AATH Humor Essay Contest
What's so funny? How is healthy humor used in your life?
The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor (AATH) is pleased to announce its 3rd Annual Humor Essay Contest for students in grades K-12, and for cancer survivors of any age.
The 2008 Humor Essay Contest is made possible by the generous support of:
- Christine Clifford Beckwith, CSP and The Cancer Club® www.cancerclub.com (exclusive sponsors of the "Cancer Survivor" category).
- The Funny Times Peace Fund www.funnytimes.com
- The Cleveland Foundation www.clevelandfoundation.org
- Joshua Sickel, MD
- Shari & Richard Foos and the Shout! Factory www.shoutfactory.com
2008 Entry Winners
Grades 4-5 Elementary
Allison R. Humor Helps Me
Age: 9 / Grade 4th
Trimmer Elementary School
York, PA
Grades 6-8 Middle School
Brooke T. What's SoFunny?
Age: 11 / Grade 6
Bellefontaine Middle School
Bellefontaine, Ohio
Grades 9-12 High School
Anna K What is Humor?
Age 14 / Grade 9
North Kansas City High School
North Kansas City, MO
Grades 9-12 High School
Ben I Healthy Humor
Age: 16 / Grade 11
Wayzata Public Schools
Plymouth, MN
Cancer Survivor
Lillie S
Finding Laughter Where you Least Expect it
2008 Entry Guidelines:
Who is eligible to enter the essay contest?
We have five categories for this competition:
- K-3 Elementary
- Grades 4-5 Elementary
- Grades 6-8 Middle School
- Grades 9-12 High School
- Cancer Survivors (any age)
How long should entries be?
Students - Essays are to be no longer than 400 words.
Cancer Survivors - Essays are to be no longer than 800 words.
What are the prizes?
Winners will receive a monetary prize ($100 - Student / $50 - Cancer Survivor), AATH Essay Contest Winner Certificate, recognition by an international organization and media exposure. It's a great project for students wishing to add to their portfolio. Winners will have their essay published on the AATH website and in HumorConnection newsletter, which is distributed all over the humor world.
How will essays be judged?
Judges will evaluate a submission on its clarity, rigor, and eloquence. Papers need not be technical or demonstrate research-type scholarship, although they should be serious in content, tone, and style.
Each essay is read and ranked by reviewers at AATH. Finalists will be read by at least two members of our distinguished review panel. The review panel's evaluations will be incorporated into the final decision.
Where do I start?
Think about how humor has helped your life and others around you! Describe how you used humor in a difficult situation, benefited from humor to cope with or solve a problem or how you applied humor in every day life. You can illustrate using examples from home or school.
AATH's website provides a wealth of resources, including lists of recent books, links to key websites on humor, a list of definitions, and articles and stories on humor.
When is the entry deadline?
All entries are to sent via EMAIL no later than midnight (EST) December 1, 2007.
How do I submit my entry?
All entries and entry information are to be sent via email to STAFF@AATH.ORG. Please title the subject matter as "AATH Essay Contest."
All entries MUST include the following information:
STUDENTS
First & Last Name
Age
Grade
Email
Teacher's Name
Teacher or School Email
School Name
School Address (complete address including country)
School Phone
Essay Title
How you heard about the AATH Essay Contest (teacher, other school personnel, Internet, friend/relative, AATH member, newspaper article, other)
PLEASE NOTE: Students will only be identified by name, grade and state/providence
in any public announcement.
CANCER SURVIVOR
First & Last Name
Address
Phone
Email
Essay Title
How you heard about the AATH Essay Contest (Cancer Club, support group, cancer center, Internet, friend/relative, AATH member, newspaper article, other)
How many times may I enter the contest?
We will accept one(1) entry per person.
What are the other conditions I should be aware of?
Winners will be notified (and announced on our website) by April 2008. All submitted essays become the property of AATH and may be published elsewhere.
