Well, I finally broke down and e-mailed the BYU English Department because I was so sick of not hearing from them. Here is what I wrote:
Mrs. Hauglid,
My name is Josh Crowley. I entered a short story in the BYU English Department's young writer's competition. On the criteria web page, it states that "results will be announced in the spring." After talking to participants from previous years, it is my understanding that all participants are notified of their results, regardless of whether they placed in the top three. I'm wondering if I should expect an e-mail/letter indicating my results.
Thank you for your time,
Josh Crowley
This is her response:
Dear Josh:
I assume you are talking about the Re: Writing contest? If so, I'm sorry to say I just on Friday shredded all the entries from people who didn't win. So I can't look up your entry. However, we did send emails out to both winners and non-winners alike about a month or so ago. I wonder if yours somehow didn't get to you. If so, I certainly apologize for that.
We had hundreds of entries from all over the world; many were deserving of placing in the contest. Thanks so much for entering. I know that takes time and some courage. I hope you will keep writing!
Let me know if you have any questions I can answer.
Sincerely,
Tessa Hauglid
So, apparently I didn't win. I feel better knowing that there were hundreds of entries, but I was a little surprised/disappointed in the quality of language in her response. There is at least 1 incomplete sentence, and the whole thing at the beginning is confusing and I have no idea what she is talking about.
Oh well, maybe next year.
8 comments:
Grrr! That stinks! And yes, she was a bit confusing. That seems pretty harsh to tell an applicant that their hard work just got shredded.
I think you should print out her e-mail and shred it. It might make you feel a little better.
dude, that sucks. ya if i was judge of that contest you would definitely have won. josh crowley, you are still the best write i know so don't let this discourage you. did you keep a copy of your story? oh well i guess it's still on your blog huh? ya ok, well ya i think your still an amazing, super, outstanding, hilarious, creative, awesome, smart, intelligent, funny guy.
gee, thanks thomas, sheesh, i'm blushing :D
Well, that stinks. At least we know your story is shredded so nobody else will be able to read it. Oh wait, you wanted people to read it. At time like this, we have to look at the bright side... at least this "At Long Last" story didn't feature you getting your nose broken. I know this was frustrating, but it is good that you put yourself out there. It will make you a better writer than you already are.
Conclusion of first paragraph: She shreded ur paper and has no way of bringing it back. The End.
!Matt!
As I recall when your Uncle James wrote his own letter of recommendation for admitance to BYU, he didn't ever hear back from them either. Things haven't changed much in the last decade. Persistance is the key. When you receive the Pulitzer Prize for literature, you can shred the invitation to speak to the student body of BYU if you like. j/k It's a great school. I think you should accept the invitation.
Sheesh! I wonder how many other kids didn't hear from them. Well I'm glad that you had the nerve to email them, because I didn't really want to. Oh! I just thought of something! What if the email telling someone (preferably me) that their story had WON got lost! Hey, for all I know, I DID win. I just never got official notice of it. :)
I really do think that at least one of us should have won something. Oh well, Anne of Green Gables was rejected by publishers somthing like 37 times, before one finally agreed to print it. It has now sold 12 million copies in several languages. Not that you actually wanted to know, but it makes me feel better to think about it.
By the way, I think your email was better written than hers. :)
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