Cool Imagination Writing Contest Information and Rules
“Imagination Begins with You…” high school writing contest
Prizes: First place winner receives $100.
• Contest is open to all High School students in the United States who are currently attending a public, private, alternative, or home school.
Amierca250 Writing Contest
Prizes: First place winner receives $250.
• Contest is open to anyone legally residing in the United States.
• Short story can be fictional or non-fiction but must be related to the American Revolution or events surrounding the Revolution!
Enter Here: America250 and "Imagination Begins with You..."HS Writing Contest
Rules that apply to both contests
Apply Contest Description: Short story, less than 1,000 words.
Publication: Winners and most finalist stories may be published in a short story collection. Depending on the number of entries, there may be a high school short story publication and an America250 short story collection.
Deadline: Emailed or post marked by March 31, 2026.
Submission: Use the contest entry form (preferred). You may also enter by mail to Cool Imagination, LLC - Attn: Contest Entry– 7608 Trebbiano Dr. – Kernersville, NC 27284. Include: Name, email address, high school and year in school, word count, and title of story. Note, that eMail is not an option for entry for this year's contest.
Winners announced in May.
Criteria: Short stories will be judged on: (a) Creativity/Imagination 50%, (b) Plot 25%, (c) Grammar 25%.
The Details
• First place prize will be awarded for each contest. A second place prize may be awarded in each category based on judge's discretion.
• The winning story and other finalist stories may be posted on the “Brian Claspell – Author” Facebook page.
• Winners will be announced in May.
• There is no entry fee.
• Entries must be postmarked or emailed by March 31 each year.
• All entries must be unpublished and 1,000 words or less. Works must be submitted in English. The work must be your original work and you must own the rights to the story (cannot have previously sold it or use copyrighted material without permission). The story must be your own work and not be generated using AI (Artificial Intelligence) tools or other means beyond your own imagination.
• The author (you) will retain all rights to the story, and by entering the contest you grant the contest sponsor the right to publish on the contest web page, Facebook and/or in a short story collection. You and your legal guardian grant permission to us your first and last name as part of the published materials.
• Only one entry per person is allowed for each contest. More than one entry may result in all entries being disqualified.
• Every entry should include: Name, email address, high school and year in school, and title of story. The stories will be judged blindly, so do not include your name or any other identifier in the text of the story.
• The winner will be announced in May each year. The winner’s will be posted on Brian Claspell’s Facebook fan page “Brian Claspell – Author (Imagination continues here)”.
• Some entries, including winners, may be published in a collection of short stories (Note: Any proceeds from the sale of this collection will be used solely for current and future short story contests and educational charities).
• Stories should not contain degrading material.
• The decisions of the judges are final.
• Note: Every effort will be made to make the contest fair and unbiased. Stories will be read by the judges without any identifier of the author’s name or location. Immediate family members (children and siblings) of the finalist judges are not permitted to be winners.
• Note: Winners will be emailed prior to announcing the winners. Winners will be announced whether the participant is able to be reached or not. If the winner does not respond to the email within 6 months of announcing the winners or fails to cash the winning check within 6 months, the prize money will be considered forfeited.