2006 Edition of Nota Bene Issues Call for Papers
Members who enjoy creative writing or scholarly research are invited to respond to a call for papers for Nota Bene, Phi Theta Kappa's literary honors anthology, published annually and distributed to all community colleges.
Nota Bene - Latin for "note well" - was founded in 1994 to recognize outstanding writing among community college students. Submissions of poetry, short stories and essays are accepted. More than 1,600 submissions are received annually; approximately 25 selections are chosen for publication.
Scholarship awards available through Nota Bene are the $1,000 Citation Scholarship Award for the best overall entry and four Reynolds Scholarship Awards of $500 each for the runners-up.
A member should be currently enrolled in community college at the time a manuscript is submitted. There is no limit to the number of submissions a member may send, or to the categories a member may enter. Each entry, however, must have an attached cover sheet with the author's name, home address, telephone number, email address, college, chapter, and advisor's name and telephone number. No single entry may exceed 2,500 words.
The submissions must be the work of the author and must not be taken in part or entirely from any other published or unpublished work by someone other than the author. Any works submitted that are determined to be plagiarized will result in the author's disqualification, and will be reported to the college.
Entries must be printed and mailed to Nota Bene, Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society, Center for Excellence, 1625 Eastover Drive, Jackson, MS 39211. Entries for the 2006 edition of Nota Bene must be received by December 2, 2005. Entries submitted by fax or email are not accepted. Works may be on any topic. Results will be announced in early March.
Nota Bene is mailed to all community college presidents and community college libraries. Copies are also mailed to chapter advisors and chapter presidents. The 2005 edition will be mailed in September.
Approximately 100 entries are chosen for the final round of judging. Norma Kent, Vice President of Communications for the American Association of Community Colleges and a longtime member of the Nota Bene Jury, said that the judges consider originality, creativity and writing skills. Misspellings, grammatical errors and incorrect punctuation will likely result in an entry being disqualified. She explains, "Think of your writing in terms of the three Cs: creativity, clarity of expression, and correctness in the mechanics (grammar, punctuation, spelling). Winning entries are those that have these elements in balance. Polish your work by having several people read it, especially your English instructor."
More than 300 students have been recognized by publication in Nota Bene in the past 11 years. Among them was Tryfon Tolides, who had multiple poems selected for publication in Nota Bene during both years he attended Manchester Community College in Connecticut. Tolides, whose first book of poetry is scheduled to be published next year, credits this recognition as one of the reasons he chose to pursue a career in creative writing.
The Reynolds Scholarship winner is currently enrolled in the Ph.D. creative writing program at the University of Houston in Texas, after completing his Master of Fine Arts degree at Syracuse University in New York.
Tolides, winner of the 2004 Foley Prize for poetry, said that the early recognition provided by Nota Bene was valued as vindication of his work. "The inherent encouragement that goes along with the Nota Bene recognition has served to support my creative writing endeavors. I appreciate the knowledge that my work has pleased or moved or somehow made contact with others."
For more information, visit Nota Bene online at www.ptk.org/ publications/notabene/notabene_info.htm or contact Publications Specialist Melissa Mayer at 601.984.3504, ext. 3584.
