Who may submit a story?
At the time of submission, students must be enrolled with the UNMC College of Nursing and in good standing. To be an eligible winner, the student must maintain their good standing or have graduated from the College. Applicants from all nursing degree programs and all CON campuses are welcome and invited to submit.
What are the writing criteria?
- Work may be either fiction or non-fiction, prose, or poetry.
- Limit is two pages double-spaced with 1” margins, of course it may be shorter than this.
- Font should be Times New Roman, size 12.
- Absolutely no patient identifiers may be in the work: HIPPA compliance is required. [Contact Mark Darby mark.darby@unmc.edu or Amelia Stoltman amelia.stoltman@unmc.edu for guidance.]
- APA formatting is NOT required, encouraged, or desired –– though correct spelling and general punctuation are nice.
- The theme for this year’s awards is:
- Your submission should reflect that theme in some way. Other than that, use your imagination.
- All stories MUST be original, written by the person making the submission. No plagiarism. Stories should not have been published previously.
- Stories should not deal with any offensive or erotic material.
I don’t understand the theme – can you say more about the theme?
The theme is meant to be broad. It can mean different things to different people. It may mean that you were impacted by a patient of a different gender, sexual orientation, race or country of origin that caused you to rethink your values or beliefs or perspective. One way to think about it is that nurses come in all sizes, shapes, and colors and care for patients who come in all sizes, shapes and colors. Those kinds of interactions can change us or challenge us. The story must in some way reflect this. The main outcome should be a good engaging story.
Any hints on what would make a good story?
You have two pages, no more. Chose the best words to convey the story. Leave out needless details. Write it once. Then re-write a few days later. Get some feedback from someone. Enjoy yourself and the process.
Need ideas of what to write about?
Check out the Yale Creative Writing Awards at https://nursing.yale.edu/students/student-awards/creative-writing-awards/2020-creative-writing-awards
And, check out this article from Minority Nurse. https://minoritynurse.com/why-nurses-should-consider-creative-writing/ [minoritynurse.com]
How will the stories be judged?
Stories will be rated on originality, ability to draw the reader into the story, and meaningfulness.
There are two rounds of judging. Applicant identity will be blinded in each round. First, each story will be read by several volunteer faculty and community members. The top stories from this first round will be read by our Celebrity Judges. From this round, four stories will be chosen for awards, as well as several honorable mentions.
Winners will be announced, and awards presented at the Creative Writing Awards Banquet in April 2024. The awarded stories will be included in the Creative Writing Awards Website and published in the UNMC College of Nursing Creative Writing Awards 2024 Edition.
How Do I Submit a story?
Only electronic submissions are accepted. Submissions are accepted through NuRamp. You can access NuRamp . You may submit up to two stories: each story must be submitted as its own application. Students may submit stories at https://nuramp.nebraska.edu/competitions/view?CompetitionUUID=d748e917-b943-4333-8efe-a64aa20ff5c2
How will I know if I successfully submitted the story?
You will get an email confirming that your story has been successfully submitted; it might take a day or two to receive this email.
What is my deadline?
Applications will be accepted from Nov 15, 2023 to Jan 8, 2024, by 5 pm CST.
Will my story be read?
Yes. Yes. Yes. It may not make it in the awards or receive an honorable mention, but it will be read. Though we cannot provide direct feedback to applicants due to the number of applications, we WILL read them.
What about these awards I could win?
We will award four $1000 prizes to each of the 4 tops winners. This contest will coincide with an Alumni Contest (Note- There will NO cash prizes for the Alumni Contest.) Winners will be posted on the UNMC Website and included in our commemorative book. Each winner will receive a complimentary copy. All winners must be at the Creative Writing Awards Banquet to read their story. We also want to record your story to be made available on our Creative Writing Program Website.
Contact Mark Darby mark.darby@unmc.edu or Amelia Stoltman amelia.stoltman@unmc.edu for guidance.