MSU ‘Story State’ contest seeks emerging Mississippi storytellers

Contact: Sarah Nicholas

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Mississippi State University’s Story State 2024 —an annual contest aimed at sharing Mississippi stories—is open for entries for new and original written, oral or filmed stories.

The competition is open to all students enrolled at a Mississippi institution of higher learning, with entries accepted through March 21.

Winners for each category will receive $100, and the overall winner will be named master storyteller and will receive an additional $150. Winners will be announced March 28.

“Story State’s mission is to foster innovative storytelling,” said Anna Blount, an MSU communication instructor and competition coordinator for this year’s event. “Stories are used to continue rich family traditions, convey core educational concepts and illustrate societal values.

“This contest is for any student storyteller, no matter your major. The best stories come from different people and different places. We encourage everyone to tell their stories through the Story State contest,” Blount said.

The three entry categories include:

• Written: Students are encouraged to enter works of nonfiction including personal narrative, memoir, narrative journalism, essay and other forms. Students can submit a complete work or an excerpt from a longer work. The word count must fall between 1,000 and 5,000.
• Oral: Students can submit works of narrative nonfiction audio segments of up to 10 minutes. These segments may be an excerpt from a longer work. 
• Film: Submissions for this category include narrative nonfiction video segments of up to 10 minutes and can be an excerpt from a longer work.

For more information regarding entry submission, visit www.storystate.msstate.edu or email storystate@comm.msstate.edu.

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