“This year we really wanted to motivate students to contribute and be part of the magazine,” Artifex staffer Leslie Chacon said. “We’re trying to encourage students to do the best they can, everybody has a chance to win!”

A haiku is a Japanese style of poetry that consists of three lines, each with a certain number of syllables. A traditional haiku has five syllables within the first line, seven within the second and five once again in the third. Each writer must submit three to five haikus in order to participate. The collection of haikus should also be in relation to one another.

The Artifex will be announcing the winner soon after the submission deadline on both their Twitter and Instagram accounts. The winning haikus will then be published in the school literary magazine. As an additional prize, the winning writer will receive a $5 Starbucks gift card.

“We chose haikus because this is our first contest and we thought it would be a good idea to start with something simple that any aspiring writer can write,” Editor-in-Chief of the Artifex Lybah Haque said. 

The variations of haikus are endless and they encourage creativity. All submissions will be accepted regardless of grade level or writing ability. The magazine is expecting a variety of writers with all levels of experience. 

“We’ve asked English teachers to encourage students to submit their haikus, as well as the creative writing students, so we hope to see a wide range of experience levels,” Artifex staffer Reese Lansen said. “We want diverse writing styles for the literary magazine.”

In previous years, the Artifex had never held a contest of any sort. The idea was proposed after the magazine’s critique suggested that they include a larger array of writing forms. The staff agreed that holding a contest would be a fun way to inspire students to submit unique styles of writing that would otherwise not be featured. 

“We lacked variety in our submission for the literary magazine,” Artifex staffer Gabi Bravoreyes said. ‘We need more variations of poems and short stories. We get too many free verse poems.”

Regardless of the reasoning for the contest, it is an opportunity for students interested in writing to display their skills. To learn more about the contest and how to get involved, view the competition’s flyer.