2026 Tournament of Writers Entry Form

Thank you for participating in the 2026 Tournament of Writers, a program of Vicksburg Arts. For more information on the competition, click HERE. For the judging criteria (rubrics), click HERE and scroll to the bottom of the page. The deadline to submit your work is February 28.

The entry fee of $15 for youth and $25 for adults covers one entry. Additional submissions are discounted at $10 each for youth and teens and $15 for adults. You can submit a total of 3 entries, one in each category, fiction, nonfiction and poetry. Financial assistance is available – contact us at info@vicksburgarts.org.

This entry fee includes having your work judged and commented by 3 judges, entry published in The Tournament of Writers Collection, a free copy of the Collection, and an inviation to attend the Book Release Celebration on Thursday, April 23 from 5:30 to 7 pm at Wind + James Event Center, 555 E Eliza, Schoolcraft, MI. 

Near the end of the form, you will be directed to Paypal, our payment processing company. You can use your own debit or credit card or Paypal to pay the entry fee. Make sure you select the SUBMIT button at the end of the form. Once you hit the SUBMIT button, you will not be able to make revisions to your entry. If you make a mistake before you select the SUBMIT button, you should be able to use the back keys located at the bottom of each page. 

If you have any concerns or issues with this form, please call (269) 501-1347.

If author is under 18, please provide name of parent or guardian below:

One of the prizes given is the Gilbert & Ivy Prize, awarded to one teen entry. How old will your child be as of April 23?

What category are you entering (select all that apply)?

Publication Rights

This Tournament is restricted to original works not previously published. If your poems or stories were previously included in a book, journal, anthology, textbook, newsletter, newspaper, magazine, or any other print publication, it is considered published and should not be entered into the Tournament. 

The Vicksburg Cultural Arts Center retains first publication rights, but the author owns the work and can publish the work after the book is released to the public April 23, 2025.

By submitting the work to the 2026 Tournament of Writers, you acknowledge and accept these terms.

If you have any questions about this policy, please contact us at (269)501-1347.

Financial Need

We believe that financial barriers should not exclude people from partipating in this event. The registration cost to participate is $15 for students under 19 years old and $25 for adults. We offer scholarships for those who would not otherwise be able to participate in this program.

The normal registration fee is $15 for students and $25 for adults. For up to two more entries, the fee is $10 each for students and $15 each for adults. To provide access to as many people as possible, we ask you to contribute what you can to the registration fee.

At checkout, choose your age category and indicate the number of entries. After making your selection, scroll to the coupon code.

If you need a full scholarship, type zero in the coupon code and click the apply button. Your total should change to zero. Click the Submit button and you are done!

If you need a partial scholarship, enter in the percent you can pay from one of the following (do not enter the % symbol) and click the Apply button:

10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90.

The total amount will now be reduced to show the percentage you can pay. Follow the rest of the prompts to submit your works. 

Please call (269) 501-1347 if you have any problems with this step!

CHECK OUT

Please select either the Youth/Teen box OR Adult box below. If submitting more than one piece, select the box in front of the age division and then confirm the quantity of additional entries.