JCC Jewish Literary Festival and Writing Contest

The Washington DCJCC will present the Hyman and Freda Bernstein Jewish Literary Festival October 18-29, 2009. In conjunction with the festival, the JCC is running a writing contest:

"Coming-of-age stories are a genre unto themselves. Whether it's young love in Philip Roth's novella Goodbye, Columbus, teenage friendship in The Chosen, or the precocious musings of The Diary of Anne Frank, the stories are enduring.

Jewish tradition tells us that we come of age at 12 or 13, but what was your true turning point? Tell us the story of that first transformative moment.

A selection committee will choose ten entries to honor during the Festival and online. Submissions will be considered in two categories: 1) under 18 years and 2) 18 years and over. Send submissions of 250 words or less to litfest[at]washingtondcjcc[dot]org by September 30, 2009. The winning entries will be published on the Washington DCJCC website."

You'll find the announcement here.

(I learned about the festival and the contest via the Foundation for Jewish Culture's E-Newsletter, a worthwhile resource!)