The IMPAC-Connecticut State University
Young Writers Competition
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PARTY HONORS CIBES;
RSVP DATE APPROACHES
Dr. William J. Cibes Jr., Chancellor of the Connecticut State University System, will be honored for his advocacy of young writers during a party Friday, Jan. 6, 2006 at the Litchfield Inn. Cibes retires Jan. 31.
Acclaimed novelist Wally Lamb, Connecticut Poet Laureate Marilyn Nelson and several award-winning authors from the IMPAC-CSU Young Writers competition will be among those speaking at the event. Lamb will read from a new novel in progress.
Festivities begin at 6 p.m. with a reception featuring the Jen Allen Jazz Combo. Young writers on the speaking program are Emily Dykes of Montville High School, Jessica Roth and Charlotte Crowe, both of Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts; and Candi Deschamps, a graduate of Danbury High School and Smith College now working at Hudson Review. Also reading will be poet and author Franz Douskey and CSU Professor Vivian Shipley, winner of the Connecticut Book Awards for Poetry and Lifetime Achievement.
Hors d'oeuvres will be served and there will be a cash bar. Suggested minimum donation is $20. RSVP by
December 28th at 800-814-6931.
Gov. Jodi Rell is declaring Jan. 6, 2006 "Bill Cibes Day" in honor of the CSU Chancellor's service to Connecticut and its writers.
The IMPAC-Connecticut State University Young Writers Trust has encouraged more than 3,000 young writers compete in the program. The Trust has awarded more than $118,000 since 1998.
IMPAC Chairman Jim Irwin and CSU Chancellor Bill Cibes joined to bring the Young Writers Program statewide in 2000.
Entry forms for the 2006 competition have been posted at ctyoungwriters.org and have also been mailed to all public, private and parochial secondary schools in Connecticut. The entry deadline is Feb. 1, 2006 postmark.
Poets and writers in each of Connecticut's eight counties win $1,000 prizes. The top poet and writer from that set of winners -- each with a parent -- will travel to Dublin in June 2006 for a week of festivities connected with the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award.
In addition, A pilot program in French and Spanish, co-sponsored by the Litchfield-Morris Rotary, awards an additional $1,000 in prizes.
IMPAC, the world's leading productivity firm, also endows the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, which at 100,000 Euros is the world's largest prize for a single work of fiction.
The work of state champions in the young writers competition is considered for publication in Connecticut Review. Connecticut Review, the nationally-renowned literary journal, has been published since 1967 by the Connecticut State University System. The CSU System serves more than 35,000 students, making it the largest public university system in Connecticut. A total of 166 academic programs are offered throughout the system, and more than 5,000 degrees are awarded annually.
Connecticut Review is a co-sponsor of the Cibes party.
For more information, contact Andy Thibault at [email protected] or 860-567-8492.