With Halloween coming up next month, the Manchac Review student journal encourages students to release their inner artist in holiday spirit through their third annual Scary Story and Poetry Contest.
Winners will have their piece published in an accredited online journal and are given the chance to read their work aloud to a gathering of other readers and writers. Poems and stories along with the appropriate forms must be submitted by Oct. 10.
“The purpose of this or any contest is to solicit creative output in the student body and create further opportunities for creative students to have their work on public display,” said Chad Foret, executive editor of Manchac Review. “The Scary Fiction and Poetry Contest must be fiction and poetry in Halloween spirit, whether it uses the holiday as a setting or includes a frightening story or characters.”
Works submitted will be running to win 1st or 2nd place in either poetry or fiction. Guidelines for entries can be found on their website at english.selu.edu/manchacreview. Students must submit a hard copy to the Writing Center, which is located in D Vickers room 383, and an electronic copy to manchacreview@selu.edu.
Second place in poetry for last year’s competition went to Abby McGee for her poem about an ugly witch who steals a young girl’s soul for beauty entitled “Witches Brew.”    
“I was very excited about getting second place in the competition! I was not actually expecting to win. I was just having fun writing the poem,” said McGee. “I’m glad I participated in the competition because it helped me realize that I wanted to major in English or English Education. If there is another competition I might do it again!”
Each submission will go through the student editorial staff before winners are chosen. Winners will be selected and notified via email as Halloween approaches.  
“Last year, the winners were offered the opportunity to read aloud at World’s End Café in the company of many attentive readers and writers,” said Foret. “While a chance to read is fun, getting a piece published is a great start on the road to a creative career or even a great addition to a resume.”
The first two years of hosting the Scary Fiction and Poetry Contests have gone well.
“Many people showed interest and were eager to have their scary writing represented,” said Foret.
While Manchac Review is a creative writing journal, Manchac Review Online accepts traditional writing and multimedia work through mediums such as fiction, poetry, drama, visual art, film and sound year round.
“Home is where the art is. This mantra is something I keep in the back of my mind while exploring the creative work of others and writing my own,” stated Foret in his Letter from the Editor on the Manchac Review website. “The essence of the artist in their own work is a direct result of what they know and their position on its significance.”