WEATHERFORD — The deadline for submissions for the fourth annual “Canis Latrin (The Coyote) Writing Contest,” associated with Weatherford College’s annual spring book festival Books ‘n Authors ‘n All That Jazz, is approaching.

“We have always had such great response to this contest and we wanted to give our writers plenty of time to, well, write,” said Rae Wooten, Weatherford College library acquisitions coordinator and co-organizer of the contest. “We have made a few changes to the contest this year — no separate divisions for youth and adults, for instance, and, once again, it is themed. It’s very exciting for us, and I am thrilled that we have so many talented and aspiring writers out there. We would like to encourage everyone to enter.”

Once again held in conjunction with Books ‘n Authors ‘n All That Jazz, scheduled for April 25, 2009, the contest winners will be honored in a special afternoon awards program in the Weatherford College Marjorie Black Alkek Fine Arts Building.

Writers will be recognized and presented certificates and complementary copies of the Canis Latrin Anthology, the published edition of selected entries in the contest.

Additionally, the winners will be given the opportunity to read their work to an audience.

Three $100 cash prizes will be awarded to the top writers in each of the categories.

Partially underwritten by local romance author and Weatherford College alumna Lori Wilde, whose work includes more than 47 published books, the cash prizes seem to be an extra incentive, Wooten said, and to honor Wilde’s support of the writing contest, an additional award will be presented.

“We are happy to announce the creation of the Lori Wilde Weatherford College Alumnus Fiction Award,” said Wooten. “This will be an additional $100 prize to a writer whose work Lori Wilde will select herself from among selected top contenders. Weatherford College is proud of Lori’s many writing awards, including recognition by the National Book Awards, and we are honored to establish this prize in her name.”

Deadline for submissions is Midnight, March 2, 2009. There is no submission fee; entry is free.

Original pieces in the following categories may be submitted by e-mail or postal mail, following specific guidelines: 1. Poetry, up to three pages; 2. Short Fiction, up to 5,000 words; and 3. Creative Non-Fiction, up to 5,000 words.

The themes of this year’s contest should center on or include any of the following: Parker County, any communities within the Parker County area, heritage, the frontier way of life or the American West.

Entries must be double-spaced and in 12-point Times New Roman type.

Submissions should be e-mailed to writingcontest@WC.edu. There can be only one entry per e-mail. Additionally, entry must be in the form of an attachment and in MS-WORD format (No Microsoft Works, etc.).

All information that is required on the entry form must be included in the e-mail content.

Entries also may be mailed, and multiple submissions may be mailed in the same envelope, but each entry must be accompanied by a separate entry form.

Each entry must have a cover sheet with the work’s title and author’s name. The author’s name must not appear on any other pages. Please number pages. Mail submissions to “Writing Contest,” c/o Rae Wooten, Weatherford College, 225 College Park Dr., Weatherford, Texas 76086.

Judges include area authors and Weatherford College faculty members.

The submissions of prizewinners will be published in the anthology Canis Latran, which will be available for sale at Books ’n Authors ’n All That Jazz VII on April 25, 2009.

Proceeds of sales will go the Weatherford College Foundation to honor the memory of Tom Claunch, a writing instructor, who helped many students in his Weatherford College career.

Information can be obtained on the Weatherford College Web site at www.WC.edu, or interested persons may contact Wooten at (817) 598-6456, or e-mail, writingcontest@WC. edu.