Rules and Guidelines for the 2026-2027 Cross-Genre Collaborative Competition

 

The NLAPW cross-genre competition is designed to encourage Pen Women across genres and branches to collaborate creatively with each other. There are no themes or restrictive rules other than what is suggested below. Competition teams may be made up of Pen Women within one branch, members-at-large, or multiple branches. The intent behind the competition is to inspire new creative and collaborative projects (not ones previously created and repurposed for this competition).

This year, there are two categories:

  • Short-form projects: Each team will be made up of two Pen Women who work in two different genres. The project may consist of any combination of two: single page of writing, single work of art, or single musical movement.
  • Long-form projects: Teams may be made up of two to four members who work in at least two different genres. The project may consist of any combination of two or more: writing longer than five pages, multiple works of art (more than one), or musical compositions or multiple musical movements.

All competition entries will be anonymously judged by outside writing, art, and musical professionals (non-Pen Women) in their respective areas of concentration. A finalist judge will determine the two first-prize winners, one in the short-form and one in the long-form competition.

Prizes

Two first prizes will be awarded to different teams by the finalist judge: one for each category. The short-form prize is $300 and long-form prize is $400. Each of the prizes must be evenly divided among the members of the winning team.

Rules

The entire project must be the original work of current Pen Women. No contributions of any kind from nonmembers are allowed. No AI-generated material is allowed.

The final creative project for the short-form project must involve two Pen Women from the same branch, different branches, or members-at-large working in different genres.

The long-form project may involve between two and four Pen Women in the same or different branches, or MAL in at least two different genres. There are no length restrictions on the long-form project. Focus is on the quality and intertextuality of the genres.

Both short- and long-form projects must demonstrate collaboration between Pen Women in any combination of the following genres:

  • Art and letters
  • Letters and music
  • Music and art

For example, the final creative project submitted for competition may be a musical composition with lyrics; a work of art with thematically related or ekphrastic written essay, poems, or story; a literary work in any genre accompanied by a thematically related work of art or music; a chapbook of ekphrastic poetry and art, etc.

How to Submit

Projects must be submitted via the email provided on the form. Download the entry forms for:

The completed application form may be scanned and emailed with the entry to streamline the application process, or mailed separately to National. Entry fees may be paid by check to the NLAPW (mailed to the attention of the Treasurer) or through PayPal on our website.

Submit in the following formats: written work as a Word doc or PDF, artwork as jpegs, and music as mp3 or wav files. All work may be collected and sent as a Zip (compressed) file, or separate files together in one email message. Ensure all files are labeled with the project name and can be opened.

All names and identifying material should be removed from the entries, with the exception of the title of the project. Names of team members and contact information must be on the application form only. Please print legibly or type.

This project should be a new work created specifically for this competition, and Pen Women members must sign a statement that all aspects of the work for the competition were created during the last year before, up to one year after the date of the competition announcement. This two-year window affords an opportunity for artists to create pieces that may take longer to complete.

There must be at least 15 team entries in the short-form category and 9 long-form entries to hold a valid competition and for two prizes to be awarded and judges to be reimbursed. If competition entry numbers do not meet that threshold, all entry fees will be returned.

Fees and Deadline

• Short-form submissions: $30 ($15 for each team member)
• Long-form submissions: $60 (from $15 to $30 each, depending on number of team members)

All submissions must be received by May 30, 2027.

Winners will be notified at least three months before the 2028 Biennial and awarded their prizes at the event. If a winning team is unable to attend the Biennial, that team prize will be mailed one month after the conclusion of the conference.