Entries must be postmarked no later than 15 July 2010; electronic entries will not be accepted. The winning entry will receive The Michael Clark Family History Writing Award at the 2010 MGS Awards Banquet, held October 1.

Submit four copies of the entry, on 8 ½ x 11" paper, not exceeding 3000 words in length. It must be typewritten or computer-printed in 10 or 12 point type and comfortably spaced (double-spaced is fine.) Place the title of the paper and the page number on each page.

Place a cover page on the entry giving the author’s name, mailing address, phone number, email address, the title of the paper, word count, and the number of pages submitted. The pages should not be stapled or bound in any way. MGS will number each entry and separate the cover sheet from the entry to insure anonymity.

Only the cover page should contain the author’s name. If a subject in the entry has the same last name as the entrant, that surname should be replaced with the word Lastname. Judges will excuse themselves from judging a paper if they can identify the author through the story content.

Entrants need not be members of the Minnesota Genealogical Society. Judges and judges’ immediate families may not participate. One entry per individual, please.

Entries need not pertain to Minnesota, nor to the author’s own family. Fiction will not be accepted. The sources of important information should be identified in the text or in footnotes or endnotes. Family lore or undocumented stories should be identified as such.

The entry must not have been previously published.

The winning entry will be selected by a panel of three judges. All entrants will receive judges’ comments. The judges will not be identified during the competition.

Entries will be judged on the basis of writing quality, choice of topic, originality, clarity, form (grammar, spelling, punctuation), and the inclusion of sources. While contest rules do not mandate a specific style for source citation, sources should be clear and easy to follow.

The author retains copyright to the submission, but grants permission to the Minnesota Genealogical Society to publish the entry in any of its periodic or special publications until 31 July 2011. During that time, entries may not be published or reprinted elsewhere without the joint permission of MGS and the author. MGS reserves the right to edit entries for space or other considerations.

Mail your entry, postmarked by 15 July 2010, to:
MGS Family History Writing Competition
1185 Concord St. North, Suite 218
South St. Paul MN 55075