 2005 at the age of 16. His family received donations and wanted to do something positive with the money—the Gift of Carl Foundation was born. His family approached the library about doing something that would have a lasting impact and honor Carl’s love for the arts and outdoors.
