Jadyn Iby
Contributing Writer
Saint Rose’s Neil Hellman Library is hosting their second annual Two-Sentence Spooky Story Writing Contest this fall, with the winner receiving a brand new Amazon Fire HD 10 tablet.
“I am interested in this contest because I enjoy spooky stories and think that a lot can be said in two sentences,” wrote Kristy Thompson, ‘27, an adolescent education/history/political science major. “It can help me with creative writing.”
“If you’re serious about winning, you should go to the Writing Center with your story because they might actually be able to give you some insight,” said Connelly Holmes, assistant professor, access services and instruction librarian, and one of the three organizers of the contest. “Just five minutes with them could win you a tablet, or put you as the finalist.” Holmes suggested that students should “get inspired.”
The contest started Monday, Oct. 2, and all students are encouraged and welcomed to join in on the fun. Your two-sentence spooky stories should be submitted by the end of the day, Sunday Oct. 15.
Holmes encouraged as many students as possible to submit their entries. “Two sentences could win you a tablet, so why not?” she asked. Last year’s contest had over 50 entries.
“We want to get them to think creatively with their writing,” said Holmes. “We also want to get them involved with the Writing Center and the Library.” After only three days of the contest starting, already about ten entries had been submitted.
In order to submit your two-sentence scary stories, you must go to the Neil Hellman Library website and either submit it with the form they provide online, bring it in-person to the library, or you can also submit it through the Writing Center.
There will also be an opportunity for students to submit their stories in the EAC building Wednesday, Oct. 11 and Thursday, Oct. 12 between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.. “There will be tables in the EAC. We’re going to have candy and try and entice y’all a little bit more,” said Holmes.
The guidelines and rules to submitting an entry are as follows: You must be a current College of Saint Rose student. The story that you provide must be original and cannot be plagiarized. The library and the Writing Center will not be taking any late story submissions; they must all be submitted by the deadline. Stories that do not follow the two-sentence rule will be disqualified. And lastly, any stories that violate privacy, utilize profanity, promote illegal activity, or incite violence will be disqualified.
A panel of professionals from the library and the Writing Center will pick finalists after the deadline, and public voting will take place between Oct. 23 and Oct. 27 through the library website or by going to the library to vote. Students are advised to only vote once, but can submit multiple entries if they would like.
The winner will be announced on Monday, Oct. 30, and will receive a new Amazon Fire HD 10 tablet. Winning stories will be displayed for everyone to see on the library’s web page as well as in the Neil Hellman Library.
Last year’s winning entry by Ice Tang Wai Xian was: “I finished my assignment and submitted it online by 11:59 PM. But the loading icon just kept spinning.” Holmes said she found the entry to be “clever, witty, but also kind of funny.”
There will be more competitions for students throughout the academic year, including some contests closer to December and a March Madness bracket next year, similar to what was held last year, Holmes said.
