Tampa Bay high school students are invited to submit original, unpublished short stories on the theme of “Alternate Florida.”
Enter by May 31, 2024 at tampabay.com/nie/storycontest.
2024 contest themes:
- What if…Spanish expeditions led by Pánfilo de Narváez, Hernando De Soto and others had led to peaceful settlement in La Florida among the Timucua, Apalachee and Calusa instead of conflict and conquest?
- What if…instead of remaining loyal to England in 1776, Florida joined its fellow 13 English colonies in declaring independence?
- What if…Osceola had not died in captivity in 1838 in St. Augustine?
- What if…the Everglades had not been drained and developed, and panthers were as common as alligators?
- What if…the four Nazi agents who landed on Ponte Vedra Beach on June 16, 1942 had not been captured by the FBI?
Grand Prize Winner will receive:
- $200 cash prize
- Grand prize award plaque
- Winning story published on the contest website
Runners Up will receive:
- $25 cash prize
- Award certificate
The Grand Prize Winner and Runners Up will be recognized at an award ceremony at Tombolo Books in September 2024.
For more information and to enter, visit tampabay.com/nie/storycontest.