While it may be tempting to try out your new AI skills to write your story, in fairness to others, please don't. You may use AI to check your grammar and spelling but please refrain from submitting a story written by AI.

Entries are due by 10pm on 12 Sep 2023. Please submit your entry to the contest coordinator via email to albreedlove@comcast.net. In the email, please include your name, a reference to the writing contest, the paper’s title, and your phone number. Please make sure your name does not appear anywhere on the entry itself. Please attach a PDF version of your entry to the email.

Entries will be judged anonymously. Evaluators will not be told the names of the authors whose stories they are judging, nor will authors be told the name of the evaluators. Authors will receive a copy of the evaluation sheets and comments made by the evaluators.

Awards for the top 3 papers will be presented at the 17 Oct 2023 MVGS general meeting and the top 3 winning entries will appear in our MVGS Newsletter. Please be aware that due to space limitations, footnote/endnotes may possibly be left off of the version printed in the newsletter.

Can’t think of a topic?

Here are a few ideas, but papers certainly are not restricted to these topics or even these types of questions.

Were they one of the pioneers who went west? Were they part of the Great Migration to New England?
Did your ancestor contribute to their community? Were they the village blacksmith, schoolteacher, or midwife? Were they the sheriff or ferry owner?
Did you uncover a secret about your ancestor? - Did they run off to the Gold or Silver Rush and never return? Were they involved in the Underground Railroad? Were they a flapper who bobbed their hair and learned how to type?
Was your ancestor directly impacted by a major event? Did they help build the Transcontinental railroad, or the Brooklyn Bridge? Did they own a pub or distillery when Prohibition was declared? Did they move as a result of the New Madrid Earthquake? Did they come to Washington, DC during WWII to work for the government?
Is there an ancestor you admire? Why do you admire them?

Contest Rules & Guidelines

1. Paper must be written by an MVGS member; it shall not have been previously published; although it’s okay to publish it elsewhere after the contest is over. MVGS asks that you let us know though, especially if it has appeared in our newsletter. Only one entry per person please. Send that other idea/article to our newsletter!

2. Paper length may be no more than 3 pages (footnotes can be converted to endnotes and placed on later pages, as can your list of sources). As endnotes, they don’t count against the 3 page total.

3. Paper should be single-spaced, with double returns between paragraphs. Use a 12-point font and submit your entry in Portable Document Format (PDF) format.

4. Paper may contain no more than 2 pictures.

5. Include the paper’s title and page number on all pages, but don’t include any other identifying information.

6. Make sure to check the paper’s content for, and delete any, identifying information such as your name, social security numbers, last names of the ancestor if it’s the same as yours, etc. Don’t forget to check the footnotes/endnotes too.

7. To ensure your paper is anonymous to the judges, please make sure to delete any author information from your Preference selections in your word processing software.

In MS Word: their help documents say: open Word, go to File>Info, right click on the author’s name, select “Remove Person.”
On MAC Pages: open Pages, click on Pages in the tool bar, then click on Preferences and a box will come up. At the bottom of the box is a line for Author. Make sure it’s blank.
Just to make sure those worked, after you’ve created your PDF version: go to Preferences and make sure the author box is blank.

Criteria the papers will be judged on

Topic - The paper puts “flesh on the bones” of an ancestor. The story may or may not be dramatic, but the story must engage the reader and be interesting to a non-descendant. [This category earns double points]

Content - The main idea is supported by stimulating details. The purpose is clear [ancestor was a n’er do well, or got themselves in a humorous mess, or was a pioneer, etc.]. The paper includes historical context. The paper has vivid descriptions when appropriate. [This category earns double points]

Organization - The opening/closing grab the reader. The paper has a logical or chronological development. The paper stays focused.

Voice - If written in the first or third person, it reflects the character, attitude, and viewpoint of the ancestor. Otherwise, it reflects the author’s voice.

Mechanics - Grammar, punctuation, and spelling are accurate. The paper has varied sentence structures and there are no run-on sentences. The paper shows evidence of good or capable research. The paper has citations. NOTE, while citations are not judged on their adherence to standards, citations are required to reflect the source of the information, when and where it was acquired or contained, etc. Here are some examples of acceptable, non-standard, citations:

The author's conversation with Aunt Lucy Smith in the 1990s
James Smith, History of the Red River Valley (Smoketown Press, 1999).
1900 US Census, Madison Township, Lake County, Ohio.

Point categories for each of the criteria are:

Exemplary - 5 points [will be doubled]

Proficient - 4 points [will be doubled]

Satisfactory - 3 points

Needs work - 2 points

if you have any questions, please send them to albreedlove@comcast.net.

MVGS members look forward to reading your entries!