Does your student have a creative story stirring inside of them that desires to be told? If so, the National Christian Forensics and Communications Association (NCFCA) contests for the 2017-2018 Short Story or the 2017-2018 Short Film may be their opportunity to share that story.

This is the sixth year the writing contest will be held and the focus is on the short story. Homeschool students are encouraged “to learn the art of storytelling in a compelling, inventive and thoughtful way, addressing life issues from a biblical worldview in a manner that glorifies God” through the written word.

Eligible students may only submit one piece of their original work with a maximum of 4,000 words, with no minimum. Another requirement is the story must be fiction, but it may be inspired by or based on actual events. The short story genre (ex: comedy, drama, etc.) may be the author’s choice.

The short film contest is in its fifth year. You may watch the films from the 2016 and the 2015winners. This year, the theme is Making a Difference and has three categories. The film competition “ is meant to encourage homeschool students to learn to communicate effectively through multi-media; engage in script writing; develop screenplays; deal with a cast and/or crew and express their creativity through the use of various film techniques.”

Students may be independent in creation or this is an opportunity for them to collaborate on a project for contest submission. The director must be nine to 19 years old on September 1, 2017, but the actors may be any age. Directors are encouraged to be creative and may present film of any genre or style (ex: action, animation, documentary, etc.). The challenge is keeping it at a three minute length or less, including the credits. Students may submit more than one entry.

The NCFCA was created in 1997 by Michael Farris and Christy (Farris) Shipe as the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) Debate League to provide an avenue for Christian homeschool students to learn communication skills that would enable them to “reach their world with God’s truth.” The non-profit corporation has grown over the years and now serves homeschool students across the country with communication training, and competition in speech and debate, short film and writing.

Authors and filmmakers contests will receive recognition for First Place, Second Place and Third Place positions. Submissions for both contests are due Monday, February 1, 2018 and become the property of the NCFCA. Contact the NCFCA office for more information.