Contests

Writing Contests:
Every month we host a new contest with prizes including a $200 honorarium and an invitation to read at a Library event.

Our contest theme for May - August is Oceans of Possibility.

Water is part of our everyday life. It sustains all forms of life. It inspires poems and stories, it causes divisions and political strife. We dream about it, fight about it, drink it, swim in it. And while those of us in landlocked states don’t see the earth’s largest bodies of water every day, we’re connected to the oceans through the earth’s water cycle. 

For our current writing contest, think about water. Maybe how you felt the first time you traveled to the shore and stepped into the ocean; maybe how your debate theme one year in high school was whether aquifers should be federally regulated to protect against pollution.

This is an opportunity to think big, no matter how many times you’ve been to the ocean. We want to read about how water inspires or limits you, how it shapes your work or family life. Don’t be afraid to include Johnson County’s own lakes, rivers and aquifers. While they are certainly not oceans, the water cycle connects it all.

Annual Bookmark Contest:
Post-it note? Your napping kitty's tail? Folded corner (gasp!)? None of those are nearly as cool as having a bookmark with your very own artwork on it. Enter your bookmark art in the 2022 Friends Annual Bookmark Design Contest Honoring National Friends of Libraries Week, Oct. 16-22, and you could see your lovely design on bookmarks available at all of our Library locations.

Oceans of Possibilities Youth Sticker Contest:
Submit your entries for our Youth Sticker Design Contest, open to youth 12 and under. This summer we are looking for sticker illustrations with an “Oceans of Possibilities” theme. Winners will be selected by Library staff in multiple age categories, and the top designs will receive a 500-sticker print run for distribution at local branches. Winners will receive 20 copies of their own stickers to share with friends. Submissions will be accepted June 6 through July 6. Enter your sticker design »

Oceans of Possibilities Youth Poetry Contest: 
Calling all youth writers: submit your original short story in verse based on the theme “Oceans of Possibilities.” Winning writers will receive a prize and their work will appear on the Library’s website for all to enjoy. Open to writers entering 3rd through 12th grade this fall. One submission per writer, please. Submissions will be accepted June 6 through July 6. Enter your short story in verse »

A cartoon megaphone with the word "Contest!"