NIFCA 2025 LITERARY ARTS ADULT ENTRY FORM

 

NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE FESTIVAL OF CREATIVE ARTS 2025

LITERARY ARTS – ADULT

RULES AND REGULATIONS 

 

1.  NAME OF THE COMPETITION

 

1. 1.      The name of the competition shall be the NIFCA Adult Literary Arts Competition (the “Competition”) which is organized and administered by the National Cultural Foundation (the “NCF”).
   2.      These rules apply to those persons wishing to enter the competition.

 

 

2. ELIGIBILITY

 

1.      Persons wishing to enter the Competition must be:

 

• A citizen of Barbados or
• Legally resident in Barbados
• Pursuing legal residence

 

2.      Participants in the competition must be at least 18 years old by September 1^st 2025. 

 

3.       The following are eligible to participate in the Competition:

• Individuals
• Groups

 

3.   ENTRY TO THE COMPETITION

 

1.      Participants must enter directly with the NCF by properly completing the NCF approved Entry Form online at NCF.BB and submitting their short stories, poems, or essays in PDF format via the same form.

 

2.      The author’s name should not be stated on the entry.

 

3.       Online entry forms should be submitted no later than 3:00 p.m. by Monday, September 1 2025

 

4.      Entrants who fail to register by the deadline indicated at 3.3 above shall not be eligible for participation in the Competition.

 

5.        Upon registration the participant shall immediately receive notice by email confirming receipt of the entry.

 

6.     Entry to the competition is open to individuals or groups.  All group entries must be submitted by the designated leader of the group. The name of a second representative of the group must be indicated at registration. If individual authors are to be credited, this must be clearly indicated on the entry form.

 

7.        The NCF reserves the right to use any means deemed necessary and suitable to determine that the work submitted is in fact the work of the entrant, without significant help/instruction from a parent/guardian/teacher/other. This includes but is not limited to requesting samples of other works by the entrants, interviews with the entrant, etc.

 

8.        Entries for the Literary Arts must be delivered in Standard Caribbean English, OR Barbadian OR other Caribbean English variety. Original material of high quality and innovation is encouraged

 

9.        Previously submitted work is not eligible for entry in the competition and will not be judged.

 

10.      All entries to the competition should be original work. Where there is a complaint that an entry does not conform to this requirement, the complainant should produce evidence to support the complaint. The competitor should also be prepared to present evidence of originality, where necessary.

 

11.      The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is strictly prohibited.

 

12.      The NCF reserves the right to use any means deemed necessary and suitable to determine that the work submitted is one hundred percent (100%) human written.

 

13.      The penalty for submitting unoriginal work shall be disqualification of the work from the Competition. Participants found to have entered plagiarised work will be disqualified in full from the Competition. In addition, the participant may be barred from entering the Competition for the next two (2) consecutive years.

 

14.      In the event that work has been rewarded and is subsequently found to have been plagiarised, the reward will be rescinded and any monetary awards must be refunded by the participant. Additionally, the participant may be barred from entering the Competition for the next two (2) years.

 

15.   The NCF retains the first local publication rights to publish and edit recommended entries. Any person who makes a submission or participates in this competition thereby agrees to grant The NCF first local publication rights to publish and edit recommended entries.

 

 

4. ARBITRATION

 

1.      Prior to the deadline for submission of Entry Forms, the NCF shall appoint an Arbiter to decide and adjudicate on any appeals, complaints and matters in dispute or requiring clarification arising from these Rules.

 

2.      All complaints related to the Competition should be submitted, in writing, to the Arbiter, in a sealed envelope addressed as follows:

 

The Arbiter

National Cultural Foundation

West Terrace

St. James

 

3.       All decisions made by the Arbiter shall be final and binding on the competitors and the NCF.

 

 

 

5.  ADJUDICATION

 

1.     A panel of Judges shall be selected for the adjudication of the Competition.

 

2.   The NCF shall determine the composition of the panel of judges and shall appoint a member of the panel to be Chief Judge.

 

3.    The names of the Judges shall be publicly announced at the commencement of the Competition.

 

 

 6.  SUBMISSIONS

 

1.      Each entry must be original and unpublished.

 

2.      The individual or group’s name should appear only on the entry form. It should NOT appear on the work itself. Work with the authors name printed on it will be disqualified.

 

3.      All entries must be submitted in PDF format.

 

4.       All entries should be neatly presented with a font size of 12 in Times New Roman.

 

5.      No computer graphics or any designs are to appear on the entered pieces.

 

6.      Submissions should be submitted in black font.

 

7.      Failure to comply with the rules will result in disqualification.

 

8.       Judges will read all qualifying entries.

 

9.        The National Cultural Foundation reserves the right not to award any prizes.

 

7. PROMOTION

 

The participant agrees that the NCF shall be entitled to use his/her entry in whole or in part, and/or his/her image or likeness in the promotion of the competition and other related NIFCA events.

 

8. JUDGING CRITERIA

 

 

Entries in the NIFCA Short Story, Poetry and Essay Competition will be judged in the following areas:

 

A. Short Story/Flash Fiction:

• Command of Language – 25%:
  Spelling and punctuation. Coherence. Economy of expression. Ease and flow; use of figurative language.
• Plot – 30%:
  Clear development of storyline (sequential or non –sequential). Setting relevant to mood. Originality of story.
• Characterisation – 25%:
  Well-developed and differentiated characters.
• Impact – 20%:
  Delivers insight/emotion. Has a point to make and makes it. (For published work this includes format (digital) and visuals).

NB. Each piece of prose must be no more than 3,000 words in length. (The word length must be clearly stated at the end of the entry e.g. Word Count 2500.) Entries should be single spaced.

  

B. Poetry:

• Command of Language – 25%:
  Coherence; accurate vocabulary; punctuation etc. Ease and flow- e.g. doesn’t strain to rhyme; voice; tone.
• Use of Poetic Elements – 25%:
  Metaphor, simile, imagery, symbolism, rhyme (where relevant) economy of language.
• Command of form – 25%:
  Meter, rhythm, guides the reader/speaker, adheres to what it is, e.g. sonnet, cinquain, ode, limerick, etc. Presentation on the page.
• Impact – 25%:
  Has a point and makes it. Fresh way of seeing; delivers insight/emotion.

NB. Entrants submitting limericks and Haiga/Haikus must submit a collection of 2 poems which will constitute being counted as one poem. Entries should be single spaced.

C. Essay: 

• Content – 50%:
  Quality and relevance of information, originality, and presentation of arguments.
• Use of Language and Mechanics – 35%:
  Appropriate use of language, spelling & punctuation, sentence structure, and organisation of material in paragraphs, linking and sequencing of ideas.
• Overall Impression/Impact – 15%
  

NB. Entries should be single spaced.

D. Unpublished Manuscript: 

• Command of Language – 25%:
  Spelling and punctuation. Coherence. Economy of expression. Ease and flow; use of figurative language.
• Plot – 30%:
  Clear development of storyline (sequential or non –sequential). Setting relevant to mood. Originality of story.
• Characterisation – 25%:
  Well-developed and differentiated characters.
• Impact – 20%:
  Delivers insight/emotion. Has a point to make and makes it. For published work this includes format (digital) and visuals.

 

NB. If unpublished manuscript is a Novel/Novella:
Submit a synopsis of no more than 250 words and the first three chapters. Lines should be double-spaced. Chapters should be stapled securely. Pages should be numbered according to instructions in section 6 (2-6) above. For a children’s book, manuscripts may be submitted either with or without illustrations.

 

If unpublished manuscript is a collection of Poetry:
Include a brief (max 250 words) overview of themes and links. Manuscripts entered in this category should be a minimum of 4 poems, with a maximum of 30 pages. Lines should be single spaced.

 

If unpublished manuscript is a collection of Short Stories:
Include a brief (max 250 words) overview of themes and links. Manuscripts entered in this category should be a minimum of 3 short stories, with a maximum of 30 pages. Lines should be single spaced.

 

9. PRIZES – Only medalling entries will be eligible for prizes.

 

Short Story

 

1.      The winning short story will be awarded a cash prize of BBD$2,500.00.

 

 

Poetry

2.      The winning poem will be awarded BBD$2,500.00.

 

Essay

 

3.      The winning essay will be awarded BBD$2,500.00.

 

Unpublished Manuscript

 

4. 4.      The winning essay will be awarded BBD$2,500.00.
   5.      ​Certificates will be awarded as follows:

Gold 91 – 100 points

Silver 81 – 90 points

Bronze 70 – 80 points

 

   SPECIAL TOP AWARDS: ADULT– Non-Professional (Only Gold Awardees are eligible for the below):

 

1.      The Kamau Brathwaite Award for Literary Excellence– Poetry: This will comprise a cash prize of BBD$3,000.00.

 

2.      The George Lamming Award for Literary Excellence- Prose – Fiction: This will comprise a cash prize of BBD$3,000.00.

 

3.      ​The John Wickham Award for Literary Excellence – Prose Non- Fiction: This will comprise a cash prize of BBD$3,000.00.

 

4.       The Prime Minister’s Award for the Best Original Entry in NIFCA Literary Arts. This award is offered to recognise significant creativity in a NIFCA literary entry. This will comprise a cash award of BBD $3,500.00 and a trophy. Only one Gold award winner may be nominated for this by the judges.

 

   GENERAL & SPECIAL AWARDS

 

1.      ADULT INCENTIVE AWARDS
   The Incentive Awards will take the form of plaques and cash awards to a value of BBD$400.00 for individuals and BBD$750.00 for groups, for medal winning entries awarded as follows:
   •  Most Promising Prose Entry,
   •  Most Promising Poetry Entry,
   •  Most Promising Script (Play, Radio) or Screenplay (Film or Television).

 

2.      *NEW* The NIFCA prize for Intangible Cultural Heritage is valued at BBD $2,000.00 and will be awarded to a medaling entry that represents an outstanding depiction of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Barbados.

 

3.      ​The Cynthia Wilson NIFCA Producer’s Prize. This prize takes the form of a trophy and a cash prize of BBD$1,000.00, and will be awarded to recognize outstanding participation by a community leader, producer/organiser who facilitates and manages the successful participation of a group of artistes in any discipline for over five years. One prize will be awarded each year.

 

4.       The Business Entrepreneur Prize. This prize is awarded in each NIFCA discipline and is valued at BBD$15,000.00. It will be awarded to recognize Adult, Gold Awarded works that demonstrate entrepreneurial value, towards investment in product development.

 

5.       *NEW* The NIFCA Teacher’s prize will be awarded to a teacher who facilitates successful participation by students that attain multiple awards in NIFCA Theatre. This will take the form of a plaque and cash awards to the value of four hundred (BBD$400.00) for an individual and seven hundred and fifty dollars (BBD$750.00) for a group.

 

General queries should be directed to CO- Literary Arts at the National   Cultural Foundation at telephone number 417-6625, or email karra-price@ncfbarbados.org