While it’s understandable if this summer’s Malad Valley Welsh Festival seems impossibly far away, the writing contest is nonetheless officially open and the committee is ready to accept entries for both poetry and fiction.

Modeled on the Welsh tradition of the eisteddfod, the pinnacle event of the Festival involved the “chairing” of this year’s Bard of the Festival, which is determined through a blind judging process overseen by past bards and event organizers.  For the Poetry portion of the contest, a maximum of 60 lines of verse (in 1-2 poems) on the theme of “castles” may be submitted to the Malad Valley Welsh Festival, PO Box 308, Malad, ID 83252.  See detailed guidelines and cover page on the website: www.welshfestival.com.  Those interested can also contact Brandon Hall at  [email protected]  or Tracy Ward at [email protected].  Both a Festival Bard and a winner of the Patsy Price Scott Prize will be named, and invited to read their poems on June 28th at the Festival.  

Fiction submissions will also be taken for the Fiction Award.  Stories need to be original, and no more than 2000 words.  The theme for this year is “Western or Welsh Pioneer,” and the committee advises that horror and science fiction stories will not be considered for the award.  Lucie Thomas Washburn at  [email protected]  or Brandon Hall at [email protected] can be contacted for more information.

In either case, entries must use pseudonyms on the documents themselves in order to allow for truly blind judging.  Winning either of the poetry prizes or the fiction award is a great honor, and past winners will reunite during the Festival for a Bard’s roundtable that promises to be a treat for listeners.