4 . Ready to share your novels or personal stories with the world? The following four writing contests are worth considering.

Drue Heinz Literature Prize

You can win $15,000 and publication by the University of Pittsburgh Press with this prize. You may submit an unpublished manuscript of short stories, two or more novels or a combination of novels and short stories. You must have already published a novel or book-length work of fiction with a respected publisher.

Deadline: Annual submissions must be between May 1 and June 30.

Biopage Storytelling Writing Contest

Essays of up to 5,000 characters (about 1000 words) will be accepted and right now we’re looking for stories of COVID-19 quarantine life. The grand prize winner will receive $300, and five runners-up will be awarded $100 each. You’ll need to register for a Biopage account to be qualified.

Deadline: July 31,2022

PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers

This contest requires you to have already published a short story in a literary magazine or journal or cultural website. Short stories of up to 12,000 words are qualified and must be published before the year in which the award is given. The prize money varies from $1,000 to $200. In addition, keep this in mind: Submissions are only qualified when submitted by an editor.

Deadline: The contest is open annually between June and November.

Write the World

For new writers, this cool contest also serves as a mini workshop. Considering that the first draft is never perfect, submissions will receive review by authors, writing teachers and other experts. Participants are given the chance to revise their pieces based on the review before submitting them for final prize consideration. 5 top prize winners will receive $100 each.

Deadline: Monthly.

5 . People believe that climbing can do good to health. Where can you learn the skill of climbing then? If you think that you have to go to the mountains to learn how to climb, you’re wrong. Many Americans are learning to climb in city gyms. Here, people are learning on special climbing walls. The climbing wall goes straight up and has small holding places for hands and feet.

How do people climb the wall? To climb need special shoes and a harness around your chest to hold you. There are ropes tied to your harness. The ropes hold you in place so that you don’t fall. A beginner’s wall is usually about 15 feet high, and you climb straight up. There are small pieces of metal that stick out for you to stand on and hold on to. Sometimes it’s easy to see the new piece of metal. Sometimes, it’s not. The most difficult is to control your fear. It’s normal for humans to be afraid of falling, so it’s difficult not to feel fear. But when you move away from the wall, the harness and the ropes hold you, and you begin to feel safe. You move slowly until you reach the top.

Climbing attracts people because it’s good exercise for almost everyone. You use your whole body, especially your arms and legs. This sport gives your body a complete workout. When you climb, both your mind and your body can become stronger.

6 . A study led by The University of Edinburgh researchers found that the performance of runners who listened to self-selected music as they ran after completing a demanding (费力的) thinking task was at the same level as when they were not mentally tired. The findings of the study were published in the Journal of Human Sport and Exercise.

Researchers used two tests to study how listening to music affected the running performance of fitness enthusiasts. One test looked at the effects on the interval running ability — alternating between high intensity (强度) running and lower intensity jogging — with a group of nine exercisers, and the other on a 5 km time trial with a group of nine trained runners. The groups completed a 30-minute computer-based cognitive (认知的) test which put them in a mentally worn state before completing high intensity exercise. They were tested with and without motivational music which they selected.

Taking into account the results of a baseline test taken by participants that they did without completing a mentally demanding test beforehand and without music, the researchers found the interval running ability of the mentally worn fitness enthusiasts was slightly greater with music compared to that without music, and was the same as when the participants were not mentally tired. The 5 km time trial performance also showed small improvements with self-selected music compared to no music.

Dr. Shaun Phillips, of The University of Edinburgh’s Moray House School of Education and Sport, said, “Feeling tired mentally is a common occurrence for many of us, and can negatively affect many of our daily activities, including exercise. Finding safe and effective ways to reduce this negative impact is therefore useful. The research showing that listening to self-selected motivational music can help active people improve their endurance running ability and performance when mentally worn out may provide a useful strategy.”

8 . 2022 Teen Video Challenge!

Do you have a passion for reading or libraries?Do you want to share your video or performative skills with teens across the country? The Teen Video Challenge is for you!

The Teen Video Challenge is an annual video contest and is open to all teens (librarian and teacher support is encouraged). The challenge is for teens to create a public services announcement-type video that shows their unique interpretation of the 2022 CSLP slogan “Tails and Tales”. Videos are to be no longer than 60 seconds and should promote libraries and reading.                    

Videos will be accepted June 1 through August 6, 2022.

Video Criteria for Acceptance

All videos must：

·Be no longer than 60 seconds.

·Promote the idea of using public libraries and reading.

·Be designed for use at any library.

·Be appropriate for viewing by audiences of all ages.

·Adhere to copyright laws.

·Interpret the theme of animals, with the slogan of Tails and Tales.

Video will be judged on the following criteria

·Creativity

·Message clarity and relevance

·Motivation and inspiration

·Overall impact

Winners and Prizes

CSLP will select five national winning videos; each of the winning teens/teen teams will receive $200.00. Each teen/teen team’s public library will receive a prize worth $50.00 from CSLP. Winners will be announced in mid-October 2022. The winners will be required to submit model release forms for each person that appears in their videos. The winning videos will be posted on CSLP Website/You Tube Channel for public viewing and judging. Winners will be notified by email.

For more information about the 2022 Teen Video Challenge, please contact luke.Kralik @spreads.org.

9 . Canyoning

The sports of canyoning (蹦谷) explore the high-energy environment where water meets rock on the coast. Protected by wetsuits and helmets, people jump from cliffs and waterfalls and discover caves that would not normally be arrived at.

It was first done in the U.K. by TYF Adventure (01437 721611, www.tyf.com) and several thousand people jump from the cliffs near St David’s each year. A half day canyoning trip costs ￡50 (￡30 for children under 16).

Diving

Diving is not popular with British people. The difficulties of wild waters are greater because the water is colder and not clear enough, but the coasts of Cornwall, Wales and Scotland have some of the best diving in the world.

The British Sub Aqua Club (0870 112 9133, www.bsac.com) and the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (01580 819688, www.padi.com) run courses teaching the important skills.

Surfing

The best surfing places in the UK are on the southwest coast where it is warmer, especially in Cornwall. The best time of year to surf in the UK is late summer and autumn.

The British Surfing Association (01479 861256, www.britsurf.co.uk) has a list of famous surf schools around the country.

Rock climbing

The most popular natural rocks in Britain include the Peak District, the Lake District, while large areas of Scotland are a climber’s ideal place. Climbing courses and climbing walls can be found on the website of the British Mountaineering Council (0870 010 4878, www.thebmc.co.uk).