Great War Letters Contest

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Contest Guidelines

Please read the following guidelines before submitting your letter:

• Participants must be between the ages of 14-18.
• Participants will include the name and contact information of a teacher or instructor. This person will be contacted in the event that your letter is awarded one of the prizes
• Participants can apply individually or as part of a class, but you must have a teacher/supervisor support your submission
• Length of submission should be limited to two-four pages (approximately 500-1000 words)
• Students can submit by email or written form
• Each letter should have a date and place from which it is being written
• The students should be clear in his/her own mind exactly their role (i.e. from whom and to whom the letter is being written) and the content of the letter should emphasize how the person feels in the situation they find themselves

Some examples of letters:

• A soldier to his wife from the battlefield
• A doctor or nurse treating injured soldiers in an overseas hospital
• A worker in Canada describing the conditions at home

To view examples of First World War letters, visit the Canadian Letters & Images Project.

Submission Details

Participants should complete a Participant Submission Form and attach the following items:

• An original letter that is previously unpublished and between 500-1000 words in length
• A Letter of Support from a teacher, guidance counsellor or community leader. The letter must include the educator's full name, address and phone number (if a class submission, one letter of support is sufficient for the entire class)
• All participants will receive a Certificate of Recognition from The Dominion Institute, acknowledging their hard work and contribution to the Great War Letters Contest
• Submit your letters to:

    Great War Letters Contest
    The Dominion Institute
    183 Bathurst St. Suite 401
    Toronto, ON M5T 2R7

    or

    staff@dominion.ca
    Subject Line: Great War Letters Contest

Prizes

The participant with the first place entry will receive an all expense paid trip to the Passchendaele battlefields in Belgium (courtesy of Butterfield & Robinson and New Wave Travel). The winning letter and a photo of the author will be published on the contest website.

Other prizes courtesy of Coteau Books, Harper Collins and Alliance Films. Top ten winning letters will be published on the contest website.

For more information, contact The Dominion Institute at 1.866.701.1867 or staff@dominion.ca

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