Nota Bene Literary Competition

The deadline to apply for the Nota Bene Literary Competition is April 28, 2023, at 5PM CST.

Only Phi Theta Kappa members may submit manuscripts. Members may only submit manuscripts while enrolled in a two-year degree program or one-year certificate program.

PTK members and alumni currently seeking bachelors, masters, or doctoral degrees or those no longer attending college are ineligible.

Poetry, short stories, essays and drama are accepted for consideration.

There is an overall limit of five (5) entries per person.

There are limits on the number of entries one person can submit in a single genre:

• No more than five (5) poems may be submitted.
• No more than three (3) short stories may be submitted.
• No more than three (3) essays may be submitted.
• No more than three (3) works of drama may be submitted.

No single entry may exceed 2,500 words. Works Cited Lists are not included in the word count.

For best results, we suggest uploading a PDF file. Please, only one entry per file.

While it is not necessary to add a cover sheet to your work, we do suggest that you use your name and the title of your work as a header on each page.

Advisors Emeriti and PTK staff serve as the first-round judges. They will read through submissions and narrow the field to about a hundred entries.

We have three second-round judges who read the final 100 entries and select the top 20-30 for publication. This group also selects scholarship recipients.

The first round of judging occurs between early May and the end of June. The second round begins in early July, and final selections are typically made mid-August.

Everyone will be notified about the status of his or her submission via email in mid-to-late fall.

A member may submit manuscripts in any category they wish, as long as the total number of works entered does not exceed five (5).

There are limits on the number of entries one person can submit in a single genre:

• No more than five (5) poems may be submitted.
• No more than three (3) short stories may be submitted.
• No more than three (3) essays may be submitted.
• No more than three (3) works of drama may be submitted.

A digital copy of the issue will be available on this page in the winter.

All Nota Bene entries must be submitted electronically using the form on this page. Hard copies of manuscripts will not be accepted.

The Ewing Citation Scholarship Award of $1,000 is given to the author of the Nota Bene manuscript considered to be the most outstanding of all entries. It is named in honor of the late Nell Ewing, long-time Phi Theta Kappa staff member who was a driving force behind Nota Bene, beginning with its conceptual design and establishment. She retired in 2012 after serving 26 years with Phi Theta Kappa.

The International Poet Laureate Award of $1,000 is given to the author of the most outstanding poem. In addition to the scholarship award, the International Poet Laureate will be invited to present their poem during one of Phi Theta Kappa’s international events.

The Reynolds Scholarship Awards of $500 each are given to up to four authors whose manuscripts were deemed outstanding. These awards are endowed by the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and honor the memory of the late Donald W. Reynolds, founder of the Donrey Media Group.

All members will be notified by email, regardless of whether their entries were selected for publication. After all scholarship winners have been notified, a list of winning entries will be published on the Phi Theta Kappa website. Members whose entries have been selected to be published retain the rights to their work.