Enter BPL's Annual Writing Contest
Calling all aspiring Burlington writers—embark on a literary adventure and let your creativity soar!
Burlington Public Library's annual writing contest, Write Here Write Now, runs May 1 to 31, 2025. We invite everyone ages 10 and older who lives, works, or attends school in Burlington to unleash their storytelling prowess and enter their creative work.
This year’s theme, "Whisper," offers a boundless array of interpretations. Let your imagination roam freely within the theme, whether it’s a secret between friends, a warning in the dark, a piece of advice that changes everything, or even the sound of the wind through the trees. Your challenge is to write a short story, poem, or comic that revolves around a whisper—whether it’s spoken, heard, or imagined.
Our contest features three exciting categories: short stories, poems, and comics, each judged by age group: 10-12, 13-17, and 18+. Last year, we read nearly 200 entries across these categories, revealing an impressive array of talent in our community.
We are seeking unpublished and original works sparked by your imagination. The entry deadline is Friday, May 31, so mark your calendars and start crafting your masterpieces!
A team of dedicated contest judges will carefully select one winning entry from each age and contest category. The winners will receive a $100 cash prize, along with the admiration of our community for their storytelling achievements.
Read the contest entry rules and submit your entry.
We look forward to being part of your creative journey!
Ready… Set… Write!
Check out these gems in our collection about writing and creativity, along with other suggested titles in this list of Books About Writing.
ZEN IN THE ART OF WRITING
The celebrated author of Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles offers inspiration and insight on finding one's muse and channelling it onto the page. If you’ve tried writing before and found yourself losing the thread over and over again, your excitement ebbing away as the difficulty mounted, Bradbury’s collected wisdom will keep your inspiration levels high.
Borrow Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury
LIGHT THE DARK
What inspires you? That's the simple, but profound question more than forty renowned authors answered. A collection of anecdotes and advice from some of the world’s most important authors. Each writer shares a favorite passage of theirs, then explains how it changed their life and approach to the craft.
Borrow Light the Dark: Writers on Creativity, Inspiration, and the Artistic Process by Joe Fassler, Editor
ON WRITING
Part memoir, part guidebook, Stephen King’s classic will appeal even to those who avoid King’s renowned horror-packed tales. In this book, King offers a revealing and practical view of the writer’s craft, comprising the basic tools of the trade every writer must have, and discusses how he came to be the writer we know today.
Borrow On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
STEAL LIKE AN ARTIST
Forget the old cliché about writing what you know: Instead, write the book you want to read, make the movie you want to watch. An his inspiring guide to creativity in the digital age, Kleon shares ten transformative principles that will help you discover your artistic side and build a more creative life. And Kleon's follow-up books, Show Your Work! and Keep Going help keep your creative juices flowing!
Borrow Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon
THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE
This small volume is the indispensable "little black dress" for writers. This classic manual has conveyed the principles of English style to millions of readers since Strunk wrote it for his own use while teaching English at Cornell University in 1919. E.B. White, a former student of Strunk's and a lauded writer himself, edited two later editions of this popular book. The secret to its success lies in its time-tested advice on improving writing skills and promoting a style marked by simplicity, orderliness, and sincerity.
Borrow The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. & E.B. White
